Military Time Converter – Army Time Chart

Use the military time converter below to convert military time to standard 12-hour time and vice versa.

By

Joe Sexton

Joe is the creator of Inch Calculator and has over 20 years of experience in engineering and construction. He holds several degrees and certifications.

Full bio

Reviewed by

Ethan Dederick, PhD

Ethan has a PhD in astrophysics and is currently a satellite imaging scientist. He specializes in math, science, and astrophysics.

Full bio

Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on X Share on Pinterest Cite

×

Cite As:

Sexton, J. (n.d.). Military Time Converter – Army Time Chart. Inch Calculator. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://www.inchcalculator.com/military-time-converter/

How to Convert Military Time to Standard Time

Military time is a time format based on 24-hour standard time that is less ambiguous than standard time and leaves little room for confusion. It’s commonly referred to as Army time or 24-hour time, but it’s not the same as the 24-hour time standard; learn more about that below.

Instead of using the am or pm suffixes to distinguish time of day, military time uses a four-digit number ranging from 0000 to 2359 to denote the time passed since the beginning of the day (midnight). The first two digits represent the number of hours and the later two represent the number of minutes, from 00 to 59.

It’s written without a colon and is pronounced as the four-digit number in hours; for instance, 9:30 is pronounced zero nine thirty hours.

Despite its name, it’s not only used in the armed forces. 24-hour time is commonly used in the medical field, emergency services, law enforcement, government, meteorology and astronomy.

You can convert military time to standard 12-hour time using several methods; we’ll cover a few here.

Military Time Conversion Chart

The first way to convert military time is to use a conversion chart like the one below. Find your standard time on the chart to see its equivalent 24-hour time.

Steps to Convert

You can also convert military time to standard time in a few simple steps.

Step 1: Split the military time into hours and minutes. The first two digits in the time are the hours, and the last two digits are the minutes.

Step 2: If the hours are greater than 12, then subtract 12 from them. In this case, the time will be a pm time; otherwise, it’s am.

If the hours are “00”, then the hour is actually 12 midnight.

Step 3: After you’ve done all that, you can rewrite military time as standard time by writing the hours and minutes with a colon in between, then append am or pm depending on whether the hours were less than or greater than 12, respectively.

Use a Calculator

Our third and final method for converting time is to use a conversion calculator like the one above.

How to Convert Standard Time to Military Time

You can convert 12-hour standard time to military time by reversing the steps above.

Step 1: Start by separating the hours and minutes and removing the colon.

Step 2: If the hours have only a single digit, then add a 0 to the beginning to make it two digits. If the time is a pm time other than 12, then add 12 to the hours.

That is, if the hours are 12 midnight, then the military time hours will be 00. If the hours are 12 noon, then the military time hours will be 12.

Step 3: Rewrite the standard time as military time by placing the updated hours next to the minutes with no colon. Optionally, add the word “hours” after the time.

Difference Between Military Time and 24-Hour Time

While military time is often referred to as 24-hour time, there are actually some differences between the two. See the example below for the difference in formatting between a 24-hour time and a military time.

24-hour time = 9:30
military time = 0930 hours

• In standard 24-hour time, the hours do not include a preceding zero, while a military time will always have a preceding zero when the hours digit is less than 10 so that the complete time is always four digits. The preceding zero is always spoken.
• In standard 24-hour time, the hours and minutes are separated with a colon, while military time does not use a colon.
• Military time uses the suffix hours while standard 24-hour times have no suffix.
• When pronouncing military time, the hours are always pronounced in hundreds. So, “0900” is pronounced “zero nine hundred hours” and “1730” is pronounced “seventeen hundred thirty hours.”
• Military time zones are different from standard world time zones and each zone has a letter code that is appended to the time. See the chart below for a complete list of zones.

Military Time Zone Chart

Military time also uses unique time zones that differ from standard time zones. The chart below shows each timezone name and code.

You might also be interested in our time calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is military time 12 or 24-hour?

Is midnight 0000 or 2400?

What is 7 pm in military time?

Why do we use AM and PM instead of military time?

Why do people use a 24-hour clock?