MLK Day 2027: Date, What’s Closed and History of the Holiday

MLK Day 2027 is Monday, January 18, 2027. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday in January, so it always gives a three-day weekend: Saturday, January 16 through Monday, January 18.

The holiday honors Dr. King’s birthday, January 15, but the law ties it to a Monday instead of the date itself. Below you’ll find what’s open and closed, how the date rule works, the dates through 2031, a short history of the law, and how the day affects deadlines and business-day counts in January.

MLK Day 2027 at a glance

Follow the time left on our MLK Day countdown, or see the month laid out in the January 2027 calendar.

What’s open and closed on MLK Day

• Federal offices: closed. The Office of Personnel Management lists Monday, January 18 as the federal holiday for 2027.
• Post offices: closed, with no regular mail delivery. The Postal Service lists the day among its 11 holidays; Priority Mail Express still delivers in some areas for an extra fee.
• Banks: the Federal Reserve Banks are closed on January 18, 2027, so most banks close too and transfers that day settle on Tuesday. Online banking and ATMs keep working.
• Stock market: the New York Stock Exchange is closed on Monday, January 18, 2027, according to its published holiday calendar.
• Schools and private employers: they set their own schedules. Many public school districts close, but federal law doesn’t require private employers to give the day off, so check your employer’s holiday list.
• Stores and restaurants: they usually open, sometimes on holiday hours. Check the store.

For the full year of closures, see the 2027 federal holidays guide.

Why MLK Day isn’t on January 15

The law that created the holiday set it on the third Monday in January rather than on Dr. King’s birthday. That puts it in line with the holidays the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 moved to Mondays starting in 1971, such as Washington’s Birthday and Memorial Day, and it guarantees a three-day weekend.

The third Monday of any month falls between the 15th and the 21st. So MLK Day lands on January 15 itself only in years when January 15 is a Monday. The next time that happens is 2029. In 2027, the birthday falls on the Friday before the holiday.

MLK Day dates, 2026 to 2031

The date can also line up with Inauguration Day, which federal law sets on January 20 every fourth year. That happened on Monday, January 20, 2025. In 2029, January 20 falls on a Saturday, five days after MLK Day.

How the holiday became law

Bills to make January 15 a federal holiday were introduced after Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. According to the Congressional Research Service, a 1979 House vote on such a bill fell four votes short of the two-thirds majority it needed.

• August 2, 1983: the House passed a bill setting the holiday on the third Monday in January.
• October 19, 1983: the Senate passed it.
• November 2, 1983: President Ronald Reagan signed it into law as Public Law 98-144.
• 1986: the holiday took effect. The first observance was Monday, January 20, 1986.
• 1994: the King Holiday and Service Act asked the federal holiday commission to encourage the day as a day of community service. That is the origin of the MLK Day of Service.

Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929. The holiday’s legal name in 5 U.S.C. 6103 is still “Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Deadlines and business days around MLK Day

Because the holiday is a federal non-business day, it pushes back anything counted in business days. Five business days after Friday, January 15, 2027 is Monday, January 25, not Friday, January 22, because Monday the 18th doesn’t count. January 2027 has 21 weekdays but only 19 federal working days, since New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1) and MLK Day both fall on weekdays.

A few practical points:

• If a bill payment or transfer is due on January 18, send it by Friday, January 15 to be safe. Payments scheduled for a bank holiday usually process the next business day.
• Paychecks that normally land on a Monday may arrive on the Friday before or the Tuesday after, depending on your employer and bank.

Our business days calculator skips federal holidays automatically, so you can check any deadline with or without them.

Planning the long weekend

MLK Day is the first Monday holiday of the year and comes 17 days after New Year’s Day. With one day of leave on Friday, January 15 or Tuesday, January 19, you get four days off for one day of leave. The next federal three-day weekend is Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 15, 2027, covered in our Presidents’ Day 2027 guide. For every long weekend of the year in one place, see long weekends in 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Is MLK Day a federal holiday?

Yes. It has been a federal holiday since 1986 and is listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103 as the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday in January. In 2027 that is Monday, January 18.

Are banks open on MLK Day 2027?

Most are closed, because the Federal Reserve Banks close on January 18, 2027. ATMs and online banking keep running, but transfers and deposits made that day are generally processed on Tuesday, January 19. Check your own bank’s hours.

Is the stock market open on MLK Day?

No. The New York Stock Exchange is closed on Monday, January 18, 2027 and reopens on Tuesday, January 19.

Is there mail on MLK Day?

No. Post offices are closed and there’s no regular mail delivery on federal holidays. Priority Mail Express is the exception in some areas.

When was the first MLK Day?

The first federal observance was Monday, January 20, 1986. President Reagan signed the law creating the holiday on November 2, 1983, and it took effect in 1986.

Do I get MLK Day off work?

Federal employees do. For everyone else it depends on your employer or contract, because federal law doesn’t require private employers to give paid time off on federal holidays.