TIME Function
Converts hour, minute, and second into a time fraction of a day.
Syntax
Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| hour | The hour component, 0-23. Values of 24 or more roll over into whole days, keeping only the remainder (24 becomes 0, 25 becomes 1). | Required |
| minute | The minute component, 0-59. Values of 60 or more roll over into hours. | Required |
| second | The second component, 0-59. Values of 60 or more roll over into minutes. | Required |
Basic Example
Build a noon time value
=TIME(12, 0, 0)12 hours is exactly half of a 24-hour day, so TIME returns the fraction 0.5.
Advanced Examples
Example 1: Hour overflow drops the day
A clock reading past midnightHours of 24+ wrap and discard the extra day
=TIME(25, 0, 0)Example 2: Minute overflow rolls into hours
90 minutes past midnightMinutes beyond 59 carry into the hour
=TIME(0, 90, 0)How TIME Works
TIME converts the three integer inputs into the fraction of a day they represent (hour/24 + minute/1440 + second/86400). It first rolls over out-of-range components, seconds into minutes, minutes into hours, and hours modulo 24, so the final value always lies between 0 and 1.
Important Notes & Limitations
TIME returns only the fractional part of a day; hour values of 24+ discard the whole-day portion.
The result is a fraction and must be time-formatted to display correctly.
It cannot represent a time of exactly 24:00:00 (that wraps back to 0).
Common Errors & Fixes
Time shows as a decimalThe cell is in General number format.Fix: Apply a time number format (e.g. h:mm:ss).
Unexpected value with large hoursHours of 24+ wrap modulo 24.Fix: Use MOD or split into date and time if you need the day count as well.
Download Practice File
TIME
timePractice TIME with Real Data
Download a sample CSV file with pre-populated data and practice exercises for the TIME function. Works in both Excel and Google Sheets.
File format: CSV (comma-separated values) - opens in Excel, Google Sheets, and all spreadsheet apps