Coordinate converter
Convert WGS84 decimal latitude and longitude into degrees, minutes and seconds.
How it works & useful details
How it works & limits
Enter decimal degrees in WGS84. Latitude is north/south and longitude is east/west; values at the poles and antimeridian are accepted.
The tool converts display formats only. DMS seconds are rounded to two decimal places for display, while saved calculations retain the entered decimal values.
Private local calculation
Coordinates and pasted data stay in this browser tab. These tools use no map tiles, geocoding, routing, elevation data or network requests.
About this tool
Coordinate converter converts WGS84 latitude and longitude between decimal degrees and degrees, minutes, and seconds. It is handy when one system provides decimal coordinates and another expects the traditional DMS notation.
Conversion is exact to the precision shown, and the direction (north/south, east/west) is derived from the sign. Everything runs locally without contacting any geocoding service.
How to use it
- Enter the coordinate in decimal degrees or in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
- Choose the direction of conversion.
- Review the equivalent notation, including hemisphere signs.
- Copy the converted value.
Worked example
London's decimal coordinates 51.5074, −0.1278 convert to:
Degrees and decimal minutes: 51° 30.444' N, 0° 7.668' W
Degrees, minutes, seconds: 51° 30' 26.64" N, 0° 7' 40.08" WThe whole-number part stays as degrees. The fraction × 60 gives minutes, and the remaining fraction of a minute × 60 gives seconds: 0.5074° × 60 = 30.444′, and 0.444′ × 60 = 26.64″. A negative longitude becomes W, and a negative latitude becomes S.
Which notation to use
- Decimal degrees (51.5074) are what web maps, GPS APIs, spreadsheets, and GeoJSON use. Note that GeoJSON writes longitude first.
- Degrees and decimal minutes (51° 30.444′) are common in marine and aviation GPS units.
- Degrees, minutes, and seconds (51° 30′ 26.64″) appear on paper maps, survey documents, and property records.
Precision matters: five decimal places of a degree are about 1.1 metres at the equator, and two decimal places of a second are about 30 centimetres. Swapping latitude and longitude is the most common coordinate error. Latitude is always between −90 and 90, so a "latitude" of 151 is a sure sign of a swap.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the DMS value use seconds with decimals?
Seconds with decimals preserve the precision of the original decimal coordinate without inventing accuracy that is not there.
How are negative coordinates displayed?
Negative latitude means south and negative longitude means west; the converted output marks the hemisphere explicitly.
Is a map or geocoder consulted?
No. The conversion is purely numeric and stays on your device.
Does converting the notation change the datum?
No. The coordinates stay in WGS84, the datum used by GPS. Converting to a local grid or datum, such as a national survey grid, is a different operation.