01
How do you calculate hours for an overnight security shift?
When clock-out is earlier on the clock than clock-in, add 24 hours to it, subtract the start, then take off any unpaid meal: 22:00 to 06:30 is 30.5 − 22 = 8.5 hours, minus a 30-minute unpaid meal, is 8 paid hours.
That is the whole trick, and it is where most hand-written guard logs go wrong: 6.5 minus 22 is a negative number, and a tired brain at 06:31 will happily write down 15.5. The harder questions come after the arithmetic. Was the meal really unpaid? Which workweek do the hours belong to? Does napping in the booth count? We take those one at a time below, with the federal source next to each answer.
The clock math is easy. The week the hours land in is what changes your overtime.
02
Four methods for overnight shift hours, compared
We tried each method on the same five overnights: 22:00 to 06:30, Sunday night through Thursday night. Here is how they behave.
| Method | How it works | Good at | Where it slips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket notebook | Write in and out, add 24 to the out time, subtract. | Free, works with no signal, the guard keeps it. | Negative totals at 06:30, lost pages, no weekly total. |
| Spreadsheet | =MOD(out-in,1)*24-break per row. | Correct across midnight, easy weekly sums. | Typed later from memory; one wrong format breaks every row. |
| Split at midnight | Two lines: 22:00–24:00 on day one, 00:00–06:30 on day two. | Matches timesheets that want hours by calendar date. | One shift becomes two, so shift counts and meal breaks get muddled. |
| Shift app (EarnCheck) | Log the shift once; overnight stays one shift. | Weekly overtime, a payday check, notes you keep. | Estimates gross pay only; free version is one job, one full pay period. |
One more question sits under all four: what happens when it crosses the start of your workweek. A Saturday 22:00 to Sunday 06:30 shift, with a workweek that starts Sunday at 00:00, has 2 hours before the line and 6.5 after it. Ask payroll how their timesheet records a shift like that, because it moves overtime from one week to the other.
03
Who EarnCheck is not for
- Contract guards paid as independent contractors. Employee overtime presets will not match how you are paid.
- Anyone who needs take-home pay. EarnCheck estimates gross pay. It does not calculate taxes or deductions.
- Guard companies running payroll. It is a private record for one worker, not a scheduling or payroll system.
- Guards who want a GPS or patrol log. It records shifts and pay, not rounds, checkpoints or incident reports.
04
Overnight guard shift questions
How many hours is a 10pm to 6am shift?
Eight hours on the clock. If 30 minutes of that is an unpaid meal break where you are fully relieved of duty, the paid time is 7.5 hours. If you have to stay at your post and answer the radio while you eat, U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet #22 (revised July 2008) says a meal period only goes unpaid when you are completely relieved from duty.
What spreadsheet formula works for shifts that cross midnight?
With clock-in in B2 and clock-out in C2 formatted as times, use =MOD(C2-B2,1)*24 for hours. Subtract the unpaid break in hours after that, for example =MOD(C2-B2,1)*24-0.5. MOD wraps the negative result back into a single day, so 22:00 to 06:30 returns 8.5 instead of an error.
Do security guards get paid for sleeping on an overnight post?
Under the U.S. federal rule, if you are on duty for less than 24 hours you are working even if you are allowed to sleep, according to U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet #22 (revised July 2008). Shifts of 24 hours or more follow different rules. State law and your contract can add more.
Is there a night shift differential for security guards?
Not under federal law. The DOL page on night work (checked November 2026) says the FLSA does not require extra pay for night work; it is a matter of agreement between employer and employee. Many guard contracts and union agreements do include one, so check yours.
Which week does an overnight shift count toward for overtime?
The workweek is a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours that can start on any day and at any hour, per DOL Fact Sheet #23 (revised October 2019). When a shift crosses that start time, the hours before it and after it fall on different sides of the line, so ask payroll how their timesheet records it. It decides which week's overtime those hours count toward.
Do guards get overtime after 8 hours in one night?
Not under the federal rule alone, which counts hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states and provinces add their own rules: Ontario, for example, starts overtime after 44 hours in a work week (Ontario's overtime pay guide).
Is EarnCheck free?
The free version covers one job and a complete first pay period with unlimited shifts, weekly overtime and a payday comparison. EarnCheck Pro (monthly or annual) adds unlimited pay periods, multiple jobs, daily overtime, double time and night, weekend or holiday premiums you define, plus full exports.
05
How to track overnight guard hours in 3 steps
- Set the real workweek. Ask payroll the day and hour it starts and enter that, even if it differs from your pay period. Pick the U.S. federal 40-hour rule, Ontario's 44-hour rule or your own agreement.
- Confirm each shift in one tap. Next morning, tap Yes, or adjust start, end or the unpaid break. A 20:32 to 05:02 shift stays one overnight shift. Scheduled shifts never count until you confirm them.
- Check payday line by line. Type in the figures from your pay statement. Regular, overtime, night and weekend lines are each marked Match, Difference to Review or Incomplete Information. Night premiums you define are an EarnCheck Pro feature.
One design decision we made: EarnCheck never counts a scheduled shift until you confirm it. Guards get sent home early, held over, or swapped to another site at 21:45. A schedule is a plan; the record should be what happened.
06
Try it: your overnight shift hours
Put in tonight's times. Nothing leaves this page.
A calculation of the times you enter, not legal or financial advice. Whether a break is unpaid depends on being fully relieved of duty.
Get EarnCheck free
Log this week's overnights, set your real workweek, and check the overtime and night lines before payday. EarnCheck never contacts your employer.
Get EarnCheck free on the App Store · Updated November 2026
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