How do I read a reference like “36R UU 12345 67890”?

“36” is the UTM longitudinal zone, “R” is the latitude band, “UU” identifies the 100 km square within the zone, then “12345” is the easting within that square and “67890” the northing — both in metres, with the same digit count according to the chosen precision.

What does the digit-count precision mean?

The number of digits per axis sets the square size: 5 digits = 1 m, 4 = 10 m, 3 = 100 m, 2 = 1 km, and 1 = 10 km. More digits mean higher precision and a longer reference.

How does MGRS relate to UTM and EPSG:326xx?

Every MGRS reference maps to a UTM position on the WGS 84 datum; we show the zone, hemisphere, easting, northing, and EPSG code alongside it (326xx for the northern hemisphere, 327xx for the southern). MGRS is essentially a compact text encoding of UTM coordinates.

What area does it cover?

This tool covers latitude bands C..X (−80° to 84°), the full UTM domain, with no polar UPS — which does not affect the Arab world at all (roughly 12°S in the Comoros to 37°N).

Free tool

MGRS ↔ lat/lon / UTM converter

Convert between an MGRS military grid reference, geographic coordinates (WGS84), and UTM — down to 1 m, with all computation in your browser.

Click the map to pick a point (WGS84) and convert it instantly, or type coordinates.

Lat/Lon → MGRS

Precision

MGRS → Lat/Lon

FAQ

MGRS is the Military Grid Reference System developed by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). It is built on the UTM grid and the WGS 84 datum, dividing the Earth into zones, latitude bands, and lettered 100 km squares to give a compact text reference for any location.

You may also need: Arab-world coordinate converter · My location coordinates · Distance & bearing calculator · Batch coordinate file converter

Surveying

Geomatics & CAD

Software DevelopmentNew

Quantity Surveying

MGRS ↔ lat/lon / UTM converter

Need help with your survey project?

FAQ

MGRS ↔ lat/lon / UTM converter

MGRS converter

Request technical support

Need help with your survey project?

FAQ

What is MGRS?

How do I read a reference like “36R UU 12345 67890”?

What does the digit-count precision mean?

How does MGRS relate to UTM and EPSG:326xx?

What area does it cover?