diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index a9a1ca2..77f682e 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ services:
       - ENVIRONMENT=production
       - SLMM_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:8100
       - SFM_BASE_URL=http://sfm:8200
+      # Display timezone for server logs + any text-rendered timestamps.
+      # DB columns are stored UTC regardless; this only affects what
+      # operators see.  Override here for non-US-East deployments.
+      - TZ=America/New_York
     restart: unless-stopped
     depends_on:
       - slmm
@@ -59,6 +63,10 @@ services:
     environment:
       - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
       - PORT=8200
+      # Display timezone — affects server log timestamps, the PDF
+      # report renderer's UTC→local conversions, and matplotlib's
+      # datetime axes.  DB columns (created_at etc.) are always UTC.
+      - TZ=America/New_York
     restart: unless-stopped
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8200/health"]