MT5 server time does not match my local time

Causes, most likely first

1. Charts and session settings always use server time

The candle timestamps, the session filter and everything else time-based inside MetaTrader use the broker's clock. Find the current server time in Market Watch — the Tick tab, or the clock shown above the symbol list — and compute the offset from your own once, then write it down.

2. The server observes daylight saving and you do not, or vice versa

Many brokers shift with US or European daylight saving, so an offset that was correct in January is wrong in July. Any hard-coded conversion will silently drift by an hour twice a year.

3. You are comparing against the broker's stated headquarters time zone

The server time zone is a property of the trading server, not of the company. It is frequently GMT+2 or GMT+3 regardless of where the broker is based, and the only reliable source is the terminal itself.

Why this happens

Nearly every "my EA traded at the wrong time" report reduces to this. A session window of 06:00 to 21:00 means server hours, which on a GMT+3 server is 03:00 to 18:00 UTC and something else again wherever you are.

It also matters for prop firm rules. The daily drawdown reset happens at the firm's server midnight, which may differ from both your local midnight and your broker's — three clocks, all relevant, none matching.

The practical habit is to do all reasoning in server time and convert only when talking to a human. Mixing frames is how a filter that looks correct in configuration turns out to be blocking the session you meant to trade.