Marrakech is now on GMT: what the permanent clock change means

In brief: Marrakech now uses GMT/UTC+0 as its legal local time. If you booked transport or manually entered appointments before the 20 September change, check the current local time shown by the operator or venue.

What changed — and when

Decree No. 2.26.530, adopted on 25 June 2026 and published in Morocco’s Official Bulletin on 29 June, set the change precisely: at 2:00am on Sunday, 20 September, clocks were delayed by 60 minutes and the Kingdom returned to Greenwich Mean Time. The decree also repealed the 2018 measure that had kept Morocco on GMT+1 for most of the year. That makes this different from the familiar Ramadan clock adjustment: GMT is now Morocco’s legal time going forward unless a later law changes it.

What that means in Marrakech today

For anyone in Marrakech, the practical rule is simple: local civil time is now GMT, equivalent to UTC+0. A meeting listed for 10am in Marrakech still happens at 10am local time; the change is in the relationship between Morocco and other time zones. The sun also rises and sets roughly an hour earlier by the clock than it did under GMT+1. Businesses, attractions, tours and restaurants generally continue to publish their hours in local Marrakech time.

Flights, trains and airport transfers: check the local time on the booking

The highest-risk mistakes are around transport. Flight, train and coach tickets show local departure and arrival times, so travellers with an itinerary created before 20 September should make sure their phone, airline app, calendar and any manually entered reminders now agree. This matters most for early departures, airport pickups and tight connections. If your confirmation was generated before the change, do not “correct” the printed local departure time yourself; instead verify the current booking in the airline, ONCF or operator system.

Phones usually update automatically — manually set devices may not

Modern phones and laptops should pick up the Morocco time-zone change automatically if their operating-system time-zone data is current and automatic time is enabled. Older devices, offline travel clocks, cameras, car dashboards and phones set to a fixed GMT+1 offset may remain one hour fast. The safest setting is a named Morocco/Casablanca time zone rather than a permanent “UTC+1” offset. Calendar invitations created in a real time zone should normally recalculate correctly; appointments entered as fixed text deserve a second look.

Residents: work, school and appointments now run on the new legal time

The change affects ordinary daily schedules rather than cancelling or shifting them. Workplaces, schools, medical appointments and government services continue to use the stated local clock time after the switch. Morocco’s Education Ministry had already set 8:00am as the standard school start following the return to legal time for the 2026–27 year. Families and workers may notice brighter mornings and earlier evening darkness by the clock, which was one of the practical issues behind years of debate over GMT+1.

International calls and remote work need extra attention this autumn

The gap between Marrakech and Europe is not fixed year-round because many European countries still change clocks seasonally. That means a recurring call that previously felt “the same time every week” can shift relative to Marrakech when Europe changes its own clocks. Remote workers should keep meetings attached to named time zones in Google Calendar, Outlook or similar software and avoid writing only “GMT+1” in notes. For long-haul travellers, the same principle applies: use the city time zone, not a remembered offset.

The practical takeaway

This is a small change with a big capacity to create one-hour mistakes. If you are in Marrakech now, use GMT/UTC+0 as the local reference, let connected devices update automatically, and re-check anything time-critical that was booked or manually calendared before 20 September. The legal change itself is settled; the sensible task for travellers and residents is simply to make sure every clock and booking system they rely on has caught up.

Sources and verification

This report was checked against the legal decree and current reporting on 21 September 2026. Times above are local unless stated otherwise.

• Morocco Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform legal database — Decree No. 2.26.530
• Hespress English — Morocco returns to GMT on September 20
• Le360 — Morocco turns back the clock on eight years of GMT+1
• Timeanddate — 2026 time change in Marrakech

Cheers, Carpe Diem & may your clocks and connections agree! 🍻⏳🕰️
TATS Man
Independent Marrakech travel editor