Federal holidays

is today a federal holiday

Is today a federal holiday is a yes-or-no against that list for today’s civil date. On 3 September 2026 the answer is no. Labor Day is the first Monday in September, which in 2026 is the 7th, still four days ahead. A Thursday in early September is an ordinary federal workday unless some other closure was posted for a storm, a local event, or a workplace shutdown that is not on the statute.

US federal holidays close federal offices. The U.S. Postal Service does not run regular delivery on those days. The Federal Reserve marks the same core dates, so most bank branches stay closed. Private shops, grocers, and many websites stay open. A mall being lit does not turn the day into a federal holiday, and a quiet office park does not either if the quiet is only your firm.

If the named holiday falls on a Saturday, federal employees commonly observe it on the Friday before. If it falls on a Sunday, they commonly observe it on the Monday after. That observed weekday is the closure for the government calendar. The historic date does not move. Independence Day remains 4 July even when the paid day off is 3 July.

The U.S. federal list

The nationwide federal list in current law is eleven days: New Year’s Day on 1 January; the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., on the third Monday in January; Washington’s Birthday on the third Monday in February; Memorial Day on the last Monday in May; Juneteenth National Independence Day on 19 June; Independence Day on 4 July; Labor Day on the first Monday in September; Columbus Day on the second Monday in October; Veterans Day on 11 November; Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday in November; and Christmas Day on 25 December.

For 2026 those dates are Thursday 1 January; Monday 19 January; Monday 16 February; Monday 25 May; Friday 19 June; Saturday 4 July (observed Friday 3 July for federal employees); Monday 7 September; Monday 12 October; Wednesday 11 November; Thursday 26 November; and Friday 25 December. Inauguration Day is a separate local federal holiday in the Washington, D.C. area in inaugural years. 2026 is not one of those years.

3 September 2026: not a federal holiday. Next closure on the list: Labor Day, 7 September 2026. Eleven nationwide federal holidays; Monday rules for several of them. Weekend in-lieu days apply to numbered dates such as 4 July, not to holidays already defined as Mondays.

A hashtag that says “national” is not a padlock on a federal building. Check the statute list before you skip the commute.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on that list

Is Martin Luther King’s birthday a federal holiday? The birthday itself is 15 January. The federal holiday is the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., kept on the third Monday in January so the day off is always a weekday near that birthday. In 2026 that Monday was 19 January. In 2027 it is 18 January. The 15th is still the birthday. It is not always the closure.

Is Martin Luther King holiday a federal holiday? Yes. That is the same Monday under a shorter name. Federal offices close. Mail does not run a regular route. Most bank lobbies follow the Federal Reserve and stay shut. Retail is another story: many stores open. Do not use a checkout line as proof that the holiday “was cancelled.” It was never a law about shop hours. It is a law about federal time off and the civic date.

States may add other days. They may also rename Columbus Day. Those state choices do not rewrite the federal list for a federal employee in another state. If your question is is today a federal holiday, answer from the federal list and today’s date, then read your employer’s notice if you needed a private payroll answer.