Delaware State Holidays: Legal List, Court and Bank Rules

Delaware state holidays are set by statute at 13 named days each year, with every Saturday also designated as a legal holiday. The list lives in Title 1, Section 501 of the Delaware Code and controls when state offices close, when court filing deadlines get pushed, and when state employees receive paid time off. Private employers are not bound by it.¹

The Full List of Legal Holidays

Delaware’s statutory legal holidays are: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, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November
Return Day, the second day after the General Election, beginning at noon, in Sussex County only
Every Saturday

Saturdays being statutory holidays is the surprise on that list. The designation is real: state offices are closed on Saturdays by law, and the same weekend-shift and deadline-extension rules that apply to the named holidays flow from that status.²

Return Day is unique to Delaware and applies only to Sussex County, where state employees get a paid half-day off starting at noon.

2026 Observed Dates

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

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: Friday, July 3 (observed; July 4 falls on Saturday)
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

Independence Day is the one to watch in 2026. Because July 4 lands on a Saturday, the observance shifts to Friday, July 3.³

How Weekend Holidays Shift

When a named holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday becomes the legal holiday. When it falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday becomes the legal holiday.¹

The shift applies only to the named holidays. Saturday itself does not move; it is simply a legal holiday every week.

Court Filing Deadlines

This is where the statute has real teeth. When a court filing deadline lands on a legal holiday, it rolls to the next day the court is open.

Under Superior Court Rule 6, if 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 has 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 also defines “legal holiday” for deadline purposes as any day listed in Section 501 of Title 1, or any day declared a holiday by the Governor.⁴ A Governor-proclaimed holiday can push a deadline just like a statutory one.

No legal act is void simply because it happens on a holiday. The statute preserves the validity of contracts signed, court orders issued, and legal documents served on a holiday.¹ The deadline extension is a benefit for filers, not a bar on anyone who chooses to act.

Banks on Legal Holidays

Delaware gives banks a choice. Under Title 5, Section 1302, any banking organization may 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 you needed to complete there can be done on the next banking day without penalty or loss of rights. You won’t miss a payment deadline or forfeit a right because the doors were shut.⁵

A bank’s decision to close does not block anyone else from doing business. If another institution or person accepts a check or processes a payment on that holiday, the transaction is fully valid.⁵

What the Statute Does Not Do for Private Employees

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 mandate pay for time not worked on holidays, and it does not require extra pay for holiday hours unless those hours push a non-exempt employee past 40 in the work week, which triggers ordinary overtime.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. The state holiday statute itself creates no private-sector obligation.

Floating Holidays for State Employees

On top of the 13 named holidays, state employees receive two floating holidays each calendar year. The statute authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to set the policy.¹

Floating holidays work like personal days. You choose when to use them, subject to supervisor approval and the same advance-request procedures as annual leave. They do not carry over year to year, they are forfeited if you leave state employment, and partial-day use is at your agency’s discretion.⁷ New hires get a prorated allotment based on hire date.⁸

Governor-Declared Holidays

The Governor can proclaim special days of observance beyond the statutory list. The longest-standing example is Delaware Day on December 7, which governors have proclaimed since 1933 to mark Delaware’s status as the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1787.⁹

These proclamations carry legal weight. The Court of Chancery’s rules define “legal holiday” to include any day declared a holiday by the Governor, so a proclaimed holiday can extend a court filing deadline just like a statutory one.⁴ State offices close and employees receive the day off when the Governor uses this authority.

Where Delaware and the Federal Calendar Diverge

Delaware’s calendar overlaps the federal one but is not identical. The federal government observes 11 holidays per year.¹⁰ Two federal holidays Delaware does not recognize are Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day, the third Monday in February) and Columbus Day (the second Monday in October). Federal offices, courts, and post offices in Delaware close on those days even though 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. State courthouses and offices close on those days while federal buildings remain open. The mismatch matters most when you have parallel deadlines. A filing due in a Delaware state court on Good Friday rolls to Monday, but a filing due in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware the same day does not, because that court follows the federal calendar.

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
Delaware Department of Human Resources. Floating Holiday Policy
8
Delaware Department of Human Resources. Delaware Leave Summary and Reference Guide
9
State of Delaware. Delaware Day
10
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal Holidays – Work Schedules and Pay