0000 Military Time
Right now----:00(--:-- --)your device's clock
0000 is 12:00 AM, said zero hundred hours.
- Said
- —
- 24-hour
- —
- Standard
- —
- Minutes
- —
| Standard | Military |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 0000 |
| 1:00 AM | 0100 |
| 2:00 AM | 0200 |
| 3:00 AM | 0300 |
| 4:00 AM | 0400 |
| 5:00 AM | 0500 |
| 6:00 AM | 0600 |
| 7:00 AM | 0700 |
| 8:00 AM | 0800 |
| 9:00 AM | 0900 |
| 10:00 AM | 1000 |
| 11:00 AM | 1100 |
| Standard | Military |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | 1200 |
| 1:00 PM | 1300 |
| 2:00 PM | 1400 |
| 3:00 PM | 1500 |
| 4:00 PM | 1600 |
| 5:00 PM | 1700 |
| 6:00 PM | 1800 |
| 7:00 PM | 1900 |
| 8:00 PM | 2000 |
| 9:00 PM | 2100 |
| 10:00 PM | 2200 |
| 11:00 PM | 2300 |
The 0000 hour, every quarter
What 0000 means on a shift
On a 24-hour timesheet, 0000 is where a date changes. A night shift that starts at 2300 and ends at 0700 crosses it, which is why clock-in systems record the date with the time. Hospitals, airports, emergency dispatch and anyone on a graveyard rotation deal with 0000 every night. If your clock-out time is after midnight, your hours split across two dates on the card.
The mistake people make with 0000
Midnight has two spellings and they mean different things. 0000 is the start of a day; 2400 is the end of the previous one. A shift ending at 2400 on Monday ends at the same instant a shift starting at 0000 on Tuesday begins. Payroll software almost always wants 0000 and the next date. The other trap is 12 AM: in the 12-hour system midnight is 12:00 AM, not 12:00 PM, and 12:30 AM is 0030, not 1230.
0000 is midnight: 12:00 AM, the very start of the calendar day. It is spoken as zero hundred hours, or zero zero zero zero. The minutes that follow, 0001 to 0059, are the first hour of the new day, even though most of us are asleep for them.
Worked examples
- 12:00 AM to military
- Midnight is 0000. There is no twelve in military midnight; the hour resets to zero. Say zero hundred hours.
- 12:45 AM to military
- 0045. The minutes carry straight across and the hour is 00. Said as zero zero forty-five.
- A shift that crosses midnight
- Clock in 2230 Monday, out 0630 Tuesday. That is 1 hour 30 minutes before 0000 and 6 hours 30 after it: 8 hours total, recorded on two dates.
How it is calculated
12:00 AM is the one 12-hour time that drops to zero: the hour becomes 00. For any minute past midnight, keep the minutes and write 00 in front: 12:07 AM is 0007. Going back, 00xx is always 12:xx AM.
Questions people ask
- Is 0000 the same as 2400?
- They are the same instant written from two directions. 0000 is the first moment of a day; 2400 is the last moment of the day before. Most timesheets and all payroll software use 0000 with the new date. 2400 appears in some military and shipping schedules to mark the end of a period.
- Is 0000 12 AM or 12 PM?
- 12 AM. Midnight is 12:00 AM and noon is 12:00 PM. If that feels backwards, remember that AM runs from midnight to noon, so the first minute of AM is midnight.
- How do you say 0000 out loud?
- Zero hundred hours, or zero zero zero zero. Some people say midnight, which is fine in conversation but not on a radio or a log.
- What is 0030 in regular time?
- 12:30 AM, half past midnight. The hour 00 is always 12 AM; the minutes do not change.
- My shift ends at midnight. Do I write 0000 or 2400?
- Write 0000 and the next day's date unless your employer's system specifically asks for 2400. Writing 2400 with the same date is the more common convention when it is used at all.
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