How to Convert Timezones in Snowflake

Last updated July 25, 2026 · By the SaturnSQL team

Use CONVERT_TIMEZONE. The two-argument form CONVERT_TIMEZONE(target_tz, ts) converts a timezone-aware timestamp; the three-argument form CONVERT_TIMEZONE(source_tz, target_tz, ts) is for TIMESTAMP_NTZ values, whose zone must be stated explicitly.

Timestamp with timezone (2 args)

SELECT CONVERT_TIMEZONE('Europe/Helsinki', created_at)
FROM orders; -- created_at is TIMESTAMP_TZ or LTZ

TIMESTAMP_NTZ needs a source zone (3 args)

TIMESTAMP_NTZ stores no zone, so tell Snowflake what zone the values represent. The result is also TIMESTAMP_NTZ.

SELECT CONVERT_TIMEZONE('UTC', 'America/New_York', event_time)
FROM events;

The session parameter TIMEZONE controls how CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() and TIMESTAMP_LTZ values display; change it with ALTER SESSION SET TIMEZONE = 'UTC'.

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