Army Time Calculator

Need to convert army time? This army time converter translates between military time (the 24-hour clock) and standard 12-hour time in both directions, tells you how to say the result the way soldiers say it, and can measure the hours between two military times, overnight shifts included. Type 1730, 17:30, or 5:30 PM: it understands all of them.

What is army time?

Army time is the military’s name for the 24-hour clock. Instead of repeating 1 through 12 twice a day with AM and PM, the hours run straight from 0000 (midnight) to 2359 (11:59 PM). There is no colon, hours are always two digits, and times are spoken as a single number: 1730 is “seventeen thirty hours.” The whole point is removing ambiguity: nobody mistakes 0600 for 6 PM.

How to convert standard time to military time

1. For AM times, keep the hour as-is and pad single digits with a zero: 9:45 AM becomes 0945.
2. For PM times, add 12 to the hour (except 12 PM itself): 5:30 PM becomes 1730.
3. 12:00 AM (midnight) becomes 0000. 12:00 PM (noon) stays 1200.

How to convert military time to standard time

1. If the hour is 00, it is 12 AM (midnight).
2. If the hour is 01 to 11, keep it and add AM.
3. If the hour is 12, keep it and add PM (noon).
4. If the hour is 13 to 23, subtract 12 and add PM. So 2100 minus 12 is 9:00 PM.

Worked examples

• 5:30 PM to military: 5 + 12 = 17, so the answer is 1730 hours, said “seventeen thirty hours.”
• 9:45 AM to military: pad the hour, giving 0945, said “zero nine forty-five hours.”
• 1730 to standard: 17 – 12 = 5, so 5:30 PM.
• Time between 0700 and 1730: 10 hours 30 minutes.
• Overnight, 2300 to 0200: 3 hours, crossing midnight into the next day.

Military time conversion chart

Honest limitations

Military time itself has no time zone attached: 1730 in New York and 1730 in Los Angeles are different moments. When precision matters across zones, the military uses Zulu time (UTC) with a zone suffix, which this converter does not model. It also treats 2400 as midnight at the end of the day and 0000 as the start; both are accepted usage, but 2400 is technically the last minute of the old day while 0000 is the first of the new one.

The full 24-hour chart, inside the tool

The conversion chart in the article is now also built into the calculator: press “Show the full 24-hour chart” under the results to see all 24 hours with standard time, military time, and the spoken pronunciation for each hour, generated by the same pronunciation engine the converter uses. It is handy when you are learning the pattern and want to check any hour at a glance.

Frequently asked questions

What is 1700 in military time?

1700 hours is 5:00 PM in standard time. Subtract 12 from any hour above 12 to get the PM hour.

What is midnight in military time?

Midnight is 0000, said “zero hundred hours.” You may also see 2400 used for midnight at the very end of a day.

What is noon in military time?

Noon is 1200, said “twelve hundred hours.”

How do you say 2100 in military time?

“Twenty-one hundred hours.” Hours on the hour are said as the number plus “hundred hours”; with minutes you say the digits: 2130 is “twenty-one thirty.”

How do I convert military time to regular time?

For hours 13 through 23, subtract 12 and add PM. For 00, use 12 AM. For 01 through 12, keep the hour and add AM for 01 to 11, PM for 12.

Is 2400 a valid military time?

Yes, as a way to write midnight at the end of a day. The converter accepts 2400 and reads it as 12:00 AM.

Why does the military use 24-hour time?

To remove AM/PM ambiguity. In operations, medicine, aviation, and emergency services, mistaking morning for evening can be dangerous, so one unambiguous numbering runs the whole day.

What time is 0005 in military time?

12:05 AM. In military speech it is “zero oh five hours.”