How to Read Military Time — 1300, 1400 and Everything in Between

The short answer

Military time is the 24-hour clock written as four digits with no colon and no AM or PM. The first two digits are the hour (00 to 23) and the last two are the minutes (00 to 59). Before noon the numbers match the ordinary clock; after noon you subtract 12 from the hour.

So 1300 is 1:00 PM (13 − 12 = 1), 1400 is 2:00 PM, 1530 is 3:30 PM and 2145 is 9:45 PM. In the morning, 0700 is 7:00 AM and 0915 is 9:15 AM.

Converting military time to standard time, step by step

Step 1: split the four digits into hours and minutes. 1745 becomes 17 hours and 45 minutes.

Step 2: if the hour is 13 or more, subtract 12 and write PM. 17 − 12 = 5, so 1745 is 5:45 PM.

Step 3: if the hour is 01 to 11, keep it and write AM: 0830 is 8:30 AM. Two special cases: hour 12 is noon, so 1200 is 12:00 PM and 1230 is 12:30 PM; hour 00 is midnight, so 0000 is 12:00 AM and 0015 is 12:15 AM.

The minutes never change. 1405 is 2:05 PM, not 2:50 PM — the leading zero in the minutes matters, which is why military time always uses four digits.

Converting standard time to military time

For AM times, write the hour with a leading zero: 6:20 AM is 0620. For PM times from 1:00 PM onwards, add 12 to the hour: 4:10 PM is 16 + 10 minutes, written 1610. 11:59 PM is 2359, the last minute of the day.

The two times people get wrong are noon and midnight. 12:00 PM (noon) stays 1200 — do not add 12. 12:00 AM (midnight) becomes 0000. 12:40 AM is 0040.

Quick chart: every afternoon and evening hour

1200 = 12 PM (noon) · 1300 = 1 PM · 1400 = 2 PM · 1500 = 3 PM · 1600 = 4 PM · 1700 = 5 PM · 1800 = 6 PM.

1900 = 7 PM · 2000 = 8 PM · 2100 = 9 PM · 2200 = 10 PM · 2300 = 11 PM · 0000 = 12 AM (midnight).

Morning hours are the same digits with a leading zero: 0100 = 1 AM through 1100 = 11 AM. The converter page has the full hour-by-hour table if you want to print it.

How to say military time out loud

In the US military and many hospitals, whole hours are spoken as "hundred": 1400 is "fourteen hundred" (often "fourteen hundred hours"). 0600 is "zero six hundred" — the leading zero is spoken as "zero", and "oh six hundred" is common in casual speech.

Times with minutes are read as two pairs: 1430 is "fourteen thirty", 0745 is "zero seven forty-five", 2105 is "twenty-one oh five". Military speakers never say "PM" with a 24-hour time, because the number already says it.

Working out the time between two military times

Because there is no AM/PM to juggle, elapsed time is simple subtraction. If the later time's minutes are smaller than the earlier time's, borrow an hour (60 minutes) first.

Example: a shift from 0845 to 1715. Minutes: 15 is less than 45, so borrow an hour — 1715 becomes 16 hours 75 minutes. 75 − 45 = 30 minutes and 16 − 8 = 8 hours. The shift is 8 hours 30 minutes, which is 8.5 decimal hours for a timesheet.

Across midnight, add 24 hours to the end time. A night shift from 2200 to 0600: treat 0600 as 3000, then 3000 − 2200 = 8 hours. From 1930 to 0715: 3115 − 1930 → borrow an hour: 30 h 75 min − 19 h 30 min = 11 h 45 min.

Military time, 24-hour time and Zulu time

Outside the US the same 24-hour clock is simply called 24-hour time and is usually written with a colon (14:00). Military style drops the colon (1400). The numbers are identical.

You will also see times like 1400Z. The Z stands for Zulu time, the military name for Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 1400Z is 2 PM in UTC, which is 10 AM Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) or 9 AM Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5). Pilots, ships and forecasters use Zulu so that everyone shares one clock; the time zone converter does the offset for your city.

Some schedules use 2400 to mean the end of a day ("open until 2400"). It is the same moment as 0000 of the next day; the 2400 form just makes it clear which midnight is meant.

Common mistakes

Subtracting 12 from morning hours: 1100 is 11 AM, not -1. Only subtract when the hour is 13 or more.

Adding 12 to noon: 12:30 PM is 1230, not 2430.

Dropping the leading zero in the minutes: 9:05 PM is 2105, not 215 or 2150.

Treating 1230 as half past twelve at night: in military time that is 0030.