Central America Time Zones
Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama — offsets, no DST, and US/Mexico scheduling.
Most Central American countries use **UTC-6** or **UTC-5** with **no daylight saving**. Panama (America/Panama) is fixed UTC-5; Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador are typically UTC-6. Cross-border work with Mexico or the US needs per-city IANA checks.
Main IANA zones
- America/Guatemala — Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica (UTC-6)
- America/Panama — Panama (UTC-5)
- America/Belize — Belize (UTC-6)
Vs North America
- Costa Rica UTC-6 vs Chicago: aligned in US standard time; 1 hour gap during US DST
- Panama UTC-5 vs New York: aligned in standard time; 1 hour gap during US DST
- Name cities for maquiladora schedules; see Mexico Time Zones Guide, United States Time Zones Guide
- Use Convert with meeting date
See Brazil Time Zones Guide; DST Guide for policy context; Guides.