Federal court holidays 2026

How these dates affect deadlines

When a filing deadline lands on a holiday or a weekend, the rules usually move it to the next day the court is open; deadlines counted backward from a hearing move earlier. The deadline calculator applies this table automatically and shows each step with the rule text.

Sources

• https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/

Federal legal public holidays under 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title5/html/USCODE-2023-title5-partIII-subpartE-chap61-subchapI-sec6103.htm), with OPM's observed dates. These are the 'legal holidays' of Rule 6(a)(6)(A) and FRAP 26(a)(6)(A). OBSERVED DATES: 5 U.S.C. 6103(b)(1) moves a Saturday holiday to the preceding Friday, and Executive Order 11582 sec. 3(a) moves a Sunday holiday to the following Monday, but both are stated 'for the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees'. Federal courts are generally closed on the observed days, and the list below uses the OBSERVED dates. AMBIGUITY: Rule 6(a)(6)(A) refers to 'the day set aside by statute for observing' each holiday; neither the rule nor its Committee Notes say expressly whether a Friday or Monday observed under 6103(b) or EO 11582 is a 'legal holiday' for computing deadlines. The actual dates that fall on weekends (Saturday July 4, 2026; Saturday June 19, 2027; Sunday July 4, 2027; Saturday December 25, 2027; Saturday January 1, 2028) roll in any event because they are weekends. A lawyer should not rely on a roll past an observed Friday or Monday (July 3, 2026; June 18, 2027; July 5, 2027; December 24, 2027; December 31, 2027) without checking; e-filing remains available on those days. NEW YEAR'S DAY 2028 falls on a Saturday, so it is observed Friday, December 31, 2027; OPM lists it in its 2028 table, but it is included in the 2027 list below because the date falls in 2027. Inauguration Day: not applicable in 2026 or 2027. PRESIDENTIAL CLOSURES (6(a)(6)(B)): executive orders closed agencies on December 24 in 2018, 2019, and 2024, and on December 24 and 26, 2025 (EO 14371). As of 2026-10-23 no order for December 2026 was found; such orders are typically issued in mid-December, so check the Federal Register and add any declared day. STATE HOLIDAYS (6(a)(6)(C)) are not listed here and must be added per district for forward-counted periods.