2027 US federal holidays (with observed dates)
The short answer
There are 11 US federal holidays in 2027, and because three of them fall on a weekend, the days off are not always the dates on the calendar. Here is the year as the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lists it for most federal employees:
| Holiday | Date | Day off |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Friday, January 1 | Friday, January 1 |
| Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. | Monday, January 18 | Monday, January 18 |
| Washington’s Birthday | Monday, February 15 | Monday, February 15 |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 31 | Monday, May 31 |
| Juneteenth National Independence Day | Saturday, June 19 | Friday, June 18 |
| Independence Day | Sunday, July 4 | Monday, July 5 |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 6 | Monday, September 6 |
| Columbus Day | Monday, October 11 | Monday, October 11 |
| Veterans Day | Thursday, November 11 | Thursday, November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 25 | Thursday, November 25 |
| Christmas Day | Saturday, December 25 | Friday, December 24 |
There is a twelfth day off at the very end of the year. New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027. OPM lists that date at the top of its 2028 table, which is why it is easy to miss if you only look at the 2027 one.
If you want all of this on paper, the printable calendar marks every holiday on its real date and adds the observed day off, including December 31.
Where the list comes from
The holidays themselves are set by law. Section 6103(a) of title 5 of the US Code names 11 “legal public holidays” and fixes each one either to a date or to a rule:
- Fixed dates: New Year’s Day (January 1), Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day (July 4), Veterans Day (November 11) and Christmas Day (December 25).
- Floating Mondays: Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday (third Monday in January), Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Labor Day (first Monday in September) and Columbus Day (second Monday in October).
- Floating Thursday: Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November).
The floating holidays can never land on a weekend. Only the five fixed-date holidays can, and in 2027 three of them do.
The law calls the February holiday “Washington’s Birthday”. OPM’s page notes that it uses the names in the law, while states, local governments and private businesses may use others, which is where “Presidents’ Day” comes from.
How the observed day is chosen
OPM’s 2027 table carries two footnotes that explain every shifted date:
- Saturday holidays move back to Friday. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, for most federal employees the Friday before is treated as the holiday for pay and leave. That rule is in 5 U.S.C. 6103(b).
- Sunday holidays move forward to Monday. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday after is treated as the holiday. OPM cites Section 3(a) of Executive Order 11582 (February 11, 1971) for this one.
Apply those two rules to 2027 and you get the three bold rows in the table above:
| Holiday | Falls on | Rule | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juneteenth | Saturday, June 19 | Saturday to Friday | Friday, June 18 |
| Independence Day | Sunday, July 4 | Sunday to Monday | Monday, July 5 |
| Christmas Day | Saturday, December 25 | Saturday to Friday | Friday, December 24 |
| New Year’s Day 2028 | Saturday, January 1, 2028 | Saturday to Friday | Friday, December 31, 2027 |
Note the words “most federal employees”. Section 6103(b) has separate rules for people who do not work Monday to Friday. For them, a holiday that lands on a regular day off is generally observed on the workday just before it. If you work shifts or a compressed schedule, your agency or employer decides the exact day.
Long weekends in 2027
Because of the shifts, 2027 has an unusual number of three-day weekends for anyone who gets every federal holiday off. Counting from the table:
- Friday, January 1 to Sunday, January 3
- Saturday, January 16 to Monday, January 18
- Saturday, February 13 to Monday, February 15
- Saturday, May 29 to Monday, May 31
- Friday, June 18 to Sunday, June 20
- Saturday, July 3 to Monday, July 5
- Saturday, September 4 to Monday, September 6
- Saturday, October 9 to Monday, October 11
- Friday, December 24 to Sunday, December 26
- Friday, December 31 to Sunday, January 2, 2028
That is 10 long weekends. Only Veterans Day and Thanksgiving land midweek, both on a Thursday.
A worked example of what that means for leave: if your employer gives you every federal holiday and you take Monday, December 27 to Thursday, December 30 off, those 4 days of leave cover the stretch from Friday, December 24 to Sunday, January 2. That is 10 days in a row away from work, with 2 holidays and 4 weekend days doing the rest.
Banks, the Federal Reserve and private employers
The OPM schedule covers federal employees. It does not say private employers have to follow it, and many do not give all 11 days.
Banks are worth checking separately, because the Federal Reserve handles weekend holidays differently. Its holiday schedule for 2027 lists every holiday on its legal date and adds two notes:
- For holidays falling on Saturday, Federal Reserve Banks and Branches will be open the preceding Friday.
- For holidays falling on Sunday, Federal Reserve Banks and Branches will be closed the following Monday.
So in 2027 the Federal Reserve is closed on Monday, July 5, like federal offices, but open on Friday, June 18, Friday, December 24 and Friday, December 31, even though those are days off for most federal workers. If you are timing a payment or a direct deposit around those Fridays, check with your own bank.
Schools and state offices set their own calendars, so treat the federal list as a starting point rather than a promise.
What is not on the list
- Inauguration Day. Under 5 U.S.C. 6103(c), January 20 is a holiday every fourth year, but only for certain federal employees in and around Washington, DC. It does not fall in 2027.
- Days like Mother’s Day, Easter or Halloween. These are widely observed but are not in 5 U.S.C. 6103. The printable calendar can add them as an option if you want them on the page.
- The day after Thanksgiving. It is not a legal public holiday, so any day off is up to your employer. In 2027 Christmas Eve is a federal day off only because it is the observed Christmas holiday.
Common mistakes
- Using the 2027 table alone and missing December 31. The observed New Year’s Day for 2028 sits in the 2028 table.
- Assuming a Saturday holiday moves to Monday. For federal workers it moves back to Friday. Only Sunday holidays move forward.
- Assuming banks close on the observed Friday. The Federal Reserve stays open on the Friday before a Saturday holiday.
- Copying last year’s dates. The Monday holidays shift every year, and the fixed ones change weekday. In 2026 Independence Day was a Saturday; in 2027 it is a Sunday, so the day off moves from a Friday to a Monday.
Print it
The printable calendar works out these holidays by rule for any year from 1900 to 2200, shows the observed day off next to the real date, and lets you add birthdays, school breaks and paydays before you print a month, a range or the whole of 2027 on one page. For planning the weeks in between, the weekly planner shows the dates for any week you pick.
Dates as published by OPM and the Federal Reserve as of October 2026. Your employer, bank or school may observe different days.