Military Time Converter: 12-Hour to 24-Hour

How to use the converter

There is one box. The converter recognizes the format on its own:

12-hour times: 2:30 PM, 2:30pm, 2 PM, 7:05 a.m., 1159pm or even 8 a. Upper or lower case and periods don't matter.
24-hour and military times: 14:30, 1430, 0930, 930, a bare hour such as 7, or with a suffix such as 1800 hours or 21:00 hrs.

The Format detected line tells you how your entry was read. A bare number like 7 is read as 24-hour time (0700). For 7 in the evening, type 7 PM or 19.

How the conversion works

Military time numbers the hours of the day from 00 to 23 and writes the time as four digits with no colon: 0000 to 2359.

AM hours: 1:00 AM to 11:59 AM keep their number with a leading zero where needed: 7:05 AM → 0705.
PM hours: add 12 to the hour: 2:30 PM → 1430.
The two 12s: 12:xx AM becomes 00xx (12:45 AM → 0045), and 12:xx PM stays 12xx (12:01 PM → 1201).
Back to 12-hour time: from 1300 to 2359 subtract 12 and add PM. From 0000 to 0059 the hour is 12 AM.

The spoken form follows common US usage: the hours are said as one number and the minutes as another, a leading zero is said as zero, and on the hour you say hundred. So 0800 is zero eight hundred hours, 1405 is fourteen zero five hours and 0000 is zero hundred hours. Some speakers say oh instead of zero or leave out hours. No single rule covers every service or workplace.

Worked examples

You type	Military	12-hour	Spoken	Minutes after midnight
2:30 PM	1430	2:30 PM	fourteen thirty hours	870
7:05 a.m.	0705	7:05 AM	zero seven zero five hours	425
12:45 AM	0045	12:45 AM	zero zero forty-five hours	45
1945	1945	7:45 PM	nineteen forty-five hours	1,185
1800 hours	1800	6:00 PM	eighteen hundred hours	1,080

Minutes after midnight make time math easier. A shift from 0705 to 1430 lasts 870 − 425 = 445 minutes, or 7 hours 25 minutes. For full shift totals with breaks and overtime, use the time card calculator.

Midnight, noon and 2400

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) calls 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. ambiguous and suggests 0000 for midnight at the start of a day and 2400 for the end of a day. This converter covers 0000 to 2359 only. It shows midnight as 0000 and follows the common convention that 12 AM is midnight and 12 PM is noon. If a schedule says 2400, read it as the very end of that day, which is 0000 of the next.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert military time to regular time?

If the first two digits are 13 or more, subtract 12 and add PM: 1945 becomes 7:45 PM. From 0100 to 1159 the hour stays the same and is AM, and 1200 to 1259 is PM. From 0000 to 0059 the hour is 12 AM: 0030 is 12:30 AM.

Is midnight 0000 or 2400?

Both are in use. 0000 starts a day and 2400 ends one, so 2400 on Monday is the same moment as 0000 on Tuesday. This converter accepts 0000 to 2359 and rejects 2400 to avoid mixing up the two days.

Why is 13:00 PM an error?

A time is either 12-hour with AM or PM, or 24-hour without them. 13:00 PM mixes the two, and 0 AM doesn't exist on a 12-hour clock. Words such as noon aren't accepted either: type 12 PM or 1200.

Do you say hours after military time?

Often, yes: fourteen thirty hours. In casual speech many people drop it and just say fourteen thirty. The spoken line here shows the full form.

What is Zulu time?

Zulu time, written with a Z, is the military name for Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), according to NOAA. It is the same 24-hour clock everywhere and doesn't change for daylight saving time. This converter doesn't change time zones. It only switches between the 12-hour and 24-hour formats of the same local time.

Is military time the same as the 24-hour clock?

The hours are the same. Military time is usually written as four digits with no colon (1430), while the civilian 24-hour clock normally uses a colon (14:30). The converter shows both.

Sources

The spoken forms shown reflect common US usage and are not taken from a military regulation. Check the conventions of your branch, agency or employer when the exact wording matters.

Results