Standard Time to Military Time Converter

How to Convert Standard Time to Military Time

To convert standard time to military time, remove the colon, add 12 to PM hours from 1 to 11, and write 4 digits. AM times, PM times and the two 12 o'clock hours follow 3 different rules.

Convert AM Times

To convert AM times from 1:00 AM to 11:59 AM, drop “AM,” remove the colon and add a leading zero to single-digit hours. 3:00 AM is 0300, 9:30 AM is 0930 and 11:15 AM is 1115.

Convert PM Times

To convert PM times from 1:00 PM to 11:59 PM, add 12 to the hour, drop “PM” and remove the colon. 1:00 PM is 1300, 4:35 PM is 1635 and 10:00 PM is 2200.

Convert 12 AM and 12 PM

To convert the 12 o'clock hours, replace 12 AM with 00 and keep 12 PM as 12. 12:08 AM is 0008, 12:00 AM is 0000 and 12:30 PM is 1230. Midnight at the end of a day is sometimes written 2400.

10 Worked Examples

These 10 examples cover every rule, including the 12 AM and 12 PM edge cases:

How to Write Military Time Correctly

Write military time as 4 digits with no colon and no AM or PM. 5 writing rules keep military time consistent:

• Four digits: 0700, not 700.
• No colon: 1430, not 14:30, in military style.
• No AM or PM: 1900, not 1900 PM.
• Optional suffix: “hours” follows the number in formal writing, as in 1900 hours.
• Seconds after a colon: 1317:42 means 13 hours, 17 minutes and 42 seconds.

Decimal values such as 7.82 are payroll decimal hours, not military time. 7.82 hours equals 7 hours 49 minutes.

How to Say Military Time Out Loud

Say the hour, then the minutes, then “hours.” 1635 is “sixteen thirty-five hours.” Times on the hour use “hundred,” never “thousand”: 1000 is “ten hundred hours,” and 2000 is “twenty hundred hours.” Leading zeros are spoken: 0835 is “zero eight thirty-five.”

Convert Standard Time to Military Time in Excel and Google Sheets

To convert standard time to military time in a spreadsheet, format the time value with “hhmm.” With 4:35 PM in cell A2, the formula =TEXT(A2,"hhmm") returns 1635. To keep the cell as a time value, apply the custom number format hhmm instead.

Switch a Clock, Phone or Watch to Military Time

To show military time on a device, turn on the 24-hour format. Digital watches use a button or menu labeled “12/24.” iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac each have a 24-hour setting, listed step by step in the24-hour time settings guide.