COT — Colombia Time
COT is Colombia Time, -05:00, used in South America. In code, use America/Bogota rather than the abbreviation.
Colombia Time · South America
19:26:05
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
- abbreviation denotes
- -05:00
- in force right now
- UTC-05:00 (UTC-05:00)
- use in code
- America/Bogota
- next clock change
- none — fixed offset
Right now this zone is on UTC-05:00, not COT —
they are the same place at different times of year.
Use the IANA name, not the abbreviation
Python
from datetime import datetime
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
# right: an IANA zone carries the full history of rule changes
now = datetime.now(ZoneInfo("America/Bogota"))
print(now.isoformat(), now.tzname())
# wrong: an abbreviation is not resolvable, and a hard-coded offset
# silently rots the next time the rules change
# now = datetime.now(timezone(timedelta(hours=...))) # don'tCOT questions
What does COT stand for?
COT is Colombia Time, -05:00, used in South America. The IANA zone to use in code is America/Bogota.
What time is it in COT right now?
Colombia Time: 19:26 on Wednesday (UTC-05:00).
Which IANA timezone should I use instead of COT?
America/Bogota for Colombia Time. Date libraries cannot resolve bare abbreviations, and an abbreviation carries no daylight-saving history, so a stored offset silently rots when a government changes the rules.
Why does my computer show UTC-05:00 instead of COT?
Because America/Bogota is currently on UTC-05:00 (UTC-05:00), its daylight-saving variant. COT (-05:00) applies during the other half of the year. Both names refer to the same place, one hour apart.