---
sourceDocument: Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Administration

ft:clusterId :

    - platadm

bundleId :

    - platadm

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Time zones

# Time zones {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read

All times are stored in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and appear globally based on
the system time zone. However, times appear to users in their local time zone, according to
their user preference settings.

## Time zone representation

Time zones that have the Country/City format are primary time zone IDs. Other time zone IDs are links to the primary time zone.

* For example, US/Pacific is a link to the America/Los_Angeles time zone. Both America/Los_Angeles and US/Pacific represent Pacific Standard Time with the same zone offset and Daylight Savings Time (DST) schedule.
* Other than the representation, there is no impact on date and time functionality.
{#r_TimeZones__ul_g55_sdy_jjb}  
In the absence of a default time zone for the user or the system, JVM reads default time zone information from the server.

* Depending on how the server is configured, it might return the Country/City or link, for example, US/Pacific or America/Los_Angeles.
* Administrators should configure their system with a default time zone `glide.sys.default.tz` to avoid system dependencies. For more information, see [Time zone representation](https://support.servicenow.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0594661).
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## Daylight Saving Time

In general, if you specify a time zone based on location (for example, America/Los Angeles), the system automatically adjusts for daylight saving time.

* If you specify a time zone based on the time zone name (for example, GMT), which is discouraged, it does not typically adjust for daylight saving time. There are however exceptions to these guidelines.
* For more detailed information on how daylight saving time is handled in Java, see <https://www.iana.org/time-zones> and <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tz_database>.
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## User preferences

Once the System Time Zone is defined, users can also select their own time zone from their user form, accessed through Self-ServiceMy Profile.  
Note:  
The System default appears as System (\[name of the default time zone\]). For example, if the System time zone is
America/Los_Angeles, the user sees System (America/Los Angeles).

## Java time zone class {#r_TimeZones__section_fd1_q1l_43b}

The ServiceNow AI Platform supports all Java time zone class time zones. To view a listing of these time zones:

1. In the Type filter text field, enter <kbd class="ph userinput">sys_user.list</kbd>.
2. Open one of the user records in the listing.
3. Right-click the time zone field and select Show Choices.

   The resulting list is a complete listing of available time zone
   IDs.
{#r_TimeZones__ol_rfs_1bl_43b}

## Time zones in email notifications

The date and time stamp of a notification uses the system time zone and not the time zone of any recipient.  
Note:  
The glide.email.append.timezone property in System PropertiesEmail controls whether to append the time zone. If set to true, the system time
zone of the instance is appended to any dates or date/times in outbound email messages
(for example, 2010-07-02 04:01:14 PST).

## Time zones in service level agreements

Service level agreements have different options for which time zone to use. To set a time-zone for SLAs, navigate to the SLA definition and locate the Timezone source field, and select an option.  
Some special considerations:

* If you select the time zone for the caller, unpredictable behavior can occur if the caller does not have a time zone defined.
* If you select the time zone for the SLA definition, you must manual specify the time zone on the form for the SLA.
{#r_TimeZones__ul_u2v_lxf_44}

## Time zone in scripting

When you create scripting on the server, the script uses several
GlideSystem date and time functions to obtain time values. For more
information about specific methods and to learn the format in which each returns the
requested time, see the
[GlideSystem API](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=c_GlideSystemScopedAPI&version=australia&pubname=australia-api-reference&ft:locale=en-US).

## Enhancements

DST enhancement requires that reports and queries observe Daylight Saving Time rules.
Changes affect trend charts, line charts, and filters using the "trend on" operation.

## Time zone changer

The time zone changer is active by default. Users can change their time zone for the
current session in the system settings (the gear on the top right of the banner). At the
next login, the time zone setting reverts to the system default, or user profile setting for
time zone.
**Related tasks**   

* [Set a system time zone](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/e3Vt9r9Qg2iDgvAZaHse6g "Set your system time zone with a system property.")
* [Change the time zone choice list](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/BrJZyoNkJ6c9YleaPhPVOg "Wherever users have a choice of time zone, the choices are populated using the Time Zone choice list on the User [sys_user] table. Not all time zones appear by default.")
* [Change a time zone in a scheduled report](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nFnWpekzpfY_yR~r7AfBaA "By default, scheduled reports use the time zone of the user who runs them (the user in the Run As field) to evaluate the query parameters. You are able to change this time zone.")
* [Change a time zone in a scheduled data import](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/JYUqYBTyRwTBTvDyo08dGg "By default, scheduled data imports are run using the time zone of the user who creates them. However, there is a way to manually specify the time zone for the import.")

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