Military Time Chart: 24-Hour to Standard Time

6 min read•January 15, 2025•Reviewed: June 1, 2026

✓Reviewed by Apex Conversion Editorial Team · Last reviewed June 1, 2026

Military time — also called 24-hour time — removes the AM/PM ambiguity of the 12-hour clock by running the hours from 0000 (midnight) to 2359 (one minute before the next midnight). A four-digit number tells you everything: the first two digits are the hour (00–23) and the last two are the minutes (00–59). There is no need to specify morning or afternoon because each hour of the day has a unique number.

The system is used by the military, aviation, emergency services, hospitals, and many countries outside the United States as their everyday timekeeping format. Learning to read it quickly is a valuable skill whenever you work with schedules, travel itineraries, medical records, or international communications.

How to Read Military Time

Reading military time is straightforward once you know two rules. For hours 0000 through 1159 (midnight through 11:59 AM), the conversion is direct: drop the leading zero and read it as AM time. 0900 is 9:00 AM, 1100 is 11:00 AM, 0730 is 7:30 AM.

For hours 1200 through 2359 (noon through 11:59 PM), subtract 1200 to get the PM equivalent. 1200 is 12:00 PM (noon), 1300 is 1:00 PM, 1800 is 6:00 PM, 2300 is 11:00 PM, 2359 is 11:59 PM. The key exception: 1200 stays as 12:00 PM, not 0:00 PM.

Military Time Chart — AM Hours (0000–1159)

Military  Standard    Military  Standard
────────  ─────────   ────────  ─────────
0000      12:00 AM    0600      6:00 AM
0030       12:30 AM    0630      6:30 AM
0100       1:00 AM    0700      7:00 AM
0200       2:00 AM    0800      8:00 AM
0300       3:00 AM    0900      9:00 AM
0400       4:00 AM    1000     10:00 AM
0500       5:00 AM    1100     11:00 AM
0530       5:30 AM    1130     11:30 AM

Military Time Chart — PM Hours (1200–2359)

Military  Standard    Military  Standard
────────  ─────────   ────────  ─────────
1200      12:00 PM    1800      6:00 PM
1230      12:30 PM    1830      6:30 PM
1300       1:00 PM    1900      7:00 PM
1330       1:30 PM    2000      8:00 PM
1400       2:00 PM    2100      9:00 PM
1500       3:00 PM    2130      9:30 PM
1600       4:00 PM    2200     10:00 PM
1700       5:00 PM    2230     10:30 PM
1730       5:30 PM    2300     11:00 PM
1745       5:45 PM    2330     11:30 PM
                      2359     11:59 PM

Noon and Midnight in Military Time

Noon is 1200 in military time — not 0000. 0000 is midnight (the start of a new day). This is one of the most common points of confusion. When clocks roll over from 2359 to the next day, the first moment of that day is 0000, which is 12:00 AM in standard time.

Midnight can also be written as 2400, but this notation is avoided in practice because it refers to the same moment as 0000 of the following day, which creates ambiguity in scheduling. The safe convention: always use 0000 for midnight at the start of a day and 2359 for the last minute of a day.

The Conversion Formula

Military → Standard:
  If military hour < 12:   add ':MM AM' (12:MM AM for 0000)
  If military hour = 12:   use 12:MM PM
  If military hour > 12:   subtract 12, add ':MM PM'

Standard → Military:
  AM times (except 12 AM): keep the hour, pad to 4 digits
  12:00 AM (midnight) = 0000
  PM times (except 12 PM): add 12 to the hour
  12:00 PM (noon)     = 1200

Examples:
  3:45 AM  → 0345     |  0345 → 3:45 AM
  12:00 AM → 0000     |  0000 → 12:00 AM (midnight)
  12:00 PM → 1200     |  1200 → 12:00 PM (noon)
  5:30 PM  → 1730     |  1730 → 5:30 PM
  11:45 PM → 2345     |  2345 → 11:45 PM

Quick Tips for Reading Military Time

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For PM times above noon, subtract 1200 to get the standard hour: 1830 − 1200 = 6:30 PM.
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For AM times, read the last two digits as minutes and the first two as the hour. 0745 = 7:45 AM.
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Noon is 1200, midnight is 0000 — not 2400. When in doubt, prefer 0000.
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Military time never uses a colon in written form (1730, not 17:30), though digital clocks and international usage often do add the colon.
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In speech, military time is often read aloud as 'seventeen thirty hours' (1730) or 'oh-eight-hundred hours' (0800).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 0000 in military time?

0000 military time is 12:00 AM — midnight at the start of a new day. It is also sometimes written as midnight or 00:00. Do not confuse it with noon (1200).

What is 1200 in military time?

1200 military time is 12:00 PM — noon. It is the one case where military and 12-hour times share the same number with no subtraction needed. The next hour, 1300, is 1:00 PM.

What is 1800 in military time?

1800 military time is 6:00 PM. To convert: 1800 − 1200 = 6:00 PM. This formula works for any PM hour between 1300 and 2359.

What is 2300 in military time?

2300 military time is 11:00 PM. To convert: 2300 − 1200 = 11:00 PM. 2359 is 11:59 PM — the last minute of the day before midnight.

Why doesn't the US use 24-hour time officially?

The US civilian population has used the 12-hour clock since colonial times, and the practice has been reinforced by decades of consumer technology (12-hour clocks, AM/FM radio labels). The US military and aviation sector adopted 24-hour time for operational clarity, but civilian usage remained anchored to the older convention. Most of the rest of the world uses 24-hour time for official timetables, transportation, and healthcare.

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