Military Time Converter
Convert between the 24-hour clock (military time) and ordinary am/pm time, in both directions — with the decimal hours payroll systems use.
The 24-hour clock counts straight through from 0000 to 2359, so afternoon hours are the 12-hour value plus twelve: 3 pm is 1500.
How the military time converter works
The 24-hour clock counts straight through from 0000 to 2359, so afternoon hours are the 12-hour value plus twelve: 3 pm is 1500. The two confusing cases are the midnight hour, which is 00xx and reads as 12:xx am, and noon, which is 1200 and reads as 12:00 pm. Military usage speaks the four digits ("fifteen thirty") and often appends a zone letter — Z for UTC, called Zulu.
Formula: 24-hour = 12-hour + 12 for pm (except 12 pm); 12-hour = 24-hour − 12 after noon
Worked examples
| Inputs | Converted | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1530 → 12-hour | 3:30 pm | 3:30 pm |
| 0000 → 12-hour | 12:00 am | 12:00 am — midnight, the case people get wrong |
| 1200 → 12-hour | 12:00 pm | 12:00 pm — noon |
| 7:45 pm → 24-hour | 1945 | 1945 |
FAQFrequently asked questions
What is 1500 in normal time?
3 pm. After noon, subtract twelve from the 24-hour value.
Is midnight 0000 or 2400?
Both are used, but 0000 is standard for the start of a day; 2400 sometimes marks the end of one. This calculator uses 0000.
Why do people get 12 am and 12 pm wrong?
Because "12 pm" looks like it should be midnight. Noon is 12 pm and midnight is 12 am — which is why timetables prefer 12:00 noon and 00:00.
How is military time spoken?
As four digits: 1530 is "fifteen thirty", 0700 is "oh seven hundred". A trailing letter names the zone, Z (Zulu) being UTC.
What are decimal hours for?
Payroll. 7:45 is 7.75 hours, which is what gets multiplied by an hourly rate.
Where these figures come from
- ISO 8601 — Date and time — Representations for information interchange — the yyyy-mm-dd format and the week-numbering rules used here
- US Naval Observatory — Calendars — the Gregorian leap-year rule
- US Office of Personnel Management — federal holidays — federal holidays (not applied here)
Last checked: September 2026. The Gregorian calendar rules do not change; working-day counts exclude Saturdays and Sundays only.