{"id":26887,"date":"2026-07-14T22:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/?p=26887"},"modified":"2026-07-14T22:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:19:16","slug":"how-many-federal-holidays-in-the-us-your-complete-guide-to-every-national-day-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/how-many-federal-holidays-in-the-us-your-complete-guide-to-every-national-day-off\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Federal Holidays in the US? Your Complete Guide to Every National Day Off"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/pexels-photo-2072181-1.jpeg\" alt=\"How Many Federal Holidays in the US? Your Complete Guide to Every National Day Off\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Hello everyone, I am your dedicated public holiday assistant. Recently, a little friend consulted me about the title of <b>how many federal holidays in the us<\/b>. Now I will summarize the relevant problems, hoping to help the little friends who want to know.<\/p>\n<p>Alright, let\u2019s cut to the chase. The United States has <b>11 federal holidays<\/b> recognized by the federal government. These are the days when non-essential federal government offices are closed, and most federal employees get a paid day off. But if you\u2019ve ever tried to figure out if a holiday like Veterans Day or Juneteenth is actually a \u201cfederal\u201d thing, you\u2019re not alone. Let me break it all down for you in plain American talk.<\/p>\n<p>First off, federal holidays are established by Congress and apply to federal employees and the District of Columbia. States are free to decide whether to observe them, but the vast majority do. The official list, as of 2025, goes like this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>New Year\u2019s Day \u2013 January 1<\/li>\n<li>Martin Luther King Jr. Day \u2013 Third Monday in January<\/li>\n<li>Presidents\u2019 Day \u2013 Third Monday in February (officially \u201cWashington\u2019s Birthday\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>Memorial Day \u2013 Last Monday in May<\/li>\n<li>Juneteenth National Independence Day \u2013 June 19<\/li>\n<li>Independence Day \u2013 July 4<\/li>\n<li>Labor Day \u2013 First Monday in September<\/li>\n<li>Columbus Day \u2013 Second Monday in October<\/li>\n<li>Veterans Day \u2013 November 11<\/li>\n<li>Thanksgiving Day \u2013 Fourth Thursday in November<\/li>\n<li>Christmas Day \u2013 December 25<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, I know what you\u2019re thinking \u2013 what about Inauguration Day? That one only applies to federal employees in the Washington DC area every four years, and it\u2019s not a permanent federal holiday. And no, Election Day isn\u2019t a federal holiday either, though some states treat it like one.<\/p>\n<p>A big question people have is whether private companies have to give these days off. Short answer: nope. Federal holidays only guarantee time off for federal workers. Private employers can decide which holidays they observe, and many follow the federal calendar, but it\u2019s not required by law. Same goes for banks, schools, and the post office \u2013 the USPS actually does close on federal holidays, so if you need to mail something, plan ahead.<\/p>\n<p>One more thing \u2013 we used to have just 10 federal holidays. Juneteenth became the 11th in 2021, signed into law by President Biden. It\u2019s the newest addition and celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Some states were slower to adopt it, but as of now, most observe it in some form.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t get confused by \u201cnational holidays\u201d like Flag Day or Groundhog Day \u2013 those are observances, not days off. A federal holiday means government offices close, mail doesn\u2019t run, and federal workers get a paid break. Simple as that.<\/p>\n<h2>Questions related to how many federal holidays in the us<\/h2>\n<p>One of the most common questions I get is, \u201cAre all federal holidays paid for private employees?\u201d No. The Fair Labor Standards Act doesn\u2019t require private employers to pay you for federal holidays unless you have a contract or company policy saying so. If you work in retail or hospitality, chances are you\u2019ll be working on Presidents\u2019 Day or Columbus Day. Another frequent query: \u201cWhy does the federal government get 11 holidays but I only get 6 at my job?\u201d It really depends on your industry and employer. Many companies match a subset of federal holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year\u2019s, but skip others like Juneteenth or Veterans Day. If you want to know your specific rights, check your employee handbook or your state\u2019s labor laws.<\/p>\n<p>People also ask if federal holidays always fall on a Monday to create long weekends. Actually, only five of them are fixed to Mondays: MLK Day, Presidents\u2019 Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The others are on specific dates (like July 4 or December 25) and can land on any day of the week. When a federal holiday falls on a Saturday, it\u2019s usually observed on the previous Friday. If it falls on a Sunday, it\u2019s observed on the following Monday. That\u2019s why you sometimes see \u201cobserved\u201d holidays on your calendar.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, there\u2019s a lot of confusion about whether Washington\u2019s Birthday and Presidents\u2019 Day are the same thing. Officially, the federal government still calls it \u201cWashington\u2019s Birthday,\u201d but practically everyone just says Presidents\u2019 Day. Some states even use it to honor Lincoln too. So yeah, it\u2019s the same day \u2013 third Monday in February \u2013 no matter what you call it.<\/p>\n<p>To sum it up, the US has 11 federal holidays. They apply to federal employees, close government offices and post offices, and serve as a common reference for many businesses. But your actual time off depends on your employer and state. If you\u2019re planning around these days \u2013 whether for travel, banking, or just a day off \u2013 double-check your specific situation. And if you\u2019re ever unsure, just ask your friendly holiday assistant!<\/p>\n<p>public holiday calendar.COM Thank you for reading, I hope this article can help you fully understand the <b>how many federal holidays in the us<\/b>, if you have more questions, please contact us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello everyone, I am your dedicated public holiday assistant. Recently, a little friend consulted me about the title of how many federal holidays in the us. Now I will summarize the relevant problems, hoping to help the little friends who want to know. Alright, let\u2019s cut to the chase. The United States has 11 federal&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","slim_seo":{"title":"How Many Federal Holidays in the US? Your Complete Guide to Every National Day Off - Public Holiday Calendar","description":"Hello everyone, I am your dedicated public holiday assistant. Recently, a little friend consulted me about the title of how many federal holidays in the us . No"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[27716,22970,27714,657,27715],"class_list":["post-26887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-are-federal-holidays-paid-time-off","tag-federal-vs-state-holidays","tag-how-many-federal-holidays-in-the-us","tag-list-of-federal-holidays","tag-us-federal-holiday-calendar-2025"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26888,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26887\/revisions\/26888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}