To convert military time to standard time, subtract 12 from any hour above 12 and add pm, so 1500 is 3:00 pm. Times from 0100 to 1159 stay the same with am, 1200 is 12:00 pm (noon) and 0000 is 12:00 am (midnight).
Reviewed by the Helping with Math Team · Updated 9 October 2026
Military time chart (24-hour to 12-hour)
A military time chart helps you switch quickly between standard time and military time. From midnight (0000) the hours count up as normal until noon (1200). At 1:00 pm the count carries on to 1300, so 2:00 pm is 1400, 3:00 pm is 1500, 4:00 pm is 1600, and so on.
| Standard time | Military time | How to say it |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 am (midnight) | 0000 | Zero hundred hours |
| 1:00 am | 0100 | Zero one hundred hours |
| 2:00 am | 0200 | Zero two hundred hours |
| 3:00 am | 0300 | Zero three hundred hours |
| 4:00 am | 0400 | Zero four hundred hours |
| 5:00 am | 0500 | Zero five hundred hours |
| 6:00 am | 0600 | Zero six hundred hours |
| 7:00 am | 0700 | Zero seven hundred hours |
| 8:00 am | 0800 | Zero eight hundred hours |
| 9:00 am | 0900 | Zero nine hundred hours |
| 10:00 am | 1000 | Ten hundred hours |
| 11:00 am | 1100 | Eleven hundred hours |
| 12:00 pm (noon) | 1200 | Twelve hundred hours |
| 1:00 pm | 1300 | Thirteen hundred hours |
| 2:00 pm | 1400 | Fourteen hundred hours |
| 3:00 pm | 1500 | Fifteen hundred hours |
| 4:00 pm | 1600 | Sixteen hundred hours |
| 5:00 pm | 1700 | Seventeen hundred hours |
| 6:00 pm | 1800 | Eighteen hundred hours |
| 7:00 pm | 1900 | Nineteen hundred hours |
| 8:00 pm | 2000 | Twenty hundred hours |
| 9:00 pm | 2100 | Twenty-one hundred hours |
| 10:00 pm | 2200 | Twenty-two hundred hours |
| 11:00 pm | 2300 | Twenty-three hundred hours |
Minutes stay the same in both systems, so 5:42 pm is 1742 and 12:40 am is 0040.
What is military time?
Military time is a way of keeping time that splits a day into 24 hours, starting at midnight and ending at the next midnight. It is based on a 24-hour clock, which is the most widely used time format around the world.
In countries that mostly use the 12-hour am/pm time system, “military time” is the usual name for the 24-hour clock used by the military and government agencies. It is also used by public transport, hospitals, meteorologists, astronomers, emergency services and computers.
How to read military time
In military time, the day starts at midnight, written as 0000. The last minute of the day is 2359, one minute before the next midnight. Midnight at the end of a day is sometimes written as 2400.
Military time is written as four digits with no colon, so 6:35 am is 0635. For example, 3:00 pm is 1500, 3:25 pm is 1525 and 11:15 am is 1115.
How to convert military time to standard time
If the military time is 1300 or later, subtract 12 from the hour to get the 12-hour time. Then put a colon between the hour and the minutes and add pm at the end.
For example, for 1400 hours, subtract 12 from 14: 14 – 12 = 2, so 1400 is 2:00 pm. For 2045 hours, subtract 12 from 20 to get 8, so 2045 is 8:45 pm.
Times from 0100 to 1159 are the same as the morning times with am, so 0915 is 9:15 am. Times from 1200 to 1259 are 12 pm, so 1230 is 12:30 pm. Times from 0000 to 0059 are 12 am, so 0045 is 12:45 am.
How to convert standard time to military time
Military time is always four digits, and you don’t put a colon between the hour and the minutes.
12:00 am (midnight) is 0000, or “zero hundred hours”. From 1:00 am to 11:59 am, the hours match the 12-hour clock with a leading zero where needed, so 1:00 am is 0100 and 10:00 am is 1000. 12:00 pm (noon) is 1200.
If the time is 1:00 pm or later, add 12 to the hour. For instance, 3:00 pm plus 12 is 1500 hours, and 5:00 pm plus 12 is 1700 hours.
The minutes stay the same as on a standard 12-hour clock. For example, 12:40 am is 0040 hours and 5:42 pm is 1742 hours.
How to say military time
When you say military time on the hour, use “hundred” rather than “thousand”. So 1100 is “eleven hundred” rather than “one thousand one hundred”, and 0700 is “zero seven hundred” or “zero seven hundred hours”.
For hours 00 to 09, start with “zero”, or “oh”, so 0500 can be “zero five hundred” or “oh five hundred”. For hours 10 to 23, read the hour as a pair, so 2200 is “twenty-two hundred hours”. With minutes, say the hour pair and then the minutes.
More examples:
3:15 am is 0315 in military time and is said as “zero three fifteen hours”.
6:57 am is 0657 and is said as “zero six fifty-seven hours”.
4:45 pm is 1645 and is said as “sixteen forty-five hours”.
7:28 pm is 1928 and is said as “nineteen twenty-eight hours”.
Military time examples
Example 1
What would be 12:45 am as military time?
Solution
The 12-hour clock time 12:45 am would be 0045 and pronounced as “zero zero forty-five hours” in military time.
Example 2
What is 2000 hrs in 12-hour clock time?
Solution
To convert 2000 hours to 12-hour clock time, we must subtract 12 from 20 (the first two digits of 2000 hours). So, we have 20 – 12 = 8. Therefore 2000 hours is 8:00 pm in 12-hour clock time.
Example 3
What time is 5:00 pm in military time?
Solution
Since 5:00 pm is in the afternoon and we must convert time to military time, we must add 12 to 5. So, we have 12 + 5 = 17. Therefore, 5:00 pm is 1700 hours, pronounced as “seventeen hundred hours” in military time.
Example 4
How do you pronounce the following in military time:
- (a) 1858
- (b) 0417
- (c) 1515
- (d) 0016
- (e) 2212
Solution
- (a) 1858 would be pronounced as “eighteen fifty-eight hours” and is the same as 6:58 pm in standard time.
- (b) 0417 would be pronounced as “zero four seventeen hours” and the same as 4:17 am in standard time.
- (c) 1515 would be pronounced as “fifteen fifteen hours” and is the same as 3:15 pm in standard time.
- (d) 0016 would be pronounced as “zero zero sixteen hours” and the same as 12:16 am in standard time.
- (e) 2212 would be pronounced as “twenty-two twelve hours” and the same as 10:12 pm in standard time.
Example 5
Convert the following to military time.
- (a) 2 o’clock in the morning
- (b) 6 o’clock in the morning
- (c) 3 o’clock in the afternoon
- (d) 4 o’clock in the afternoon
- (e) 9 o’clock in the evening
- (f) 11 o’clock in the evening
Solution
(a) 2 o’clock in the morning
2 o’clock in the morning is the same as 2:00 am. Therefore, it is 0200 in military time.
(b) 6 o’clock in the morning
6 o’clock in the morning is the same as 6:00 am. Hence, it is 0600 in military time.
(c) 3 o’clock in the afternoon
3 o’clock in the afternoon is the same as 3:00 pm. Since this is already pm or in the afternoon, we must add 3 to 12. So, we have 12 + 3 = 15. Therefore, 3 o’clock in the afternoon is 1500 in military time.
(d) 4 o’clock in the afternoon
4 o’clock in the afternoon is the same as 4:00 pm. Since this is pm or past noon already, we must add 4 to 12. So, we have 12 + 4 = 16. Therefore, 4 o’clock in the afternoon is 1600 in military time.
(e) 9 o’clock in the evening
9 o’clock in the evening is the same as 9:00 pm. Since this is pm or past noon already, we must add 9 to 12. So, we have 12 + 9 = 21. Therefore, 9 o’clock in the evening is 2100 in military time.
(f) 11 o’clock in the evening
11 o’clock in the evening is the same as 11:00 pm. Since this is pm or past noon already, we must add 11 to 12. So, we have 12 + 11 = 23. Therefore, 11 o’clock in the evening is 2300 in military time.
Military time FAQs
What is military time?
Military time is a 24-hour clock that splits the day into 24 hours, running from 0000 (midnight) to 2359. It is written as four digits with no colon, so 6:35 am is 0635 and 3:00 pm is 1500.
What is 1500 in military time?
1500 in military time is 3:00 pm. Subtract 12 from 15 to get 3, then add pm. You say it as “fifteen hundred hours”.
What is midnight in military time?
Midnight is 0000 (“zero hundred hours”) when it starts a new day. Some people write 2400 (“twenty-four hundred hours”) for midnight at the end of a day, but 0000 is the most common.
How do you convert standard time to military time?
For times from 1:00 pm to 11:59 pm, add 12 to the hour and drop the colon, so 5:00 pm becomes 1700. For morning times, keep the hour and add a leading zero if needed, so 6:00 am is 0600. 12:00 am is 0000 and 12:00 pm is 1200.
How do you say military time?
Say the hours and use “hundred” rather than “thousand” for times on the hour, so 1100 is “eleven hundred hours”. For hours 00 to 09, start with “zero” or “oh”, so 0700 is “zero seven hundred hours”. With minutes, say each pair, so 1645 is “sixteen forty-five hours”.
Why do we use military time?
Military time avoids mix-ups between am and pm. If you arrange to meet at 9, your friend might not know if you mean morning or evening, but 0900 can only mean 9 in the morning and 2100 means 9 in the evening. It is used by the military, hospitals, public transport, emergency services and computers.
