Military Time to Standard Time Converter

How to Convert Military Time to Standard Time

To convert military time to standard time, split the 4 digits into hours and minutes, subtract 12 from hours 13 to 23, and add AM or PM. The method takes 3 steps and works for every time from 0000 to 2359.

Step 1: Split the Hours and Minutes

The first two digits are the hour (00–23) and the last two digits are the minutes (00–59). 1730 splits into hour 17 and minutes 30.

Step 2: Adjust the Hour

The hour decides the rule. The minutes never change.

Step 3: Add AM or PM

Add AM to hours 00 to 11 and PM to hours 12 to 23. Insert a colon between the hour and the minutes: 1730 → 5:30 PM, 0045 → 12:45 AM, 2359 → 11:59 PM.

How to Read a Military Time That Is Not on the Chart

To read a military time that is not on the chart, find the row for its hour and keep the minutes. Every minute follows its hour row:

• 1815 sits in the 1800 row (6:00 PM), so 1815 is 6:15 PM.
• 2247 sits in the 2200 row (10:00 PM), so 2247 is 10:47 PM.
• 0352 sits in the 0300 row (3:00 AM), so 0352 is 3:52 AM.
• 0008 sits in the 0000 row (12:00 AM), so 0008 is 12:08 AM.

Military Time vs. Standard Time vs. 24-Hour Time

Military time and the 24-hour clock count the same 24 hours, and standard time splits the day into two 12-hour halves. The 3 formats differ in 5 details:

The armed forces, hospitals, law enforcement and aviation use military time. Aviation writes it in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), called Zulu time, so 1730Z means 1730 UTC.

5 Common Mistakes When Converting Military Time

1. Subtracting 12 from 1200 to 1259. 1230 is 12:30 PM, not 0:30 PM.
2. Calling 0000 noon. 0000 is midnight (12:00 AM); noon is 1200.
3. Changing the minutes. 1745 is 5:45 PM; only the hour changes.
4. Adding PM to hours below 12. 0800 is 8:00 AM, not 8:00 PM.
5. Reading 4 digits as one number. 1715 is 17 hours 15 minutes, not 1,715 of anything.

Convert Military Time to Standard Time in Excel and Google Sheets

To convert military time in Excel or Google Sheets, turn the 4 digits into a time value and format it as h:mm AM/PM. With 1730 stored as a number in cell A2, the formula is:

=TEXT(TIMEVALUE(TEXT(A2,"00\:00")),"h:mm AM/PM")

The inner TEXT adds the colon (1730 → 17:30), TIMEVALUE reads it as a time, and the outer TEXT returns 5:30 PM. Fill the formula down to convert a whole column.

Converting Military Time on Time Cards

Time cards in military time total hours without AM/PM conversion. A shift from 0700 to 1530 is 8 hours 30 minutes. A night shift from 2200 to 0600 crosses midnight: 2 hours before 0000 plus 6 hours after it is 8 hours.

Convert the total to standard time only for reading, not for math. The military time card calculator totals a full week, subtracts breaks and shows decimal hours for payroll.