Convert DMS to Lat Long
Instantly convert Degrees, Minutes, Seconds coordinates to decimal latitude and longitude - free, fast, and accurate.
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What is DMS (Degrees, Minutes, Seconds)?
DMS is a coordinate format that expresses latitude and longitude as
degrees, minutes, and seconds - for example,
40°26'46"N 79°58'56"W. It is one of the oldest and
most widely recognized geographic coordinate formats, breaking each
value into three components:
- Degrees (°) - the largest unit, ranging from 0 to 90 for latitude and 0 to 180 for longitude
- Minutes (') - each degree contains 60 minutes
- Seconds (") - each minute contains 60 seconds
A typical DMS coordinate looks like
40°26'46"N 79°58'56"W, where the cardinal direction
(N/S for latitude, E/W for longitude) indicates the hemisphere.
What is DMS used for?
DMS remains the standard notation in several professional fields:
- Aviation - ICAO flight plans, aeronautical charts, and ATC communications all reference waypoints in DMS
- Nautical navigation - maritime charts and ship positioning use DMS as the primary coordinate format
- Topographic maps - printed USGS quads and government survey maps label coordinates in DMS along the margins
- Land surveying - traditional property surveys and legal land descriptions record bearings and positions in DMS
How do you convert DMS to decimal degrees?
To convert DMS to decimal degrees, divide minutes by 60, divide seconds by 3600, and add both to the degrees value. The formula:
For southern latitudes (S) or western longitudes (W), negate the
result. The direction letter replaces the sign: N and
E are positive, S and W are
negative.
Worked example
Convert 40°26'46.8"N 79°58'56.4"W to decimal degrees:
Final result: 40.446333, -79.982333 - a point in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
What are common DMS conversion mistakes?
Hemisphere ambiguity. Forgetting the cardinal
direction letter (N/S/E/W) or applying the wrong sign is the most
common mistake. 40°26'46" without a direction is
ambiguous - it could be in the northern or southern hemisphere.
Always include the hemisphere indicator.
Minutes/seconds exceeding 60. Values like
40°72'00" are invalid - minutes and seconds must each
be less than 60. Some tools silently overflow these values, leading
to incorrect coordinates.
Symbol confusion. Straight quotes
(' and ") are often substituted for the
typographic prime and double-prime symbols. Most parsers accept
either, but mixing unicode characters (curly quotes, backticks)
can cause parse failures.
Frequently asked questions
What is DMS coordinate format?
DMS stands for Degrees, Minutes, Seconds. It is a traditional way of writing geographic coordinates where each value is broken into degrees (°), minutes ('), and seconds ("). For example, 40°26'46"N 79°58'56"W represents a location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each degree contains 60 minutes, and each minute contains 60 seconds.
How do I convert DMS to decimal degrees?
Use the formula: Decimal Degrees = Degrees + (Minutes ÷ 60) + (Seconds ÷ 3600). For southern latitudes (S) or western longitudes (W), the result is negative. For example, 40°26'46"N becomes 40 + 26/60 + 46/3600 = 40.4461°. You can use the converter above to do it instantly.
What is the difference between DD and DMS?
DD (Decimal Degrees) expresses coordinates as a single decimal number (e.g., 40.4461, -79.9822), while DMS breaks the same value into three components (e.g., 40°26'46"N 79°58'56"W). Both represent the same location - DD is more common in digital applications, while DMS is traditional in navigation and printed maps.
Where is DMS notation commonly used?
DMS is the standard coordinate notation in aviation (flight charts and ATC communications), nautical navigation (maritime charts), topographic maps, land surveying, and many government mapping publications. It remains widely used because the degree-minute-second breakdown provides an intuitive sense of scale.