Military Time · How-To
How to Convert Military Time to Standard Time
Someone hands you a schedule that reads 1745 and asks what time that is. If you know the rule, it takes two seconds: subtract 12, add PM — 5:45 PM. Here is that rule, the two numbers where it doesn't apply, and enough worked examples that it sticks.
Key takeaways
- Hours 01–11 are already the answer — just add AM.
0530is5:30 AM. - Hours 13–23: subtract 12 and add PM.
1745becomes5:45 PM. - The two exceptions to memorize outright:
0000is 12:00 AM (midnight), and1200is 12:00 PM (noon). - Minutes never change. Only the hour number and the AM/PM label are affected by the conversion.
- The whole method reduces to one instinct: "13 or higher? Subtract 12." Everything else in 00–12 is either already correct or one of the two named exceptions.
Military time and standard time count the same day, just written differently — so converting one to the other is arithmetic, not translation. Every military time is four digits, HHMM, and every conversion comes down to what happens to those first two digits: sometimes nothing, sometimes subtract 12, and there are exactly two hour values that get a name instead of a number.
This guide is the method itself: the rule, the two exceptions, several worked examples, and a mental shortcut for doing it without a calculator. If you'd rather not do the arithmetic at all, the military time converter does it instantly — including the widget below. For what military time is and how it's written in the first place, see what is military time.
01The one rule that does most of the work
Take the first two digits of the military time — that's the hour, from 00 to 23. If that number is 13 or higher, subtract 12 and the result is the standard hour, labelled PM. If it's 1 through 11, it's already the standard hour, labelled AM. The minutes — the last two digits — never change, in either direction.
That covers 22 of the 24 possible hours. The two left over, 00 and 12, don't fit the pattern and have to be memorized on their own: they're covered next.
02Convert a time right now
Type a military time — with or without the colon, 1745 or 17:45 — and read the standard-time answer as you type.
Military → standard
Afternoon · post meridiem
Need the full hour-by-hour list instead?
This box converts one time at a time as a teaching tool. For every hour of the day mapped at once, see the military time chart, or use the full military time converter for copy, print, and batch conversion.
03The four hour cases
Every military time falls into exactly one of these four cases. Learn these and there's nothing left to guess.
- Hour is
00→ always12:00 AM, midnight. This is the first exception — it does not stay "0." - Hour is
01–11→ the number stays the same, label AM.0530→5:30 AM. - Hour is
12→ always12:00 PM, noon. The second exception — it does not become "0 PM." - Hour is
13–23→ subtract 12 from the hour, label PM.1745→17minus 12 is5→5:45 PM.
Minutes are copied across unchanged in every one of the four cases — they're never part of the arithmetic.
Why 00 and 12 need memorizing, not calculating
The 12-hour clock has no zero — it counts 1 through 12 and repeats. Military time's 00 has no direct 12-hour equivalent number, so it borrows "12" and adds AM; military time's 12 already matches the number but needs PM instead of AM. Neither follows the plain "keep it" or "subtract 12" pattern, which is exactly why they're the two places people get tripped up.
04Worked examples
Four conversions, one from each case
- Convert
0000. Hour is00— case 1.12:00 AM
- Convert
0915. Hour is09, in the 01–11 range — case 2, keep the number, label AM.9:15 AM
- Convert
1200. Hour is12— case 3.12:00 PM
- Convert
2110. Hour is21, in the 13–23 range — case 4:21minus 12 is9, label PM.9:10 PM
05The one-second mental trick
Reduce the whole method to a single question: is the hour 13 or higher? If yes, subtract 12 — that's the entire adjustment for the back half of the day. If no, you're in the front half, and the front half only has two numbers worth memorizing by name: 00 is midnight and 12 is noon. Every other hour from 01 to 11 is simply read as-is.
Subtracting 12 without a pause
Subtracting 12 from a two-digit hour is easier split into two smaller steps: subtract 10, then subtract 2. 17 minus 10 is 7, minus 2 is 5. It's the same arithmetic as subtracting 12 outright, just broken into steps most people can do without writing anything down.
06Converting a full shift without writing anything down
When you're reading several military times in a row — a duty roster, a set of appointment slots — it helps to sort them into the two halves first rather than converting one at a time. Scan the list and mentally tag anything 13 or higher as "back half, subtract 12 later." Everything 12 or under either reads as-is or is one of the two named exceptions. Once every time is tagged, the subtraction step is the only arithmetic left, and it's the same subtraction every time.
07Mistakes that trip people up
- Treating
00as "0 AM" instead of the named exception12:00 AM. - Treating
12as "0 PM" instead of the named exception12:00 PM. - Subtracting 12 from an hour that's already 12 or under — turning
0930into a negative number instead of leaving it alone. - Off-by-one errors in the subtraction itself —
1300minus 12 is1, not2. - Subtracting 12 from the minutes instead of the hour. The subtraction only ever touches the first two digits.
Skip the arithmetic entirely
Enter any military time and get the standard 12-hour result instantly — free, private, no sign-up.
08Frequently asked questions
What's the fastest way to convert military time in my head?
If the hour is 13 or higher, subtract 12 and call it PM. If it's 01–11, leave it alone and call it AM. The only two numbers to memorize outright are 00 (midnight, 12 AM) and 12 (noon, 12 PM).
Do the minutes change when converting?
No. Minutes carry straight across unchanged in both directions. Only the hour number and the AM/PM label are affected by the conversion.
What does 0000 convert to?
0000 converts to 12:00 AM, midnight. It's one of the two exceptions to the plain hour-number rule, along with 12.
What does 1200 convert to?
1200 converts to 12:00 PM, noon. Despite being in the 01–12 range, 12 is the second exception — it does not become "12 AM."
Is there a single formula that covers every hour?
Close to one: for hours 1 through 12, the number is already the answer (with 00 treated as 12 for midnight); for hours 13 through 23, subtract 12. The AM/PM label follows automatically — AM for 00–11, PM for 12–23.
