Military Time Explained: Complete Chart, Converter, and How to Read It

Military time is just a 24-hour clock — here is the whole thing

Military time runs from 0000 (midnight) to 2359 (one minute before midnight). There is no AM or PM. Midnight is 0000, noon is 1200, and the hours after noon keep counting: 1 PM is 1300, 2 PM is 1400, all the way to 11 PM which is 2300. That is the entire system.

The first 12 hours are identical to standard time with a leading zero. 1:00 AM is 0100. 9:30 AM is 0930. 12:00 PM (noon) is 1200. After noon, add 12 to the standard hour: 1 PM + 12 = 1300. 5:45 PM becomes 1745. 10:15 PM becomes 2215. To convert back, subtract 12 from any number over 1259: 1800 minus 1200 = 6:00 PM.

The full conversion chart

Here is every hour in both formats. 0000 is 12:00 AM (midnight). 0100 is 1:00 AM. 0200 is 2:00 AM. 0300 is 3:00 AM. 0400 is 4:00 AM. 0500 is 5:00 AM. 0600 is 6:00 AM. 0700 is 7:00 AM. 0800 is 8:00 AM. 0900 is 9:00 AM. 1000 is 10:00 AM. 1100 is 11:00 AM. 1200 is 12:00 PM (noon). 1300 is 1:00 PM. 1400 is 2:00 PM. 1500 is 3:00 PM. 1600 is 4:00 PM. 1700 is 5:00 PM. 1800 is 6:00 PM. 1900 is 7:00 PM. 2000 is 8:00 PM. 2100 is 9:00 PM. 2200 is 10:00 PM. 2300 is 11:00 PM.

For quick conversions any time, use the military time converter — type in either format and see the other instantly.

Who actually uses military time

It is not just the military. Hospitals use 24-hour time on charts, medication schedules, and shift handoffs because confusing AM and PM in a medical setting can be dangerous. A nurse reading "give morphine at 8" needs to know whether that means 0800 or 2000 — the 24-hour clock removes that ambiguity entirely.

Aviation runs on 24-hour time worldwide (called Zulu time when referenced to UTC). Air traffic control, flight plans, and pilot logs all use the format. Shipping and logistics companies use it for the same reason: when you are coordinating across time zones, AM/PM introduces confusion that 24-hour time eliminates.

Most of Europe, Asia, and South America use the 24-hour clock in everyday life. Train schedules in Germany, bus timetables in Japan, meeting invitations in Brazil — all use 24-hour format. The 12-hour AM/PM system is primarily a US, Canada, Australia, and UK convention, and even in those countries, the military, medical, and aviation sectors default to 24-hour time.

The three mistakes everyone makes

First: midnight confusion. Is midnight 2400 or 0000? Both are technically correct, but they mean different things. 0000 is the start of a new day (the first minute of Tuesday). 2400 is the end of a day (the last moment of Monday). In practice, most systems use 0000. If a shift schedule says 0000 to 0800, you start at midnight and work until 8 AM.

Second: the 12 PM trap. In standard time, 12:00 PM is noon, not midnight. In military time, 1200 is noon and 0000 is midnight. People sometimes convert 12:30 PM to 0030 (wrong — that is 12:30 AM) instead of 1230 (correct). Remember: the hours from 1200 to 1259 are the PM noon hour, not the AM midnight hour.

Third: saying times out loud. Military convention pronounces 0900 as "zero nine hundred" and 1430 as "fourteen thirty." You do not say "fourteen hundred and thirty." The word "hours" is optional and typically appended: "the briefing is at zero nine hundred hours." Minutes are read as individual digits when stating a time: 0805 is "zero eight zero five."

Converting shift schedules that cross midnight

If your shift runs from 2200 to 0600, the math for total hours requires crossing the midnight boundary. The simple method: hours from start to midnight (2200 to 0000 = 2 hours) plus hours from midnight to end (0000 to 0600 = 6 hours) = 8 hours total. Alternatively, add 24 to the end time if it is smaller than the start time: 0600 + 2400 = 3000, then 3000 minus 2200 = 8 hours.

For more time calculations — elapsed time, time zone conversions, or shift planning — the time calculator handles the edge cases that trip people up when crossing midnight or working with different time zones.