Military TimeConverter
Switch any time between 12-hour (AM/PM) and 24-hour military time in a click. Alongside the result you'll see the formula used, the correct military notation and how to say it, plus a full reference chart.
Convert Military Time
Type a time in 12-hour or 24-hour format and see its counterpart straight away.
How the Military Time Converter Works
Convert any time in four simple steps.
Enter the Time
Enter the hour and minute in 12-hour form and choose AM or PM.
Click Convert
Press "Convert" — or just keep typing — to see the military time equivalent.
See the Result
Read the 4-digit military time, how it is spoken, and the conversion rule that was applied.
Reverse Convert
Use the reverse converter below to turn military time back into the 12-hour format.
Understanding Military Time
How the 24-hour clock works and why so many people rely on it.
What is military time?
Military time follows the 24-hour clock format, numbering the hours from 00 to 23. Each hour of the day has its own number, so AM and PM disappear: midnight is 0000, noon is 1200 and 11 PM is 2300.
How to convert: Standard → Military
AM times keep their hour with a leading zero: 9:15 AM is 0915. PM times add 12 to the hour: 3:45 PM is 1545 (3 + 12 = 15). The exceptions are 12:00 AM, which is 0000, and 12:00 PM, which is 1200.
How to convert: Military → Standard
Hours 00–11 are AM — use the hour as it is: 0730 is 7:30 AM. Hours 13–23 are PM — subtract 12: 2015 is 8:15 PM. And 0000 is 12:00 AM, 1200 is 12:00 PM.
Reading military time aloud
Say military time in pairs of digits. 0900 is "zero nine hundred", 1430 is "fourteen thirty" and 0015 is "zero zero fifteen". On-the-hour times such as 0800 use the word "hundred".
Complete Military Time Chart
A full 24-hour conversion reference for every hour.
AM hours (midnight to noon)
Morning hours are easy: write the hour with a leading zero — 1:00 AM = 0100, 9:00 AM = 0900, 11:00 AM = 1100. Midnight is the one exception: 12:00 AM = 0000.
PM hours (noon to midnight)
Afternoon and evening hours add 12: 1:00 PM = 1300, 5:00 PM = 1700, 11:00 PM = 2300. Noon is unchanged — 12:00 PM = 1200 — and that is where most slips happen.
Quick mental math
For 1300–1900 you can subtract 2 from the second digit: 1500 → 5 − 2 = 3 → 3:00 PM. For 2000–2300, subtract 12 from the hour instead: 20 − 12 = 8 → 8:00 PM.
When to Use a Military Time Converter
For anyone who works with 24-hour time formats.
Military & Defense
The armed forces use the 24-hour clock for orders, briefings and logs so that AM/PM can never be misread.
Healthcare & Medical
Hospitals and other medical facilities chart observations, medication times and shift changes in 24-hour time, because confusing 8 AM with 8 PM could harm a patient.
Aviation & Travel
Pilots, air traffic control and most airlines and rail operators work in 24-hour time, and timetables in many countries are printed that way.
Law Enforcement
Police reports, dispatch records and incident logs use 24-hour time, where precise time-stamps can matter in court.
International Business
Much of the world writes times in 24-hour form, so reading it fluently helps when scheduling with colleagues abroad.
IT & Programming
Server logs, cron schedules and database timestamps are almost always 24-hour, so developers convert constantly while debugging.
Common Military Time Conversion Examples
Quick conversion examples for the military times you'll meet most.
Military Time to Standard Time
For military-to-standard times: from 13 upwards, subtract 12 and add PM; 01–11 are simply AM. 0000 is 12:00 AM (midnight) and 1200 is 12:00 PM (noon).
| Military | Standard | Spoken |
|---|---|---|
| 0600 | 6:00 AM | Zero Six Hundred |
| 0930 | 9:30 AM | Zero Nine Thirty |
| 1200 | 12:00 PM | Twelve Hundred |
| 1430 | 2:30 PM | Fourteen Thirty |
| 1700 | 5:00 PM | Seventeen Hundred |
| 2100 | 9:00 PM | Twenty-One Hundred |
| 0000 | 12:00 AM | Zero Hundred |
Standard Time to Military Time
From 12-hour format to military time: pad AM hours to two digits, and add 12 to PM hours. Remember 12:00 AM = 0000 and 12:00 PM = 1200.
| Standard | Military | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 AM | 0730 | 07 + 30 min → 0730 |
| 12:00 PM | 1200 | Noon stays 1200 |
| 3:45 PM | 1545 | 3 + 12 = 15 → 1545 |
| 6:15 PM | 1815 | 6 + 12 = 18 → 1815 |
| 11:59 PM | 2359 | 11 + 12 = 23 → 2359 |
| 12:00 AM | 0000 | Midnight = 0000 |
Four-Digit Military Time Examples
Military time is always written with four digits: two for the hour (00–23) and two for the minutes (00–59), with no colon and no AM/PM. 0930 means 09 hours 30 minutes, or 9:30 AM; 2145 means 21 hours 45 minutes, or 9:45 PM.
Interactive Example Converter
Tap a military time below to load it into the converter and see every step:
Military Time Conversion Chart
The complete 0000–2300 hourly reference, searchable.
Military Time to Standard Time Chart
Every military time hour from 0000 to 2300 is listed beside its 12-hour equivalent, so you can look a time up instead of working it out.
Standard Time to Military Time Chart
Working the other way, find a standard AM/PM time and read across to its military form — AM hours keep their number with a leading zero, PM hours add 12.
Searchable Military Time Chart
| Military | Standard | Spoken |
|---|
How to Convert Military Time to Standard Time
Rules for turning 24-hour military time into 12-hour time, step by step.
Convert 0000–1159
Military times from 0000 to 1159 are morning times: drop the leading zero and add AM, so 0745 becomes 7:45 AM. The single exception is 0000, which is 12:00 AM (midnight), never "0:00 AM".
Convert 1200
1200 is exactly 12:00 PM, noon — the point where AM turns into PM. It converts directly, with nothing added or taken away.
Convert 1300–2359
From 1300 to 2359, subtract 12 from the hour and add PM: 1730 → 17 − 12 = 5 → 5:30 PM, and 2145 → 21 − 12 = 9 → 9:45 PM.
Interactive Military-to-Standard Demonstration
Type a military time to watch each step of the conversion:
How to Convert Standard Time to Military Time
Rules for turning 12-hour AM/PM time into military format.
Convert AM Times
For an AM time other than 12:00 AM, keep the hour and pad it to two digits: 9:15 AM becomes 0915, 11:00 AM becomes 1100.
Convert PM Times
For a PM time other than 12:00 PM, add 12 to the hour: 5:30 PM → 5 + 12 = 17 → 1730; 8:45 PM → 8 + 12 = 20 → 2045.
Convert 12:00 AM
12:00 AM, midnight, is 0000. Even though it is called "12", the 24-hour day starts again from zero at midnight.
Convert 12:00 PM
12:00 PM, noon, stays 1200. Don't add 12 — noon is already hour 12, and adding 12 here is the classic PM-rule mistake.
Interactive Standard-to-Military Demonstration
Type a standard time to see each conversion step:
How to Read Military Time
What the four-digit notation means and how to say it.
What the First Two Digits Mean
The first pair of digits is the hour of the day on a 24-hour scale, from 00 (midnight) to 23 (11 PM). In 1430, "14" is the fourteenth hour — 2 PM.
What the Last Two Digits Mean
The second pair is the minutes past the hour, 00 to 59. In 1430, "30" means half past, so 1430 is 14 hours 30 minutes, or 2:30 PM.
How to Read Military Time Aloud
On-the-hour times use "hundred": 0900 is "zero nine hundred". Other times are read as two numbers: 1430 is "fourteen thirty", 0015 is "zero zero fifteen". Hours before 10 keep the spoken "zero".
Interactive "How Do You Say This Time?" Example
Type or pick a military time to see it written and spoken every way:
Military Time vs. 24-Hour Time
The small difference between military time and 24-hour time.
What Military Time Means
Military time is the convention used by armed forces, emergency services and aviation: four digits with no colon, such as 1430 rather than 14:30, often spoken with "hundred" ("zero nine hundred" for 0900).
What 24-Hour Time Means
24-hour time, sometimes called international or ISO time, is the everyday clock in most countries. Hours 0–23 are written with a colon before the minutes — 14:30 — on timetables, digital clocks and computers.
Are Military Time and 24-Hour Time the Same?
They follow the same logic: hours 0–23 and no AM/PM. The difference is presentation — military time drops the colon (1430 vs. 14:30) and has its own spoken style. The converter handles both.
Side-by-Side Visual Comparison
Move the hour to see one time in all three formats:
Midnight and Noon in Military Time
The two most commonly confused times on the 24-hour clock.
What Is 0000 in Military Time?
0000, "zero hundred", is 12:00 AM — midnight, the very start of a day. Everything from 0000 to 0059 is in the first hour after midnight.
What Is 1200 in Military Time?
1200, "twelve hundred", is 12:00 PM — noon, the middle of the day. 1200–1259 is the noon hour; from 1300 (1:00 PM) the afternoon begins.
What Is 2400?
2400 is sometimes used for the end of a day — the final instant of a date. It is the same moment as 0000 on the next day; some services write 2400 for the end of a duty and 0000 for the start of the next.
Interactive Midnight-to-Noon Timeline
Drag the slider across the day to see each moment in every format:
Military Time Conversion Rules at a Glance
Four rules that cover every possible conversion.
AM Conversion Rule
AM times (1:00 AM – 11:59 AM): keep the hour and pad it with a zero. Example: 9:15 AM → 0915.
PM Conversion Rule
PM times (1:00 PM – 11:59 PM): add 12 to the hour. Example: 5:30 PM → 5 + 12 = 17 → 1730.
Midnight Rule
12:00 AM (midnight) is 0000 — the 12 resets to 00 as the new day begins.
Noon Rule
12:00 PM (noon) is 1200 — don't add 12, because noon is already hour 12.
Interactive Conversion Rule Card
Choose a rule to see its formula and a worked example:
Common Military Time Mistakes
The errors people make most often when converting military time.
Confusing 0000 and 1200
Mixing up midnight (0000) and noon (1200) is the top error. Remember 0000 = 12:00 AM, the start of the day, and 1200 = 12:00 PM, the middle of it.
Forgetting the Leading Zero
Military time always has four digits, so "900" should be 0900 and 1:00 AM is 0100, not 100.
Adding AM or PM to Military Time
Military time never carries AM or PM. "1430 PM" is redundant — 1430 already means 2:30 PM, which is the whole point of the system.
Reading 24-Hour Hours as 12-Hour Hours
2100 isn't "21 o'clock" on a 12-hour clock. For hours 13–23, subtract 12: 2100 → 21 − 12 = 9:00 PM.
Interactive "Fix the Military Time" Examples
Each question shows a wrong conversion — pick the right one:
Military Time Quick Reference
A compact table of commonly used military times.
| Military | Standard | Spoken | Common Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0000 | 12:00 AM | Zero Hundred | Midnight / Day start |
| 0500 | 5:00 AM | Zero Five Hundred | Early morning PT |
| 0600 | 6:00 AM | Zero Six Hundred | Shift change |
| 0800 | 8:00 AM | Zero Eight Hundred | Work / school start |
| 1200 | 12:00 PM | Twelve Hundred | Noon / Lunch |
| 1300 | 1:00 PM | Thirteen Hundred | Afternoon start |
| 1700 | 5:00 PM | Seventeen Hundred | End of business |
| 1800 | 6:00 PM | Eighteen Hundred | Evening shift |
| 2100 | 9:00 PM | Twenty-One Hundred | Lights out |
| 2359 | 11:59 PM | Twenty-Three Fifty-Nine | End of day |
Military Time Converter FAQ
Answers to common questions about the Military Time Converter.
Military time is the 24-hour clock written as four digits. Hours run from 00 (midnight) to 23 (11 PM), so 1:00 PM is 1300 and 6:30 AM is 0630 — no AM or PM needed.
For morning times, keep the hour and add a leading zero if needed: 9:30 AM becomes 0930. For afternoon and evening times, add 12 to the hour: 2:45 PM becomes 1445. Midnight (12:00 AM) is 0000 and noon (12:00 PM) is 1200.
Hours 00–11 are AM: 0930 is 9:30 AM. For hours 13–23, subtract 12 and add PM: 1700 is 5:00 PM. 0000 is 12:00 AM (midnight) and 1200 is 12:00 PM (noon).
0000 — said "zero hundred" — is 12:00 AM, midnight. Some organisations write 2400 for the end of a day and 0000 for the start of the next, though both describe the same moment.
Because there is no AM or PM to confuse. Where a timing mistake could be dangerous — operations, medication rounds — mixing up 8 AM and 8 PM is a risk the 24-hour clock removes.
Very nearly. Both count hours 00–23; military time is usually written without a colon (1430) while general 24-hour time uses one (14:30). The converter shows both notations.