Which time zone does Zendesk use?

Question

Which time zone does my Zendesk account use?

Answer

Timestamps appear in different time zones across your Zendesk account. This depends on your settings.

Time zone for tickets

Ticket timestamps use the time zone on your user profile. Each user on the account can have a different time zone. By default, all user profiles use the primary Zendesk account time zone.

To view or update the primary account time zone:

In Admin Center, click the Account icon () in the side panel

Go to Appearance > Localization

Under Time zone and format > Account time zone, select a time zone

To view or update a user profile time zone:

Click the Search icon () in the upper right of the top toolbar

Enter the user name or email address

Click Users to filter the results

Choose a user from the list

In the side panel, update the Time zone field.

Time zone for voice calls

You can see voice call timestamps in three places. Each place uses a different time zone rule.

Recorded call timestamps

Timestamps on a ticket reflect the time zone of the device used by the agent or admin who answered the call. These timestamps are hard-coded and cannot be edited.

Inbound call timestamps

When an agent receives a call, Zendesk Support creates a ticket with an internal note that shows the call details. The Time of call in this note uses the UTC time zone.

Usage charges timestamps

Timestamps on the Usage charges page appear in Pacific Standard Time (PST).

Time zone for chat

Chat uses UTC, local time, or the account time zone. The rules below show which time zone each feature uses:

Chat transcripts in tickets use the UTC time zone.

The account time zone applies to operating hours and the Analytics page. To set the Chat account time zone, see How do I set the Chat dashboard timezone?

Timestamps on the History page and in individual chats use local time. Local time comes from the system time on the agent device in use.

The website analytics on the Home dashboard shows statistics in UTC.

The CSV export file uses UTC as well.

API timestamps

Timestamps in the API use UTC and follow ISO 8601. For example: 2015-04-16T09:14:57Z.

Some endpoints use Unix time, also called Epoch or POSIX time. For example: 1455821369. For more information, see Zendesk Core API.

End user portal

Timestamps in the help center customer portal use the time zone on the device or operating system that the end user uses to view the ticket. The timestamp updates automatically based on the device time zone.

Web widget

The Web Widget timestamp reflects the end user browser timezone.

Workforce management (WFM)

Timestamps in workforce management use the time zone on the device or operating system of your user profile. Shift times automatically adjust for agent timezones. Cross-timezone teams see shifts in their own local time.

For more information on daylight savings time and dashboard deliveries, see How does Zendesk account for daylight savings time?