Work out coordinate format converter instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Degrees, minutes and seconds convert to decimal degrees by dividing minutes by 60 and seconds by 3600 and adding: 51 degrees 30 minutes 26 seconds is 51.507222 degrees. GPS receivers and mapping APIs use decimal degrees, marine navigation prefers degrees and decimal minutes, and one degree of latitude is about 111.32 km everywhere.
Decimal degrees
DD = degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600
Degrees and decimal minutes
DDM = degrees + (minutes + seconds/60)
About 31 metres of latitude, so six decimal places in decimal degrees is around 0.1 m - well beyond consumer GPS accuracy.
Decimal degrees for software and databases, degrees and decimal minutes for marine and aviation charts, and full DMS for legacy survey records.