Delaware State Holidays: 2026 Dates, Court and Bank Rules

Delaware state holidays are set by Title 1, Section 501 of the Delaware Code, which designates 13 legal holidays each year along with every Saturday. State offices close on these days, employees receive paid time off, and court filing deadlines and bank transactions that would fall on a holiday shift to the next available business day. Private employers are not required to follow the same schedule.

The 13 Statutory Legal Holidays

Delaware’s legal holidays are fixed by statute and include holidays that match the federal calendar, several that are unique to the state, and one that applies only in Sussex County.¹

New Year’s Day — January 1
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — third Monday in January
Good Friday — the Friday before Easter
Memorial Day — last Monday in May
Juneteenth — June 19
Independence Day — July 4
Labor Day — first Monday in September
Veterans Day — November 11
Thanksgiving Day — fourth Thursday in November
Day after Thanksgiving — the Friday following Thanksgiving
Christmas Day — December 25
General Election Day — every two years, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November
Return Day — Sussex County only, the second day after the General Election, beginning at noon

Every Saturday is also a statutory legal holiday. That designation is not symbolic. It means state offices are closed by law and the same deadline-extension rules that apply to named holidays apply to Saturdays too.¹ A separate statute reinforces the Saturday closure for nearly all state employees except law enforcement and rotating-shift staff.²

Return Day is the state’s most distinctive holiday. In Sussex County, state employees receive a paid half-day off starting at noon while the county holds a civic celebration in Georgetown with a parade of winning and losing candidates and a ceremonial hatchet-burying to end campaign season.

2026 Observed Dates

The Delaware Department of Human Resources publishes the official calendar each year. For 2026, the observed dates are:³

New Year’s Day — Thursday, January 1
Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Monday, January 19
Good Friday — Friday, April 3
Memorial Day — Monday, May 25
Juneteenth — Friday, June 19
Independence Day (observed) — Friday, July 3
Labor Day — Monday, September 7
Election Day — Tuesday, November 3
Return Day — Thursday, November 5, after noon, Sussex County only
Veterans Day — Wednesday, November 11
Thanksgiving Day — Thursday, November 26
Day after Thanksgiving — Friday, November 27
Christmas Day — Friday, December 25

Because July 4 falls on a Saturday in 2026, the Independence Day observance shifts to Friday, July 3.³

What Happens When a Holiday Falls on a Weekend

Delaware law shifts weekend holidays into the work week. A holiday that lands on a Sunday is observed the following Monday. A holiday that lands on a Saturday is observed the preceding Friday.¹

The rule only shifts the named holidays. Saturday itself does not shift, because Saturday is already a legal holiday every week.

How Holidays Affect Court Filing Deadlines

If your filing deadline lands on a legal holiday, it moves. The Superior Court’s Rule 6 provides that when the last day of a filing period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline runs until the end of the next day the Prothonotary’s office is open. The Court of Chancery uses an almost identical rule, and adds that if the Register in Chancery is physically inaccessible on the last day, the deadline extends to the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.⁴

The Chancery rule defines “legal holiday” broadly: any day listed in Section 501 of Title 1, or any day the Governor declares a holiday.⁴ A Governor-proclaimed holiday can push a court deadline just as a statutory holiday does.

Acts done on a holiday are not void. The statute preserves the validity of contracts signed, court orders issued, and legal documents served on a legal holiday.¹ The extension helps filers; it does not stop anyone who chooses to act.

Banking on Legal Holidays

Under Title 5, Section 1302, any Delaware banking organization may choose to close or stay open on Saturdays, Sundays, state legal holidays, and holidays observed by the Federal Reserve Bank.⁵

If your bank closes, any transaction that had to be completed there can be done on the next banking day with no penalty or loss of rights. You won’t miss a payment deadline because the bank’s doors were shut.⁵

A bank’s decision to close does not block others from transacting. A check accepted or a payment processed by another party on a holiday is fully valid.⁵

Private Employers Are Not Bound by the State List

The legal holiday statute governs state government operations. It does not require private businesses to close, grant time off, or pay premium wages on any holiday. Federal law does not require it either. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require pay for time not worked on holidays, and it does not require extra pay for holiday work unless those hours push a non-exempt employee past 40 hours in the work week.⁶

Many Delaware employers voluntarily offer paid holidays or premium pay for holiday work, but those benefits come from company policy or a collective bargaining agreement. A promise of holiday pay in a handbook or employment contract may be enforceable as a matter of contract law, but the state holiday statute creates no private-sector obligation.

Federal Holidays That Delaware Does Not Observe

Delaware’s calendar overlaps significantly with the federal one, but they are not the same. The federal government observes 11 holidays each year.⁷ Two federal holidays Delaware does not recognize are Washington’s Birthday, on the third Monday in February, and Columbus Day, on the second Monday in October. Federal offices, courts, and post offices in Delaware close on those days while state government stays open.

Delaware observes several holidays the federal government does not: Good Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, General Election Day, and Return Day. On those days, state courthouses and offices close while federal buildings remain open. The mismatch matters most when you have deadlines in both systems. A filing due in Delaware state court on Good Friday moves to Monday. A filing due in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on the same day does not, because that court follows the federal calendar.

Floating Holidays and Governor Proclamations

State employees receive two floating holidays each calendar year in addition to the 13 named holidays. The statute authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to set the policy for these days.¹ Floating holidays function like personal days, subject to supervisor approval and the same advance-request procedures as annual leave. They do not carry over from year to year and are forfeited when an employee leaves state service.⁸

The Governor can proclaim additional days of observance beyond the statutory list. Delaware Day on December 7, marking the state’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, has been proclaimed by governors since 1933.⁹ When the Governor exercises this authority, state offices close, employees receive the day off, and, as noted above, court filing deadlines can shift as well.

1
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 1 Chapter 5 – Legal Holidays
2
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 29 Chapter 51
3
Delaware Department of Human Resources. 2026 State Holidays
4
Courts of Delaware. Rules of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware
5
Justia. Delaware Code Title 5 Section 1302 – Closing on Legal Holidays
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Holiday Pay
7
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal Holidays – Work Schedules and Pay
8
Delaware Department of Human Resources. Floating Holiday Policy
9
State of Delaware. Delaware Day