On the first Sunday in November, millions of Americans will shift their clocks back one hour as daylight saving time ends for 2025. In most of the United States that transition occurs at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 2, a twice-yearly ritual that restores standard time until the spring "spring forward" change.

The timing follows long-standing federal practice: since the Uniform Time Act was adopted decades ago, daylight saving time has begun in spring and ended on the first Sunday of November in the fall, subject to later congressional amendments that set specific start and end dates. Unless federal law changes, that pattern continues year to year, and the Nov. 2 reversion to standard time will proceed as scheduled.

Talk of making the change permanent has returned to the national conversation. Officials have indicated that ending the clock shifts indefinitely would require federal legislation and executive action. The change will not be permanent, administration and policy observers say, unless President Donald Trump officially follows through on proposals to end daylight saving time. That framing underscores the constitutional and institutional reality: Congress must pass a statute altering the nationwide dates or eliminating the practice, and the president must sign such a bill into law for permanence to take effect.

States have limited options under current law. A state legislature can choose to remain on standard time year-round without federal approval, but moving permanently to daylight saving time typically requires congressional authorization. That distinction has produced a patchwork of approaches in the past, with some states and territories already exempting themselves from daylight saving time and others seeking federal changes to avoid the biannual switch.

The policy debate is practical and partisan-neutral in its stakes. Advocates for permanent daylight saving time argue that longer evening daylight benefits commerce, recreation and certain public safety metrics. Opponents and some public health experts caution that later sunrises in winter could disrupt sleep cycles, school start times and morning commutes, with knock-on effects for workplace productivity and road safety. For civic institutions, the timing of any permanent change matters for election administration, polling place logistics and voter outreach, particularly in states that conduct early morning voting.

For voters and civic groups, the immediate task is simple: prepare for the Nov. 2 shift. The return to standard time affects scheduling for transportation, broadcast programming, business hours and the start times of public meetings. Election officials and civic organizations should account for time changes when planning outreach and services in early November.

Looking forward, permanence will hinge on a political decision at the federal level. Until Congress and the president agree to alter the statute that governs timekeeping, the United States will continue to observe the twice-yearly clock changes that have shaped daily life and institutional calendars for generations. Public engagement, legislative proposals and state-level initiatives will determine whether that practice endures or is finally set aside.