When is Presidents Day?

Presidents Day is observed on the third Monday in February every year. Specific dates in this period include February 16, 2026; February 15, 2027; February 21, 2028; and February 19, 2029. The third-Monday rule was set by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Public Law 90-363, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 28, 1968 and effective January 1, 1971.

The official federal name of the holiday is Washington's Birthday, codified at 5 U.S.C. section 6103(a). George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 (or February 11, 1731 under the Julian calendar in use at the time of his birth), and Congress first established his birthday as a federal holiday in 1879 for federal employees in the District of Columbia, then extended it nationwide in 1885. Before 1971 the holiday was observed on Washington's actual February 22 birthday.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved the date to the third Monday in February to give federal employees a three-day weekend; by accident or design, this rule produces a date between February 15 and February 21, which never falls on Washington's actual February 22 birthday. The popular name Presidents Day arose in the 1980s as advertisers and many states began to refer to the holiday as a celebration of all U.S. presidents, particularly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (whose birthday was February 12, 1809 and which had been a separate state holiday in many places). The federal name remains Washington's Birthday, but state names vary widely: California calls it Presidents Day, Massachusetts calls it Washington's Birthday, Virginia calls it George Washington Day, and Alabama calls it George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday.

The holiday is one of eleven federal public holidays. Federal offices, banks, the U.S. Postal Service, and most schools are closed. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are also closed. Customary observances include presidential birthday celebrations at Mount Vernon (Washington's Virginia plantation, now a museum) and at Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Illinois, the reading of Washington's 1796 Farewell Address in the U.S. Senate (a tradition since 1893), and major retail sales (Presidents Day weekend is one of the largest shopping weekends of the year). The day also marks the unofficial start of the spring presidential primary season in election years.