Military Time Conversion Chart and Guide

I spent three months coordinating with a team in Prague. They used 24-hour time for everything. Meeting at "7"? That could mean 7 AM or 7 PM in my world. In theirs, it meant 07:00 or 19:00 — no confusion possible. Military time (the 24-hour clock) runs from 0000 (midnight) to 2359 (one minute before the next midnight). No AM/PM needed.

This guide explains how 24-hour time works, provides conversion tables, and shows where it's used globally.

Understanding the 24-Hour Format

The 24-hour clock counts from 00 to 23. That's it. No cycling through 12 hours twice with confusing AM/PM markers.

How It Works

Midnight starts the day at 0000 (pronounced "zero hundred" in military contexts). Hours increment continuously:

• 00:00 to 11:59 — Morning hours, same as 12:00 AM to 11:59 AM (except midnight itself, which is 0000 not 1200)
• 12:00 to 23:59 — Afternoon and evening, same as 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM

The key difference hits at noon. Instead of resetting to 1:00 PM, the clock continues to 13:00, then 14:00, up to 23:59. Then it rolls back to 00:00 at midnight. Simple. Linear. Unambiguous.

Reading and Speaking Military Time

In military and aviation contexts, times are often written without a colon and pronounced in a specific format:

• 0000 — "Zero hundred hours" or simply "midnight"
• 0730 — "Zero seven thirty" or "seven thirty hours"
• 1200 — "Twelve hundred hours" or simply "noon"
• 1430 — "Fourteen thirty hours"
• 2100 — "Twenty-one hundred hours"

In everyday civilian usage of the 24-hour clock (common in Europe and much of the world), times are typically written with a colon (14:30) and spoken as regular numbers ("fourteen thirty").

Military Time Conversion Chart

Use this comprehensive conversion table to quickly translate between 12-hour and 24-hour formats.

Morning Hours (AM)

| 12-Hour | 24-Hour | Spoken (Military) |

|---------|---------|-------------------|

| 12:00 AM (Midnight) | 0000 | Zero hundred |

| 1:00 AM | 0100 | Zero one hundred |

| 2:00 AM | 0200 | Zero two hundred |

| 3:00 AM | 0300 | Zero three hundred |

| 4:00 AM | 0400 | Zero four hundred |

| 5:00 AM | 0500 | Zero five hundred |

| 6:00 AM | 0600 | Zero six hundred |

| 7:00 AM | 0700 | Zero seven hundred |

| 8:00 AM | 0800 | Zero eight hundred |

| 9:00 AM | 0900 | Zero nine hundred |

| 10:00 AM | 1000 | Ten hundred |

| 11:00 AM | 1100 | Eleven hundred |

Afternoon and Evening Hours (PM)

| 12-Hour | 24-Hour | Spoken (Military) |

|---------|---------|-------------------|

| 12:00 PM (Noon) | 1200 | Twelve hundred |

| 1:00 PM | 1300 | Thirteen hundred |

| 2:00 PM | 1400 | Fourteen hundred |

| 3:00 PM | 1500 | Fifteen hundred |

| 4:00 PM | 1600 | Sixteen hundred |

| 5:00 PM | 1700 | Seventeen hundred |

| 6:00 PM | 1800 | Eighteen hundred |

| 7:00 PM | 1900 | Nineteen hundred |

| 8:00 PM | 2000 | Twenty hundred |

| 9:00 PM | 2100 | Twenty-one hundred |

| 10:00 PM | 2200 | Twenty-two hundred |

| 11:00 PM | 2300 | Twenty-three hundred |

Quick Conversion Methods

Converting between 12-hour and 24-hour time becomes second nature with practice. Here are the essential techniques.

Converting Standard Time to Military Time

For AM hours (except midnight): Keep the same number, but use four digits. Add a leading zero for single-digit hours.

• 7:30 AM becomes 0730
• 11:45 AM becomes 1145

For 12:00 AM (midnight): This is the special case—midnight is 0000, not 1200 or 2400.

For PM hours: Add 12 to the hour (except for 12:00 PM, which stays 1200).

• 1:00 PM = 1 + 12 = 1300
• 6:30 PM = 6 + 12 = 1830
• 11:45 PM = 11 + 12 = 2345

Converting Military Time to Standard Time

For 0000 to 0059: This is midnight to 12:59 AM.

• 0000 = 12:00 AM
• 0045 = 12:45 AM

For 0100 to 1159: Use the same hour with AM.

• 0730 = 7:30 AM
• 1100 = 11:00 AM

For 1200 to 1259: This is 12:00 PM to 12:59 PM (the noon hour).

• 1200 = 12:00 PM
• 1230 = 12:30 PM

For 1300 to 2359: Subtract 12 from the hour and add PM.

• 1500 = 15 - 12 = 3:00 PM
• 2045 = 20 - 12 = 8:45 PM
• 2359 = 23 - 12 = 11:59 PM

Where Military Time Is Used

Military time isn't just for the military. It's standard across professional fields and entire countries.

Armed Forces

Every military branch worldwide runs on 24-hour time. When coordinating missions across time zones or during 48-hour operations, AM/PM confusion can get people killed. A briefing at 0600 can't be mistaken for 1800. Period.

Military operations also use letter designations for time zones: Zulu for UTC, Alpha for UTC+1, and so on. This prevents confusion during multinational operations, as explained in military time zone documentation.

Aviation

International aviation standards require the 24-hour clock for all flight operations, from air traffic control communications to flight schedules and weather reports. Pilots worldwide use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), also called "Zulu time," in the 24-hour format.

When you see flight departure times listed, airlines often use 24-hour format: a flight departing at 14:35 leaves at 2:35 PM. This standard prevents potentially dangerous scheduling errors.

Healthcare and Medicine

Hospitals run on 24-hour time. Medication schedules, vital signs, surgical appointments, incident reports — everything needs unambiguous timestamps.

Imagine a nurse reading "7:00" on a medication order. Morning or evening? If they guess wrong, someone dies. Writing 0700 versus 1900 eliminates that risk entirely. According to medical error research, timing errors remain a significant cause of adverse events.

Transportation and Logistics

Railway systems throughout Europe and Asia display schedules in 24-hour format. Shipping and logistics companies coordinate global operations using the 24-hour clock. Bus and transit schedules in most countries outside North America use 24-hour time.

Science and Research

Scientific research, especially international collaborations, typically uses the 24-hour clock to record observations, experiments, and data. This ensures consistency across laboratories in different countries and prevents confusion in published research.

Everyday Use Around the World

The 24-hour clock isn't just for specialized fields—it's the standard format in most countries outside the United States, Canada, and Australia. Throughout Europe, Latin America, and Asia, digital clocks, schedules, and official documents use 24-hour time. Many smartphones and computers can be set to either format based on user preference.

Benefits of Using Military Time

Why do so many fields use 24-hour time? Because it solves real problems.

Eliminates AM/PM confusion. "Meet at 8" means what exactly? 08:00 or 18:00 removes the question entirely.

Simplifies international communication. "The call is at 14:00 UTC" works globally. No interpretation needed. Everyone knows exactly when to show up.

Reduces scheduling errors. In healthcare, aviation, and emergency services, errors kill people. 24-hour format prevents one entire category of mistakes.

Natural for continuous operations. Hospital shifts, military deployments, global businesses — they run 24 hours. Why reset the clock twice daily when you can just count to 24?

Tips for Getting Comfortable with Military Time

If you're new to the 24-hour format, these strategies help build familiarity.

Change your devices: Set your phone, computer, and watch to 24-hour display. Daily exposure accelerates learning.

Practice the mental math: For PM conversions, quickly add or subtract 12. After a few weeks, common times like 1700 or 2200 become automatic.

Start with the hours you use most: Focus on your typical waking hours first. If you work 9-5, master the 0900-1700 range, then expand.

Use online tools: For complex scheduling across time zones, use tools like Whenest's Time Zone Converter to handle conversions automatically while you're learning.

Conclusion

Military time counts from 0000 to 2359. Morning hours stay the same (add leading zeros). Afternoon hours add 12. Midnight is 0000. That's the whole system.

It's not just military. Aviation, healthcare, transportation, and most countries outside North America use 24-hour time as standard. Understanding it prevents confusion, reduces errors, and simplifies international coordination.

Need to convert times across zones? Our Time Zone Converter handles any time between any locations — 12-hour or 24-hour format, your choice. For time zone abbreviations, check time zone abbreviations explained.