Military time converter
Convert one clock reading between 12-hour AM/PM notation, colon-formatted 24-hour time and four-digit military notation.
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Midnight starts at 00:00
12:00 AM is 00:00, while 12:00 PM is noon and stays 12:00. For PM hours after noon, add 12; for 24-hour values after 12:59, subtract 12 and label the result PM.
24-hour and military notation
A digital 24-hour clock commonly includes a colon, such as 14:30. The equivalent military notation is commonly written as four digits, 1430. This page shows both forms.
Notation only, not a time-zone conversion
The calculator changes how the same local clock reading is written. It does not add an offset, apply daylight saving time or convert between locations.
The two ends of the day are where mistakes happen
Midnight and noon are the only readings people reliably get wrong, because 12 behaves differently from every other hour. 12:00 AM is the start of the day, written 0000 or 00:00. 12:00 PM is noon, written 1200. Everything between 1:00 PM and 11:59 PM takes twelve added to the hour, so 7:45 PM is 1945.
A missed appointment usually traces back to one of these two: "12 AM Friday" meaning the midnight that begins Friday rather than the one that ends it. Written as 0000 on Friday, the ambiguity disappears, which is exactly why the notation exists.
Frequently asked questions
Is 12:00 AM midnight or noon?
Midnight. AM stands for ante meridiem, before midday, so the twelve AM hours run from midnight to noon and 12:00 AM is the first minute of the day. PM is post meridiem, and 12:00 PM is noon. Because the pair confuses everyone, schedules and contracts often write 11:59 PM or 12:01 AM instead, and 24-hour notation avoids the question entirely.
What is the difference between 24-hour time and military time?
The value is identical; only the writing differs. A digital clock or a European timetable shows 14:30 with a colon. Military and aviation usage drops the colon and writes four digits, 1430, spoken as "fourteen thirty". This page shows both forms of the same reading so you can copy whichever the document in front of you expects.
Does 2400 exist?
It appears on paper but not on clocks. Some military and shipping documents write 2400 for the instant a day ends, and 0000 for the same instant as the next day begins. A working clock never displays 2400, and this converter accepts hours 0 through 23, so enter the end of a day as 0000 on the following date.
What do the letters after military times mean, like 1430Z?
They name the time zone. Z is Zulu, which is UTC, and the other letters step away from it by whole hours: Alpha is UTC+1, Romeo is UTC−5. Aviation, shipping and the military use them so that a written time cannot be read in the wrong zone. This converter changes notation only and never shifts a reading between zones.
How do I say a 24-hour time out loud?
In military usage the hundreds are spoken: 0800 is "zero eight hundred", 1430 is "fourteen thirty", and midnight is "zero hundred hours". Ordinary 24-hour speech in most of Europe simply says the numbers, "fourteen thirty". Either way the written four digits mean the same reading.
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