Guide
How to Read Conference Deadlines: AoE, PT, UTC and Beijing Time
AoE is UTC−12: a deadline at 23:59 AoE is 11:59 UTC the next day. A conversion table for the time zones conferences use, the 2026–2027 daylight-saving dates in the US and Europe, and what to do with a date alone, “midnight” or no time zone.
Last updated:What AoE means
AoE (Anywhere on Earth) is UTC−12, the last time zone on Earth to finish a day. A deadline of “November 16, 23:59 AoE” has not passed as long as it is still November 16 anywhere on Earth.
In UTC that is 11:59 the next day, and in Beijing (UTC+8) 19:59 the next day. AoE has no daylight-saving time, so the conversion holds all year.
Common deadline time zones
| Deadline as written | Offset from UTC | UTC | Beijing time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23:59 AoE | UTC−12 | 11:59 next day | 19:59 next day |
| 23:59 PST (US Pacific standard time) | UTC−8 | 07:59 next day | 15:59 next day |
| 23:59 PDT (US Pacific daylight time) | UTC−7 | 06:59 next day | 14:59 next day |
| 23:59 EST (US Eastern standard time) | UTC−5 | 04:59 next day | 12:59 next day |
| 23:59 EDT (US Eastern daylight time) | UTC−4 | 03:59 next day | 11:59 next day |
| 23:59 UTC / GMT | UTC±0 | 23:59 same day | 07:59 next day |
| 23:59 CET (Central European time) | UTC+1 | 22:59 same day | 06:59 next day |
| 23:59 CEST (Central European summer time) | UTC+2 | 21:59 same day | 05:59 next day |
| 23:59 JST / KST (Japan, Korea) | UTC+9 | 14:59 same day | 22:59 same day |
The table uses 23:59; other times shift by the same offsets. Some conferences set their deadline at 5 pm Pacific time (17:00 PT): that is 01:00 UTC the next day in PST, or 00:00 UTC the next day in PDT.
Daylight-saving time: the usual one-hour slip
US daylight-saving time runs from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November: March 8 to November 1 in 2026, March 14 to November 7 in 2027. Europe's runs from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October: March 29 to October 25 in 2026, March 28 to October 31 in 2027. China has none.
When a conference writes only “PT” or “Pacific Time”, check whether the US is on daylight-saving time on the deadline day: PDT (UTC−7) between those dates, PST (UTC−8) otherwise. A mid-November deadline is in PST, since daylight-saving time ended in early November. This site converts PT by the rule of the deadline day.
Cases that trip people up
A date without a time: most conferences mean the end of that day, but the call for papers decides.
12:00 AM and midnight: 12:00 AM is the start of the day, not noon. “Midnight on November 16” may mean the start or the end of November 16; when unsure, plan for the earlier.
No time zone at all: this site says “time zone not given” and shows the date alone. The safe reading is the first time zone to finish the day, UTC+14: submit before 09:59 UTC (17:59 in Beijing) that day, or ask the conference.
Abstract registration: many conferences want the title and abstract a few days before the full paper, and a paper without one cannot be submitted. Convert both deadlines.
How this site shows deadlines
English pages give each deadline in the conference's own time zone, with UTC beside it; Chinese pages give Beijing time with the conference's own time.
A deadline that matches the conference website is marked “Checked on the website”, with the website's words; one from the ccf-deadlines community project that has not been checked yet is marked “Community data · unverified”. Check the conference website before you submit.