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NIST Works For You

Precision Time for All — Internet Version

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Andrew Novick poses leaning on a rack of servers and other electrical equipment.
NIST researcher Andrew Novick stands next to racks of frequency measurement equipment in his lab at NIST’s campus in Boulder, Colorado. On New Year’s Eve, he’ll be keeping an extra close eye on time.gov, the source to see current, official time throughout the U.S.
Credit: R. Wilson/NIST

In our connected world, information systems must agree on at least one thing to operate properly: the time. This is particularly useful for network-distributed applications such as the Internet of Things and for tracing failures in communications networks. 

NIST provides official U.S. time over the internet so that users and customers can have a traceable, unbiased reference. The best part is that a time request is quick, easy and free for everyone. 

No wonder the NIST Network Time Service receives approximately 1 million web requests per second, which makes it the most requested service provided by the U.S. government. 

Users of the NIST Network Time Service include many financial institutions and federal departments, including the Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Health and Human Services and the State Department. Additionally, at least 16 state governments use the time service for general government operations.

Learn more about the Internet Time Service

 

Physics and Time and frequency
Created March 17, 2025, Updated March 20, 2025