HolidayTallyMoving holiday
Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Third Monday of January.
In 2026, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday 19 January 2026 in United States (federal). Every date is a Monday, so each gives a three-day weekend. For comparison, the 2027 date is Monday 18 January 2027.
Dates in 2026
Monday 19 January 2026
United States
About Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day honours the civil rights leader, who was born on 15 January 1929. It is the third Monday of January, so it falls between 15 and 21 January and sometimes on his birthday itself. The holiday was signed into law in 1983 and first observed in 1986.
It is one of the eleven federal holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103 and the first federal holiday of the year after New Year's Day. Federal offices close; private employers are not required to give the day off. As a Monday holiday it never needs a substitute day and always gives a three-day weekend in mid-winter.
The day is also designated as a national day of service, when people are encouraged to volunteer in their communities. For working-day counts it matters mostly for January payroll: with New Year's Day, January usually has two federal holidays on weekdays, unless New Year's Day falls on a Saturday and is observed on the last day of December.