No. Indiana is not stopping daylight saving time in 2026. Every one of the state’s 92 counties will still spring forward on March 8 and fall back on November 1.1Time and Date. Your Guide to DST 2026: When Does the Clock Change? A bill to exempt the state, House Bill 1151, is currently pending in the General Assembly, but at least three similar bills failed during the 2025 session alone, and the same pattern held in 2024. Whether Indiana ever stops changing clocks depends on both state politics and federal law, which limits what a state is allowed to do.
The Pending 2026 Bill
Representative Patterson introduced House Bill 1151, which would exempt Indiana from daylight saving time entirely.2Indiana General Assembly. House Bill 1151 – Time Observance in Indiana The bill is pending. If it passes, Indiana would remain on standard time year-round and join Arizona and Hawaii as the only states that skip the biannual clock change.3U.S. Department of Transportation. Daylight Saving Time
Nothing about the clocks changes unless and until HB 1151 is enacted. Until then, the 2006 statute requiring all Indiana counties to observe DST remains in force.
Bills That Have Already Failed
Indiana lawmakers have tried to end the clock change in every recent session. None of the attempts has passed.
2025 Session
Three separate bills tried to end DST. HB 1337 would have exempted Indiana from daylight saving time and petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation to move the entire state into the Central Time Zone. HB 1611 took a similar approach but would have kept both Eastern and Central standard time in their current counties. SB 244 addressed the same issue from the Senate side. All three failed.4National Conference of State Legislatures. Daylight Saving Time State Legislation
2024 Session
The 2024 bills pushed in opposite directions. HB 1289 sought permanent standard time. HR 10 urged Congress to make daylight saving time permanent instead. HCR 16 asked the DOT to hold hearings on placing all of Indiana in a single time zone. Every one of these measures failed.4National Conference of State Legislatures. Daylight Saving Time State Legislation
The pattern behind the losses is not lack of interest. Indiana legislators want to stop changing clocks. They can’t agree on what to replace DST with. Some want permanent standard time, some want permanent daylight saving time, and some want to first resolve the state’s split between the Eastern and Central time zones. That disagreement has stalled every bill so far.
What Federal Law Lets Indiana Do
Indiana’s choices are boxed in by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Under federal law, a state can exempt itself from daylight saving time, or exempt only the portion of the state within one time zone if it spans more than one. Opting out means staying on standard time. A state cannot adopt permanent daylight saving time on its own.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 260a – Advancement of Time or Changeover Dates
Because Indiana crosses both Eastern and Central zones, the legislature could exempt the whole state or just the counties in one zone. Any exemption locks those areas into standard time. Permanent DST is not something Indiana can choose for itself.
Congress Would Have to Act for Permanent DST
The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide, was reintroduced in the U.S. House as H.R. 139 in January 2025. It was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and has not advanced.6Congress.gov. H.R.139 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 A previous version passed the Senate unanimously in 2022 but died in the House. Until Congress moves, permanent DST is off the table for every state, Indiana included.
Moving the Time Zone Line Is a Separate Process
Some Indiana proposals have paired a DST exemption with a petition to move the entire state into a single time zone. That is a different track from opting out. The highest local political authority in an area, typically a county board of commissioners, must file a formal request with the Secretary of Transportation, along with documentation showing the change would serve the “convenience of commerce.” The DOT then issues a proposed rule, holds a public hearing in the affected community, and allows roughly two months for comments. A county-level time zone change typically takes six months to a year.7U.S. Department of Transportation. Procedure for Moving an Area from One Time Zone to Another
What Would Change if Indiana Opted Out
If a DST exemption ever passes, the practical effect depends on which framework the legislature picks. Under the simplest version, the 80 Eastern Time counties would stay on Eastern Standard Time year-round, matching current winter time, and the 12 Central Time counties in the northwest and southwest corners would stay on Central Standard Time.8IN.gov. Indiana Time Zone Information Indiana would never change clocks again.
The tradeoff sits in the summer months. Indianapolis, for example, would be an hour behind New York from March through November and aligned with Chicago instead. That shift complicates business ties with East Coast partners while strengthening ones to the Midwest. The same tension has driven Indiana’s time debates for a hundred years, and it is the main reason these bills keep failing despite broad public frustration with the clock change.
Hawaii and most of Arizona already skip daylight saving time under the same federal exemption Indiana would use.3U.S. Department of Transportation. Daylight Saving Time Neither has reported major economic fallout, though both have geographic and economic profiles quite different from Indiana’s.
Bottom Line for 2026
Indiana is still on the current schedule. Clocks spring forward at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2026, and fall back at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026.9Time and Date. Time Change 2026 in Indiana HB 1151 could change that if it advances, but no bill to end daylight saving time in Indiana has passed the General Assembly, and the state’s split between two time zones has repeatedly kept these proposals from getting across the finish line.