diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index cb7965d094..b3d55c4616 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -342,6 +342,9 @@ typing = "t"
 fixture-parentheses = false
 parametrize-names-type = "csv"
 
+[tool.ruff.lint.flake8-tidy-imports.banned-api]
+"pendulum".msg = "BAN002: pendulum is banned"
+
 [tool.ruff.lint.isort]
 known-first-party = ["singer_sdk", "samples", "tests"]
 required-imports = ["from __future__ import annotations"]
diff --git a/singer_sdk/authenticators.py b/singer_sdk/authenticators.py
index d31ab1deeb..03ca320671 100644
--- a/singer_sdk/authenticators.py
+++ b/singer_sdk/authenticators.py
@@ -17,10 +17,9 @@
 from singer_sdk.helpers._util import utc_now
 
 if t.TYPE_CHECKING:
+    import datetime
     import logging
 
-    from pendulum import DateTime
-
     from singer_sdk.streams.rest import RESTStream
 
 
@@ -380,7 +379,7 @@ def __init__(
         # Initialize internal tracking attributes
         self.access_token: str | None = None
         self.refresh_token: str | None = None
-        self.last_refreshed: DateTime | None = None
+        self.last_refreshed: datetime.datetime | None = None
         self.expires_in: int | None = None
 
     @property
diff --git a/singer_sdk/helpers/_util.py b/singer_sdk/helpers/_util.py
index d0079c40d9..ca52c4460a 100644
--- a/singer_sdk/helpers/_util.py
+++ b/singer_sdk/helpers/_util.py
@@ -2,12 +2,11 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import datetime
 import json
 import typing as t
 from pathlib import Path, PurePath
 
-import pendulum
-
 
 def read_json_file(path: PurePath | str) -> dict[str, t.Any]:
     """Read json file, throwing an error if missing."""
@@ -25,6 +24,6 @@ def read_json_file(path: PurePath | str) -> dict[str, t.Any]:
     return t.cast(dict, json.loads(Path(path).read_text()))
 
 
-def utc_now() -> pendulum.DateTime:
+def utc_now() -> datetime.datetime:
     """Return current time in UTC."""
-    return pendulum.now(tz="UTC")
+    return datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc)
diff --git a/singer_sdk/sinks/sql.py b/singer_sdk/sinks/sql.py
index eb6dcfef66..1644bef5bc 100644
--- a/singer_sdk/sinks/sql.py
+++ b/singer_sdk/sinks/sql.py
@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@
 from textwrap import dedent
 
 import sqlalchemy as sa
-from pendulum import now
 from sqlalchemy.sql.expression import bindparam
 
 from singer_sdk.connectors import SQLConnector
 from singer_sdk.exceptions import ConformedNameClashException
 from singer_sdk.helpers._conformers import replace_leading_digit
+from singer_sdk.helpers._util import utc_now
 from singer_sdk.sinks.batch import BatchSink
 
 if t.TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ def activate_version(self, new_version: int) -> None:
         if not self.connector.table_exists(self.full_table_name):
             return
 
-        deleted_at = now()
+        deleted_at = utc_now()
 
         if not self.connector.column_exists(
             full_table_name=self.full_table_name,