Divisibility Rule for 12

If you divide a number by 12 and you get a whole number as an answer (quotient), then that number is divisible by 12.

Instead of simply dividing your number by 12 to see if you get a whole number, you can use what we call the Divisibility Rule for 12.

The Divisibility Rule for 12 is used to determine if a number is divisible by 12. You can also call it the test of divisibility for 12.

A number is divisible by 12 if the number formed by the last two digits in the number is divisible by 4 AND the sum of the digits in the number is divisible by 3.

For example, for 123,456 the last two digits (56) is divisible by 4, AND 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 21. 21 is divisible by 3. Thus, 123,456 is divisible by 12.

However, 123,458 is not divisible by 12 for two reasons: The last two digits (58) is not divisible by 4 and 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 8 = 23 and 23 is not divisible by 3.

Remember, both conditions must be met for the number to be divisible by 12.

Divisibility Rule for 13
Here is the next Divisibility Rule on our list.

Divisibility Rules
Here is a list of all our Divisibility Rules.