Arizona recognizes 17 state holidays under ARS § 1-301, with specific rules for how each one shifts when it falls on a weekend. The list of Arizona state holidays covers the familiar national days as well as several observances unique to the state, including Native American Day, National Navajo Code Talkers Day, American Family Day, and Constitution Commemoration Day. One point that often surprises workers: Arizona law does not require private employers to give paid time off or premium pay for any of these days, and even the public-employee holiday pay rule covers just five of the seventeen.
The 17 Official Holidays
ARS § 1-301 enumerates the following as Arizona state holidays:1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 1-301 – Holidays Enumerated
- Every Sunday
- New Year’s Day — January 1
- Martin Luther King, Jr./Civil Rights Day — third Monday in January
- Lincoln/Washington Presidents’ Day — third Monday in February
- Mother’s Day — second Sunday in May
- Memorial Day — last Monday in May
- Native American Day — June 2
- Father’s Day — third Sunday in June
- Independence Day — July 4
- American Family Day — first Sunday in August
- National Navajo Code Talkers Day — August 14
- Labor Day — first Monday in September
- Constitution Commemoration Day — September 17
- Columbus Day — second Monday in October
- Veterans’ Day — November 11
- Thanksgiving Day — fourth Thursday in November
- Christmas Day — December 25
The holidays tied to a specific weekday (the Mondays, Thursday, and Sundays above) never move. The ones pinned to a calendar date can land on any day of the week, and that is where the observance rules come in.
How Weekend Holidays Are Observed
When a fixed-date holiday falls on a weekend, Arizona law shifts the observance so state offices and public employees still get a weekday off. The direction of the shift depends on which weekend day it hits.
Saturday Holidays Shift to Friday
Four holidays move to the preceding Friday when they fall on a Saturday: New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Veterans’ Day, and Christmas Day. In 2026, for example, Independence Day falls on a Saturday, so the state observes it on Friday, July 3.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 1-301 – Holidays Enumerated
Sunday Holidays Shift to Monday
Most Sunday holidays move to the following Monday. Seven entries are excluded from that rule: every Sunday (already a standing holiday), Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, American Family Day (all three defined as Sundays anyway), and Native American Day, National Navajo Code Talkers Day, and Constitution Commemoration Day, which have their own special observance.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 1-301 – Holidays Enumerated
The Three Holidays Always Observed on a Sunday
Three holidays break the usual pattern. Instead of shifting to a weekday when the date falls on a weekend, they shift to a nearby Sunday whenever the calendar date is not already a Sunday:
- Native American Day — observed on the Sunday after June 2.
- National Navajo Code Talkers Day — observed on the Sunday after August 14.
- Constitution Commemoration Day — observed on the Sunday before September 17.
Because these three are always observed on a Sunday, state offices do not close on a weekday for them. If you need to visit a government office during the week of one of these dates, you won’t lose a business day to the observance.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 1-301 – Holidays Enumerated
National Navajo Code Talkers Day is the newest addition, signed into law in 2021 with its first observance that year.2U.S. Department of Energy. Navajo Code Talkers Day Now a State Holiday
Holiday Pay for Public Employees
ARS § 38-608 governs holiday compensation for public employees in Arizona. A public employee who works 40 or more hours per week and does not already receive compensation or equivalent time off for a legal holiday worked is entitled to either one additional day of vacation leave or one additional day of pay for each qualifying holiday worked.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-608 – Compensation or Time Off for Legal Holidays
Two limits matter here. First, the statute’s definition of “legal holiday” is narrow: it covers only five days — New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The other 12 holidays on the ARS § 1-301 list do not trigger this pay rule. Second, “public employee” means an employee of the state, a county, city, town, or other political subdivision, and the statute carves out employees of certain special districts (including irrigation, power, electrical, agricultural, improvement, drainage, flood control, and tax-levying public improvement districts).3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-608 – Compensation or Time Off for Legal Holidays
Private Employers Are Not Required to Pay for Holidays
Arizona law does not require private employers to provide paid time off, premium pay, or any special holiday compensation. Whether you get Thanksgiving off, and whether you earn extra pay for working Christmas, is set entirely by your employer’s policies or your employment contract. The holiday list in ARS § 1-301 primarily governs state and local government operations, not the private sector.
Plenty of private employers do close on major holidays and some pay a premium to employees who work them, but those arrangements come from company policy, not state law. If your employee handbook or your contract promises holiday pay, that promise can be enforced through contract law. Nothing in the holiday statutes themselves creates the right.
Federal Holidays Are Not the Same List
Arizona’s holiday calendar overlaps with the federal one but is not identical. Juneteenth (June 19) and Inauguration Day are federal holidays that are not on Arizona’s state list. Native American Day, National Navajo Code Talkers Day, American Family Day, and Constitution Commemoration Day appear on the state list but have no federal counterpart.
That difference affects which doors are open on a given day. Banks and post offices follow the federal schedule, so they close on Juneteenth but stay open on Native American Day. State government offices follow the Arizona schedule. If you’re planning around a closure, check which calendar the office you need to visit actually runs on.