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RavingDesk Coordinate Converter (DMS, UTM, MGRS, plus codes)

Convert coordinates between DD, DMS, UTM/UPS, MGRS, geohash, Maidenhead and plus codes.

Up to 500 lines. Each line is converted on its own; a line that cannot be read is reported and skipped.

More options

5 = 1 m, 4 = 10 m, 3 = 100 m.

10 digits ≈ 14 m × 14 m, 11 ≈ 3.5 m × 2.8 m.

9 characters ≈ 4.8 m × 4.8 m.

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Try an example: Berlin, Paris (DMS) and the Washington Monument (MGRS) · UTM to latitude/longitude, including Bergen in the Norway zone 32V · Grid codes: plus code, Maidenhead locator, MGRS on Svalbard · Geohashes (format named, since geohash text is ambiguous)

More about this tool

How it works

Reads coordinates in almost any notation — decimal degrees, degrees-minutes-seconds with hemisphere letters, UTM or UPS, MGRS grid references, geohashes, Maidenhead locators, plus codes or Web Mercator metres — and writes each one in every other format, with the UTM zone (including the Norway and Svalbard exceptions), meridian convergence and scale factor. Up to 500 lines at once, with a CSV table for spreadsheets. It is the coordinate engine of RavingDesk’s Data & charts geo layer.

  • Latitude/longitude text is read tolerantly: decimal degrees, DMS and DDM with °, ′, ″ (or d, m, s, apostrophes), hemisphere letters before or after the numbers, minus signs, and decimal commas when the two values are separated by a semicolon.
  • UTM uses the transverse Mercator projection with Krüger’s series to 6th order in the third flattening (Karney 2011: accuracy better than 5 nm within the zone), k₀ = 0.9996, false easting 500 km and false northing 10,000 km south of the equator. Zones follow the Norway (32V) and Svalbard (31X–37X) exceptions. North of 84°N and south of 80°S the polar stereographic UPS (k₀ = 0.994) is used.
  • MGRS uses the standard (AA) lettering of NGA.STND.0037 and truncates to the chosen precision, as the standard requires; MGRS in the polar UPS areas is not supported. Plus codes follow the Open Location Code specification; geohash interleaves longitude/latitude bits in base 32; Maidenhead uses fields, squares and subsquares.
  • Grid codes (MGRS, plus codes, geohashes, locators) stand for a square: the latitude/longitude shown is the centre of that square and the cell size is reported.
  • Web Mercator (EPSG:3857) treats the Earth as a sphere of 6,378,137 m; it is for web maps, not for measuring.

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How to use the RavingDesk Coordinate Converter (DMS, UTM, MGRS, plus codes)

Convert one coordinate or a whole list between decimal degrees, DMS, DDM, UTM/UPS, MGRS, geohash, Maidenhead locators and plus codes.

What it is for

The same place can be written in many ways: 47.6061, -122.3320 in a spreadsheet, 47°36′22″N 122°19′55″W on a chart, 10T 550212 5272739 on a hiking map, an MGRS grid reference from a search-and-rescue team, a plus code from Google Maps or a Maidenhead locator from a radio amateur. Converting between them by hand is slow and error-prone. Mixing up minutes and decimal degrees alone can move a point by kilometres.

This converter reads coordinates in almost any of these notations and writes each one in all the others. Paste up to 500 lines at once and you get a table you can copy into a spreadsheet. For a single coordinate you also see the UTM zone details, including meridian convergence and scale factor.

All formats use the WGS84 datum. The converter does not transform between datums (for example from an old national grid), so it cannot fix positions taken from such maps.

Worked example

Three lines in three different notations:

Worked example
InputLatitudeLongitudeUTMMGRSPlus code
47°36′22″N 122°19′55″W47.6061111−122.331944410T 550212 527273910T ET 50211 7273884VVJM49+C6
31U DQ 48251 1193548.85822542.294495631U 448252 541193631U DQ 48251 119358FW4V75V+7Q
9C3XGW4F+5V51.5054375−0.075312530U 702967 571009030U YC 02966 100899C3XGW4F+5V

The first line (Seattle) is DMS text. The second is the MGRS reference of the Eiffel Tower area. The third is a plus code near the Tower of London. The same table also gives DMS, DDM, geohash (c23nb62te for Seattle), Maidenhead (CN87uo) and Web Mercator metres. A note reminds you that grid codes stand for a square and that the latitude and longitude shown are its centre.

How to read the result

  • Latitude / Longitude are signed decimal degrees: south and west are negative.
  • UTM shows zone, latitude band, easting and northing in metres. North of 84°N and south of 80°S you get UPS (bands Y/Z and A/B) instead.
  • MGRS gives the 100 km square letters and the easting and northing digits. Five digits per axis means 1 m.
  • Plus code, geohash and Maidenhead are grid codes. Longer codes mean smaller squares.
  • With one input, the metrics also show the meridian convergence (the angle between grid north and true north) and the scale factor of the UTM grid at that point.

Tips and common mistakes

  • MGRS truncates and UTM rounds. That is why the Eiffel Tower line shows northing 5411936 in UTM but 11935 in MGRS. Both follow their standards.
  • Geohash text can look like other things, so name the input format "Geohash" before converting geohashes.
  • Norway and Svalbard use special UTM zones (32V; 31X–37X). The converter applies them automatically, so a Bergen point lands in zone 32, not 31.
  • Short plus codes such as GW4F+5V need a reference town and are not accepted. Use the full code with 8 characters before "+".
  • Lines that cannot be read are listed as warnings with their line number. The other lines are still converted.

FAQ

Which datum do the results use?

WGS84 for every format, the datum of GPS and web maps. ETRS89 and NAD83 differ from it by well under a metre for most uses.

How exact is the UTM conversion?

It uses Krüger's series to 6th order, which is accurate to a few nanometres within a zone. Results match PROJ to the millimetre in the tests.

Does it support MGRS near the poles?

No. MGRS is supported from 80°S to 84°N. Polar positions are shown in UPS instead.

Can I convert a column in a spreadsheet?

Paste the column here, or use RavingDesk's Data & charts. The Geo layer step has an "Add a coordinate column" action that uses the same engine.

Guide last updated:

For scripts and AI agents

  • JSON API: POST https://ravingdeskcoordinateconverter.usefulweb.app/api/v1/calculate (same calculation as this page)
  • Interface description: OpenAPI 3.1 · AI guide: llms.txt
  • MCP server (Streamable HTTP): https://ravingdeskcoordinateconverter.usefulweb.app/mcp · tool name ravingdesk_coordinate_converter
Example request
curl -s -X POST https://ravingdeskcoordinateconverter.usefulweb.app/api/v1/calculate \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"coordinates":"52.520008, 13.404954\n48°51′29.6″N 2°17′40.2″E\n18S UJ 23487 06483"}'
Feedback · ideas & bug reports welcome