Florida’s legal holidays are set by Section 683.01 of the Florida Statutes, which lists more than 20 dates ranging from New Year’s Day to Pascua Florida Day. That list is separate from the shorter list of nine paid holidays under Section 110.117, which is what actually determines when state offices close. The long list matters for court deadline calculations; the short list matters for whether the DMV is open.
The Nine Paid Holidays When State Offices Close
Section 110.117 sets the paid holidays observed by every branch and agency of state government:
- New Year’s Day
- Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. (third Monday in January)
- Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
- Independence Day
- Labor Day (first Monday in September)
- Veterans’ Day (November 11)
- Thanksgiving Day
- Friday after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Day
When one of these dates falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed. When it falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is observed. Full-time state employees also receive one personal holiday per year, credited on July 1 and available through June 30 of the following year, prorated for part-time workers.1Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 110.117 – Paid Holidays
Executive branch offices close on all nine dates. That means no in-person service at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, no counter transactions at the Department of Revenue, and no processing of any request that requires staff verification. Some online services continue to accept submissions, but approvals wait until the next business day. Law enforcement, fire and rescue, and emergency medical services keep full staffing regardless.
2026 Observed Dates
- New Year’s Day — Thursday, January 1
- Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — Monday, January 19
- Memorial Day — Monday, May 25
- Independence Day (observed) — Friday, July 3
- Labor Day — Monday, September 7
- Veterans’ Day — Wednesday, November 11
- Thanksgiving Day — Thursday, November 26
- Friday after Thanksgiving — Friday, November 27
- Christmas Day — Friday, December 25
Independence Day is the one shifted date in 2026. July 4 falls on a Saturday, so the observed holiday moves to Friday, July 3.2Florida Department of Management Services. State Holidays
The Full Section 683.01 Legal Holiday List
Florida’s statutory list of legal holidays is much longer than the paid holiday list, and several of the dates on it are unfamiliar even to lifelong Floridians. State offices do not close on most of these dates, but they carry legal weight under Section 683.01:
- Every Sunday
- New Year’s Day — January 1
- Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. — January 15
- Birthday of Robert E. Lee — January 19
- Lincoln’s Birthday — February 12
- Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday — February 15
- Washington’s Birthday — third Monday in February
- Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day — fourth Thursday in March
- Good Friday
- Pascua Florida Day — April 2
- Confederate Memorial Day — April 26
- Memorial Day — last Monday in May
- Birthday of Jefferson Davis — June 3
- Flag Day — June 14
- Independence Day — July 4
- Labor Day — first Monday in September
- Columbus Day and Farmers’ Day — second Monday in October
- Veterans’ Day — November 11
- General Election Day
- Thanksgiving Day — fourth Thursday in November
- Christmas Day — December 25
- Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) — in counties with organized carnival associations
If any of these dates falls on a Sunday, the following Monday counts as the public holiday for legal purposes.3Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 683.01 – Legal Holidays Confederate Memorial Day, Robert E. Lee’s Birthday, and Jefferson Davis’ Birthday remain on the statute despite a 2017 bill that would have removed them; that bill died in committee.
How Legal Holidays Affect Court Deadlines
Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.514 sets the counting rules. For periods of seven days or longer, counting starts on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, and then every day in between is counted, weekends and holidays included. If the last day of the period lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline rolls forward to the next day that is not one of those.4The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration
For periods shorter than seven days, Rule 2.514 excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays from the count entirely. That matters in criminal cases governed by Rule 3.191, where missing a speedy trial deadline can result in dismissal of charges or forfeiture of the right to demand a speedy trial.
Rule 2.514 references “legal holidays” without specifying which statute defines them. Because Section 683.01 is where Florida defines its legal holidays, a filing deadline landing on Pascua Florida Day or Confederate Memorial Day could arguably be extended, even though state offices stay open. The safer practice is to file before the disputed date rather than test the argument.
Court closures do not always match the Section 110.117 list either. The Second District Court of Appeal’s 2026 calendar, for instance, includes Good Friday (April 3), Christmas Eve (December 24), and New Year’s Eve (December 31) as additional closure days.5Second District Court of Appeal. Court Holidays Check your local circuit’s schedule before assuming a courthouse is open. The chief justice can also extend deadlines during emergencies, including hurricanes.
Private Employers Are Not Bound by These Lists
Neither Florida law nor federal law requires private employers to close on any holiday, pay employees extra for working one, or provide paid time off. Whether you get a paid Christmas is a matter of contract between you and your employer.6U.S. Department of Labor. Holiday Pay
The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require premium pay for holiday work. Standard overtime is the only wage rule that applies: if holiday hours push an employee past 40 hours in a workweek, the employer owes time-and-a-half on the excess, the same as any other week.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 207 – Maximum Hours Working a full shift on Christmas Day at 38 hours for the week? No extra pay is legally required.
Employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, and written company policies can change that. Once an employer commits in writing to paid holidays, floating days, or holiday premiums, those commitments become enforceable contract terms even though no statute forced the employer to offer them.
Religious Holidays and Workplace Accommodation
Employers can ignore Florida’s statutory holidays but cannot ignore an employee’s request for time off to observe a religious holiday without meeting a legal test. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires reasonable accommodation of religious practices unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the business.8U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fact Sheet: Religious Accommodations in the Workplace
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court raised the bar in Groff v. DeJoy. Under the current standard, the employer must show that granting the accommodation would result in substantial increased costs relative to the particular business. Coworker complaints about covering shifts, by themselves, no longer qualify unless those complaints actually burden operations, and hostility toward the religious practice can never count as hardship.9Supreme Court of the United States. Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. ___ (2023) Common accommodations include schedule swaps, shift reassignments, and flexible break times for prayer. An employee denied a reasonable accommodation can file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
County and Circuit-Level Holidays
Some Florida holidays only apply in specific places. Gasparilla Day is a legal holiday in Hillsborough County. DeSoto Day, the last Friday of DeSoto Week, applies in Manatee County. Shrove Tuesday qualifies as a legal holiday only in counties with organized carnival associations. If you file, sue, or run a business in one of those counties, the local holiday can affect office hours and deadline math even when the rest of the state is working normally.10Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 683 – Legal Holidays and Special Observances
Under Section 683.19, chief circuit judges can designate Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Good Friday as legal holidays within their circuits. That authority is the reason some circuit court calendars close on those dates while others stay open, and it is another reason to check the local court’s published schedule before counting on a courthouse being available.
Federal and State Tax Deadlines
IRS filing deadlines that fall on a weekend or federal holiday automatically move to the next business day. Florida’s state-only holidays under Section 683.01 do not trigger that extension for federal filings. For state tax obligations administered by the Department of Revenue, closures on any of the nine paid holidays can delay processing of payments submitted on the deadline, so filing a day or two early during holiday weeks is worth the effort. Business filings with the Division of Corporations follow their own calendar rather than shifting with holidays: 2026 annual reports for corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships must be filed by 11:59 PM on May 1, 2026, regardless of the day of the week.11Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. File Annual Report