| Known Issue ID | FMEENGINE-99737 |
| Feature | DateTimeStamper Transformer, DateTimeCalculator Transformer, Date/Time Functions |
| Product | FME Form, FME Flow |
| Versions Affected | 2026.3.1 and prior |
| Status | Workaround |
Issue
On Windows machines set to one of the new Canadian time zones, the DateTimeStamper, DateTimeCalculator, and FME date and time functions do not recognize the time zone, and workspaces that use them may fail. This applies to workspaces run in FME Form and to jobs run on FME Flow.
The error depends on the FME version. For example, with the DateTimeStamper:
- FME 2017.1:
DateTimeStamper: Failed to load timezone data. Please visit http://www.safe.com/support - FME 2018.0 to 2025.x:
DateTimeStamper: Failed to load timezone data. current_zone() failed: A mapping from the Windows Time Zone id "British Columbia Standard Time" was not found in the time zone mapping database.. Please visit http://www.safe.com/support - FME 2026.1 and later, including 2026.3.x:
DateTimeStamper: Failed to load timezone data. DateTimeStamper. Please visit http://www.safe.com/support
Cause
British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Manitoba will not set clocks back on November 1, 2026, and will stay on permanent year-round time:
- British Columbia (most of the province): UTC-7
- Alberta, and aligned locations in the NWT and southeastern BC: UTC-6
- Manitoba: UTC-5
Microsoft released Windows updates that add new Canadian time zones for these regions, and the operating system now uses them: (UTC-07:00) Pacific Time (British Columbia), (UTC-06:00) Mountain Time (Alberta), and (UTC-05:00) Manitoba.
The date and time libraries in FME do not yet understand the new Windows time zones, so they cannot map them to the correct rules.
Workaround
Until the hotfix is available, you can use one of the following workarounds.
Workaround 1: Use an Interim Time Zone
Set the machine to an existing Windows time zone with the correct offset as an interim solution, and switch to the new regional time zone once FME supports it.
1. Open Date & Time Settings
In Windows, open Settings > Time & language > Date & time.
2. Turn Off Set Time Zone Automatically
Turn off Set time zone automatically, if it is enabled.
3. Select the Interim Time Zone
As of October 8, 2026, Microsoft's interim guidance (British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba) recommends:
- Most of British Columbia: (UTC-07:00) Yukon
- Alberta and aligned locations: (UTC-06:00) Saskatchewan
- Manitoba: (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada), with Adjust for daylight saving time automatically turned off
Microsoft describes these as temporary choices: they give the right UTC offset, but their names, geographic mappings, and historical rules differ, so they are not permanent replacements.
If you change the time zone on the machine running FME Flow, FME Flow also needs a restart and every time-of-day schedule refreshed. See Known Issue: FME Flow Schedules Run Late After Canadian Time Change.
Workaround 2: Update FME's Time Zone Database
FME includes a database of time zones used for the date/time operations in your workspaces. It is a combination of files from two open sources, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and Unicode, so you can update it without installing a new version of FME.
Close all FME programs and translations first. You need administrator rights.
Licensing and support. The changes in this article are authorized by Safe Software and do not affect your license under the FME Software License Agreement or your support entitlement, provided you follow the steps as written and keep a copy of the original files (Step 2). The time zone data comes from IANA and Unicode, and you download it directly from them.
1. Find the Time Zone Folder
- FME Form:
<FME Form installation folder>\datetime\tzdata - FME Flow:
<FME Flow installation folder>\Server\fme\datetime\tzdata(by defaultC:\Program Files\FMEFlow\Server\fme\datetime\tzdata), on every machine that runs FME Flow Engines. Stop the FME Flow Engines service first.
2. Back Up the Existing Folder
Rename the tzdata folder to tzdata_old, then create a new, empty tzdata folder in the same place.
3. Download and Extract the Time Zone Data
In a browser, download tzdata2026e.tar.gz from IANA and extract it:
- On Windows 11 version 24H2 or later, right-click the .tar.gz file and choose Extract All.
- Otherwise, use 7-Zip. This may take two steps: the .tar.gz extracts to a .tar, then extract that.
Copy the contents of the extracted folder (not the folder itself) into the new tzdata folder.
The files must be directly inside tzdata. A subfolder does not work, and FME will still fail with "Failed to load timezone data".
4. Download the Windows Time Zone Mapping File
In a browser, download windowsZones.xml from Unicode and save it directly into the new tzdata folder.
5. Restart FME
FME Form: open FME Workbench again. FME Flow: start the FME Flow Engines service again.
6. Test the Update
In FME Workbench, use an AttributeCreator to set an attribute to @TimeZoneSet(20261102200000+00:00,local). The result should be:
- British Columbia:
20261102130000-07:00 - Alberta:
20261102140000-06:00 - Manitoba:
20261102150000-05:00
To Undo the Change
Close FME (or stop the FME Flow Engines service), delete the new tzdata folder, and rename tzdata_old back to tzdata.
Alternative for Administrators: Command Prompt
If you need to update multiple machines, you can run these commands in a Command Prompt opened as administrator (click Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator). These steps update the time zone data for FME 2017.0 and later on Windows. If FME isn't installed in C:\Program Files\FME, change the first line to the folder that contains fme.exe. For FME Flow, use <FME Flow installation folder>\Server\fme and stop the FME Flow Engines service first.
Provided as is, without warranty; test before production use.
set "FMEDIR=C:\Program Files\FME"
set "DL=%USERPROFILE%\Downloads"
"%SystemRoot%\System32\curl.exe" -L -o "%DL%\tzdata2026e.tar.gz" https://data.iana.org/time-zones/releases/tzdata2026e.tar.gz
"%SystemRoot%\System32\curl.exe" -L -o "%DL%\windowsZones.xml" https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicode-org/cldr/release-49/common/supplemental/windowsZones.xml
cd /d "%FMEDIR%\datetime"
ren tzdata tzdata_old
mkdir tzdata
"%SystemRoot%\System32\tar.exe" -xzf "%DL%\tzdata2026e.tar.gz" -C tzdata
copy "%DL%\windowsZones.xml" tzdata\
type tzdata\versionThe last command should print 2026e. Repeat for each FME installation. To undo, run the following with FMEDIR set as above:
cd /d "%FMEDIR%\datetime"
rmdir /s /q tzdata
ren tzdata_old tzdata
If You Use Python in Your Workspaces
This update is only needed if your workspaces use Python, for example in a PythonCaller. To correspond to IANA 2026e (includes Manitoba), upgrade these Python libraries:
- pytz 2026.5 or later: pytz on PyPI
- tzdata 2026.5 or later: tzdata on PyPI
1. Install the Python Libraries
fme.exe python -m pip install pytzfme.exe python -m pip install tzdata
This will create new folders:
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\FME\Plugins\Python\python3*\pytz\%USERPROFILE%\Documents\FME\Plugins\Python\python3*\pytz-2026.5.dist-info\%USERPROFILE%\Documents\FME\Plugins\Python\python3*\tzdata\%USERPROFILE%\Documents\FME\Plugins\Python\python3*\tzdata-2026.5.dist-info\
2. Copy the Python Folders into FME
Back up the same folders from FME_HOME\python\, then copy the new folders and all their content into FME_HOME\python\.
Where possible, store and exchange date and time values in UTC or with an explicit offset.
Resolution
This issue has a workaround. A hotfix will be available soon. This article will be updated when it is released.
FME 2026.3.1 already includes the Python update for British Columbia, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories.
Related Issues
- SharePointOnlineConnector: can fail on startup with a time zone error when Windows is set to (UTC-07:00) Pacific Time (British Columbia). Fixed in the SharePoint Online package v1.17.1 on FME Hub. (FMEENGINE-99701)
- Elasticsearch reader: when it converts date fields using a date pattern that includes a time, converted times in British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Manitoba would be off by one hour during winter, starting November 1, 2026. Planned for FME 2026.4. (FMEFORM-38773)
- FME Flow schedules and automations: see Known Issue: FME Flow Schedules Run Late After Canadian Time Change.