Decimal Degrees to DMS Converter

How to convert decimal degrees to DMS

1. Enter decimal degrees. Type the latitude and longitude, for example 40.689306 and -74.044500. Negative values mean south or west.
2. Choose the output. Pick how many decimals to show on the seconds and whether you want the hemisphere letter after, before, or a minus sign.
3. Click Convert. The DMS result appears with a copy button, plus a link to open the point in Google Maps.
4. Or convert a list. Paste many pairs, one per line, then copy the results or download a CSV.

The decimal degrees to DMS method

Take the decimal value and work from left to right:

degrees = whole part of the number
minutes = whole part of (fraction x 60)
seconds = (remaining fraction of minutes) x 60

Worked example

Convert 40.689306. Degrees: 40. The fraction 0.689306 x 60 = 41.35836, so minutes are 41. The remaining 0.35836 x 60 = 21.50, so seconds are 21.50. The result is 40°41′21.50″ N. For -74.044500 the same steps give 74°02′40.20″, and because the value is negative the hemisphere is W.

Choosing seconds precision

The figures are for latitude; a second of longitude shrinks toward the poles. Rounding is handled carefully: if seconds round up to 60 the minutes carry over, and minutes carry into degrees, so you never see a value like 12′60″.

Output styles

Different organisations write DMS differently, so the tool offers three styles: hemisphere letter after the value (40°41′21.50″ N), hemisphere letter before (N 40°41′21.50″), and a signed value with a minus sign (-40°41′21.50″). Pick the one your form, chart or report expects.

Related converters

To go the other way, use DMS to decimal degrees. To turn a table of coordinates into a map file, use CSV to KML or Excel to KML. To reproject between datums or into UTM, use the CRS Converter.