DMS to Decimal Degrees Converter

How it is calculated

The tool adds the minutes and seconds to the degrees as fractions of a degree: decimal = sign × (|degrees| + minutes ÷ 60 + seconds ÷ 3600). Minutes and seconds are optional and default to 0; the degrees box is required. The sign comes from the degrees box only: type a minus sign there for south latitudes and west longitudes, and the whole value, not just the degrees, becomes negative. A typed -0 also counts as negative, so −0° 30′ gives −0.500000°. Minutes and seconds themselves must not be negative, or no result is shown. The result has six decimals and a degree sign, about 0.1 metre on the ground. The tool does not check that minutes and seconds are below 60: 40° 90′ is accepted and gives 41.500000°. A hemisphere letter (N, S, E, W) cannot be typed; use the sign instead.

Common mistakes

• Applying the minus sign only to the degrees part by hand, as in −33 + 0.865 = −32.135. The tool applies the sign to the whole value, which is correct: the minutes and seconds also move the point further south or west.
• Entering south or west as positive numbers. Without a minus sign the result lands in the opposite hemisphere, in a different part of the map.
• Typing a hemisphere letter or a full string such as 33°51′54″S into the degrees box. Degrees, minutes and seconds go in separate boxes, as plain numbers.
• Typing decimal minutes (such as 51.9) in the minutes box and also filling seconds. Use either decimal minutes with seconds empty, or whole minutes with seconds.
• Typing minutes or seconds of 60 or more. The tool will not warn you, and the result will be a different point from the one you meant.