What Is Military Time?
Military time is the 24-hour clock written as four digits with no colon and no AM or PM. The day runs from 0000 at midnight through 2359, one minute before the next midnight. It exists for one reason: to eliminate the most common time mistake in the world, confusing 7 AM with 7 PM. Hospitals, airlines, emergency services, and the armed forces all use it because a single wrong digit on a medication schedule or a flight plan is not a mistake anyone wants to make twice.
Outside those professions, you meet military time in international train schedules, hospital shift notes, and any software that stores times in 24-hour format. Once you learn the two rules below, you will read it as naturally as a regular clock.
How to Convert Military Time to Standard Time
Split the day into three zones. From 0000 to 1159, the hour stays the same and you add AM, with one exception: 0000 is 12:00 AM, midnight. From 1200 to 1259, the digits stay the same and you add PM, so 1200 is 12:00 PM, noon. From 1300 to 2359, subtract 12 from the hour and add PM. That gives you 1800 = 6:00 PM, 2100 = 9:00 PM, and 1430 = 2:30 PM.
The worked examples in the results panel show the rule applied to whatever you enter, and the full chart below the calculator lists all 24 hours side by side so you can look up any time at a glance. The converter also shows how each time is spoken, because "fourteen thirty" and "fourteen hundred hours" follow different conventions. One more habit that prevents errors: always read the full four digits. Saying "fifteen hundred" when you mean "fifteen thirty" is a thirty-minute mistake, and in scheduling, thirty minutes is often the whole ballgame.
How to Convert Standard Time to Military Time
Morning is nearly a copy job: drop the AM, drop the colon, and add a leading zero to single-digit hours. 9:30 AM becomes 0930, 11:19 AM becomes 1119, and the one special case is 12 AM, midnight, which becomes 0000. Afternoon is where the math happens: add 12 to the hour, so 3:00 PM becomes 1500 and 11:59 PM becomes 2359. Noon is the other special case: 12 PM stays 1200, it does not become 2400.
If you log your hours in military format for a timesheet, our time card calculator accepts standard times too and totals your week automatically. Night shift workers who live in 24-hour time can also run their totals through our paycheck calculator to estimate take-home pay, including any shift differential your employer adds.
How to Say Military Time Out Loud
Pronunciation follows a simple pattern. Exact hours are spoken as the hour plus "hundred": 1500 is "fifteen hundred" or "fifteen hundred hours." Times with minutes are spoken as digits: 1430 is "fourteen thirty," and 0645 is "zero six forty-five." Midnight, 0000, is "zero hundred hours" or simply "midnight," and noon, 1200, is "twelve hundred hours."
One detail worth knowing: in strict military usage, times are always four digits and never use a colon, so 1430, not 14:30. Civilian 24-hour clocks in Europe and in software often include the colon. The converter's display format setting lets you switch between 1430, 14:30, and "1430 hours" so the output matches whatever document you are filling in.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you convert military time to standard time?
For times 0000 to 1159, keep the hour and add AM (0000 is 12:00 AM). For 1200 to 1259, keep the digits and add PM. For 1300 to 2359, subtract 12 from the hour and add PM, so 1800 becomes 6:00 PM.
What time is 1430 in military time?
1430 in military time is 2:30 PM in standard time. Subtract 12 from the hour: 14 - 12 = 2 PM. It is pronounced "fourteen thirty."
How do you convert standard time to military time?
For AM times, keep the hour with a leading zero (9:30 AM becomes 0930); 12 AM becomes 0000. For PM times, add 12 to the hour (3:00 PM becomes 1500); 12 PM stays 1200. Remove the colon and the AM/PM.
What is 0000 in military time?
0000 is midnight, 12:00 AM, the start of the day. It is pronounced "zero hundred hours" or "midnight." Some schedules write the end of the day as 2400, which means the same moment as 0000 of the next day.
How do you say military time out loud?
Say the hour followed by "hundred" for exact hours: 1500 is "fifteen hundred hours." For minutes, say the digits: 1430 is "fourteen thirty." Midnight (0000) is "zero hundred hours" and noon (1200) is "twelve hundred hours."
Last updated: 2026 | Conversion rules follow standard 24-hour clock convention used by the US military, aviation, and healthcare.