The Federal Reserve observes 11 holidays a year, the legal public holidays set by federal law. In 2026 the Federal Reserve Banks close on 10 weekdays. Independence Day fell on Saturday, July 4, so the Reserve Banks stayed open on Friday, July 3, and only the Board of Governors closed.
Federal Reserve Holidays: The Fed’s Holiday Schedule
The Federal Reserve observes 11 holidays a year. On a Saturday holiday the Reserve Banks open the Friday before; on a Sunday holiday they close Monday.
All 2026 Federal Reserve holidays
| Date | Holiday | Federal Reserve | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Closed | No notes | |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Closed | No notes | |
| Presidents Day | Closed | No notes | |
| Memorial Day | Closed | No notes | |
| Juneteenth | Closed | No notes | |
| Independence Day | No weekday closure | Independence Day falls on a Saturday. Federal Reserve Banks stay open on Friday, July 3; federal government offices close that Friday. | |
| Labor Day | Closed | No notes | |
| Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day | Closed | No notes | |
| Veterans Day Next | Closed | No notes | |
| Thanksgiving Day | Closed | No notes | |
| Christmas Day | Closed | No notes |
The 11 Federal Reserve holidays
The holidays come from 5 U.S.C. 6103, the federal law that lists the legal public holidays. The Federal Reserve Board’s holiday schedule follows that list:
- New Year’s Day, January 1
- Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January
- Washington’s Birthday, often called Presidents Day, the third Monday in February
- Memorial Day, the last Monday in May
- Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19
- Independence Day, July 4
- Labor Day, the first Monday in September
- Columbus Day, the second Monday in October
- Veterans Day, November 11
- Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November
- Christmas Day, December 25
Six of these always fall on a Monday or, for Thanksgiving, a Thursday. The other five are tied to a calendar date and can land on a weekend, which is where the rules below come in. Good Friday is not on the list, so the Reserve Banks are open that day; see our Good Friday guide.
Where the schedule comes from: the K.8 page and Financial Services
The Board of Governors publishes its schedule on a page known by its address, K.8. On October 23, 2026 it covered 2026 through 2030 and had last been updated on July 8, 2026. That update corrected a footnote so that it lists Friday, December 31, 2027 as the Board’s closure for New Year’s Day 2028.
The Reserve Banks’ own operating schedule is published by Federal Reserve Financial Services. It carries the same Saturday and Sunday rules and adds service details. For 2026 it also lists when FedACH processing stops before each holiday and when it resumes. Around Christmas, for example, processing stops at 11:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 24 and resumes at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 27, 2026. That page listed FedACH windows for 2026 only when we checked it.
The Saturday and Sunday rule
The Federal Reserve moves a weekend holiday in one direction only. According to its schedule:
- Holiday on a Sunday: the Reserve Banks and the Board close on the following Monday. Independence Day 2027 falls on Sunday, July 4, so Monday, July 5, 2027 is a closure day. Veterans Day 2029 falls on a Sunday, which closes Monday, November 12, 2029.
- Holiday on a Saturday: the Reserve Banks and their branches are open on the Friday before. Only the Board of Governors in Washington closes.
Holidays on a weekend in 2027
The Federal Reserve and the federal government handle weekend holidays differently. This is where banks and government offices can be on a different schedule.
| Holiday | Falls on | Federal Reserve | Federal government |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juneteenth | Open on Friday, June 18 (no weekday closure) | Closed Friday, June 18 | |
| Independence Day | Closed Monday, July 5 | Closed Monday, July 5 | |
| Christmas Day | Open on Friday, December 24 (no weekday closure) | Closed Friday, December 24 |
Federal Reserve Board holidays versus Reserve Bank closures
“Federal Reserve Board holidays” and Reserve Bank holidays are the same 11 days, but on a Saturday holiday they lead to different closures. The Board of Governors in Washington takes the Friday off. The Reserve Banks, which run FedACH, Fedwire and the other payment services, stay open. The K.8 schedule names five Board-only closures from 2026 to 2028:
- Friday, July 3, 2026 (Independence Day)
- Friday, June 18, 2027 (Juneteenth)
- Friday, December 24, 2027 (Christmas Day)
- Friday, December 31, 2027 (New Year’s Day 2028)
- Friday, November 10, 2028 (Veterans Day)
On each of these Fridays, ACH payments and wires settle as on any other business day. If a calendar marks one of them as a bank holiday, it is showing the Board’s or the federal government’s schedule, not the days on which payments stop.
How the Fed schedule differs from OPM and the NYSE
Three schedules get mixed up under the name “bank holidays”.
The federal government uses the same 11 holidays but moves a Saturday holiday to the Friday before. The Office of Personnel Management lists Friday, July 3, 2026 and Friday, December 24, 2027 as holidays for most federal employees. Federal offices are closed on those days; the Reserve Banks are open.
The stock market keeps its own calendar. The NYSE Group holiday calendar closes the exchange on Good Friday, and Columbus Day and Veterans Day are not on its list of holidays.
| 2026 date | Federal Reserve Banks | Federal offices (OPM) | NYSE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, April 3 (Good Friday) | Open | Not a holiday | Closed |
| Friday, July 3 (Independence Day observed) | Open (Board closed) | Closed | Closed |
| Monday, October 12 (Columbus Day) | Closed | Closed | Not an NYSE holiday |
| Wednesday, November 11 (Veterans Day) | Closed | Closed | Not an NYSE holiday |
| Friday, November 27 (day after Thanksgiving) | Open | Not a holiday | Closes early, 1:00 p.m. ET |
Branch hours are a fourth layer: each bank sets them, and it may close or shorten hours on days the Reserve Banks are open. Our page on bank hours explains how to check.
What closes on a Federal Reserve holiday, and what keeps running
On a weekday Federal Reserve holiday, the Reserve Banks’ payment services stop:
- FedACH does not settle. Direct deposits, bill payments and transfers between banks that would fall on the holiday settle on a business day before or after it.
- Fedwire Funds is closed. Its operating hours name the holidays on the Reserve Banks’ schedule, along with all Saturdays and Sundays, as non-business days.
- FedNow keeps running. The FedNow Service has a 24-hour business day every day, including weekends and holidays, for banks that offer it.
Fedwire is set to change: the Federal Reserve has announced that Fedwire Funds will add Sundays and weekday holidays as optional operating days, to be implemented in 2028 or 2029. Until then, the closures above apply. Cut-off times and examples are on our payments page.
Published and calculated years
The dates for 2026 through 2030 on this site come from the Federal Reserve’s published schedule. For 2031 and 2032 the Federal Reserve has not yet published a schedule, so our dates for those years are calculated from 5 U.S.C. 6103 and the Federal Reserve’s weekend rule. We mark them as calculated and will check them against the official schedule once it covers those years.
A new holiday needs an act of Congress, as with Juneteenth, which became the eleventh in 2021. Details of the Federal Reserve’s schedule can still be revised, as the July 2026 footnote correction shows.
Bank holidays by year at a glance
For each year in full, see our pages for 2026, 2027 and 2028. For a quick answer on a single day, use the live bank status.
Stock and bond markets follow their own calendars; the differences are explained in bank holidays vs. stock and bond market holidays. For days when federal offices close but the Reserve Banks stay open, see why banks can be open while the federal government is closed.
Frequently asked questions
Will banks be open on December 24 and 26, 2026?
Thursday, December 24, 2026 is not a Federal Reserve holiday, so ACH payments and wires settle that day; branch hours depend on your bank. Saturday, December 26 is a weekend day, so nothing settles through FedACH or Fedwire until Monday, December 28. Our Christmas guide covers both days.
Sources and editorial standards
Holiday dates last verified against official Federal Reserve schedules on . We check the full schedule every November for the coming year and review each holiday again two weeks before it.
- Federal Reserve Board: Holidays Observed by the Federal Reserve System
- Federal Reserve Financial Services: Holiday Schedules (FedACH, Fedwire, FedCash)
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Federal Holidays
Maintained by the US Banking Holidays Editorial Team. This site is an independent information service and is not affiliated with the Federal Reserve or any commercial bank. Branch hours vary; confirm with your bank before you rely on a date. How we verify our information