Court calendars
Federal Holidays 2026: Dates and Observed Days for Courts
The 2026 federal holiday dates with weekday, the Friday July 3 observance and how Rule 6(a)(6) counts them in court deadlines. Table loaded for 2026.
The working answer
The 2026 federal holidays are New Year's Day on January 1, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday on January 19, Washington's Birthday on February 16, Memorial Day on May 25, Juneteenth on June 19, Independence Day observed Friday, July 3, Labor Day on September 7, Columbus Day on October 12, Veterans Day on November 11, Thanksgiving on November 26 and Christmas on December 25 (5 U.S.C. § 6103; OPM).
Federal holidays 2026
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Thu, Jan 1 | New Year’s Day |
| Mon, Jan 19 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Mon, Feb 16 | Washington’s Birthday |
| Mon, May 25 | Memorial Day |
| Fri, Jun 19 | Juneteenth National Independence Day |
| Fri, Jul 3 | Independence Day (observed) |
| Sat, Jul 4 | Independence Day |
| Mon, Sep 7 | Labor Day |
| Mon, Oct 12 | Columbus Day |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thu, Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Day |
| Fri, Dec 25 | Christmas Day |
Dates follow 5 U.S.C. § 6103 and OPM’s standard federal holiday schedule. Observed dates are identified separately. Add the district’s applicable state holidays, closure orders and local filing requirements when scheduling a matter.
Official OPM holiday calendar01 / PRACTICE NOTES
The 2026 dates, with the weekday and the Friday observance of July 4.
The federal holiday dates for 2026 are Thursday, January 1: New Year’s Day; Monday, January 19: Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Monday, February 16: Washington’s Birthday; Monday, May 25: Memorial Day; Friday, June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day; Saturday, July 4: Independence Day; Monday, September 7: Labor Day; Monday, October 12: Columbus Day; Wednesday, November 11: Veterans Day; Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving Day; Friday, December 25: Christmas Day.
OPM's schedule moves a holiday that falls on a weekend to the nearest weekday: Independence Day is observed on Friday, July 3.
The table above lists the same dates with the weekday. Choose another year in the selector to compare calendars when a matter spans years.
Two 2026 dates deserve a note in a litigation calendar. Juneteenth falls on Friday, June 19, and Independence Day falls on Saturday, July 4 and is observed on Friday, July 3. A Friday closure ahead of a weekend gives a three-day stretch in which no filing period can end, so when the court closes that Friday, a deadline that would have landed there moves to the following Monday.
02 / PRACTICE NOTES
Rule 6(a)(6) turns the list into legal holidays for court deadlines.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(6) defines a legal holiday as the day set aside by statute for observing New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day; any day declared a holiday by the President or Congress; and, for periods that are measured after an event, any other day declared a holiday by the state where the district court is located. Fed. R. App. P. 26(a)(6) uses the same list and adds the state of the circuit clerk's principal office.
Under Rule 6(a)(1), intermediate holidays stay in the count, and a holiday matters when it is the last day: the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Statutory dates are listed in 5 U.S.C. § 6103(a), and OPM publishes the observed dates for employees whose holiday falls on a weekend.
The calculator's observed-closure option moves a last day that falls on an OPM observed weekday. Enable it when the court's published calendar closes on the observed date, and add any extra closure dates in the dedicated field.
03 / PRACTICE NOTES
Four 2026 counts that cross a holiday.
A 30-day period triggered on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 reaches Friday, June 19, 2026, Juneteenth. The deadline moves through the weekend to the end of Monday, June 22, 2026.
A 7-day period triggered on Friday, June 26, 2026 reaches Friday, July 3, 2026. With the standard OPM observed closures selected, July 3 and July 4 and the Sunday after are skipped and the deadline falls on Monday, July 6, 2026. Without the option, the last day is July 3. The choice depends on the court's calendar, which is why the option exists.
A 21-day period triggered on Thursday, November 5, 2026 reaches Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, and moves to Friday, November 27, 2026. A 14-day period triggered on Friday, December 11, 2026 reaches Christmas, Friday, December 25, and moves through the weekend to Monday, December 28, 2026.
The remaining 2026 dates after Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11 are Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the next holidays after the year turns are New Year's Day on Friday, January 1, 2027 and Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday on Monday, January 18, 2027. Load them into the matter calendar together.
04 / PRACTICE NOTES
Add what the federal list leaves to your district.
Rule 6(a)(6)(C) counts days declared holidays by the state where the district court is located for periods measured after an event, so each district adds its own state days to the federal list. A presidential or congressional declaration adds a day under Rule 6(a)(6)(B).
When the clerk's office is inaccessible on the last day for filing, Rule 6(a)(3) extends the time to the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. A court's own closure order is the document to attach to the task.
The last day of an electronic filing ends at midnight in the court's time zone, unless a statute, local rule or court order sets a different time (Rule 6(a)(4)(A)). Keep the cutoff time in the task beside the date.
- Pick the year in the calendar above and copy the dates into the matter schedule.
- Add the state holidays of the district and the court's published closure days.
- Decide whether the court's calendar closes on the OPM observed dates, and set the option in the calculator accordingly.
- Run each deadline through the calculator and calendar the result with the rule beside it.
05 / PRACTICE NOTES
RuleX keeps the holiday-adjusted deadlines in the case, next to its source.
Create the case in RuleX, add a task for each deadline with the calculated due date, and attach the order, the notice or the proof of service that triggers it. The case log records the rule, the trigger date and the holidays you applied, so every lawyer on the matter reads the same calculation and can reopen the source behind it.
Ask RuleX to list every deadline in a case and the holiday that moves it, and to draft the filing from the record. Research, drafting and the calendar date live in one case file with the documents, and the 7-day free trial lets you set up your first matter today.
Frequently asked questions
What are the federal holidays in 2026?
The 2026 federal holidays are January 1, January 19, February 16, May 25, June 19, Independence Day observed on Friday, July 3, September 7, October 12, November 11, November 26 and December 25 (5 U.S.C. § 6103; OPM).
Is Friday, July 3, 2026 a federal holiday?
Friday, July 3, 2026 is the observed date for Independence Day in the OPM schedule, because July 4 falls on a Saturday.
Which holidays does the federal civil rule count as legal holidays?
Rule 6(a)(6) counts the eleven statutory holidays, any day declared a holiday by the President or Congress and, for periods measured after an event, a day declared a holiday by the state where the district court is located.
What happens when a filing deadline lands on a federal holiday?
The period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday (Rule 6(a)(1)(C)).
Do holidays inside the period change the count?
Intermediate holidays stay in the count. Rule 6(a)(1)(B) counts every day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
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