Florida recognizes two different sets of state holidays, and telling them apart matters. Nine days are paid holidays for state government employees under Florida Statute 110.117. A separate and much longer list of “legal holidays” under Florida Statute 683.01 does not close state offices but does affect court deadlines and other legal timing. A day can sit on the second list without appearing on the first.
The Nine Paid State Holidays
Florida Statute 110.117 establishes these paid holidays for all state branches and agencies:1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 110.117 – Paid Holidays
- New Year’s Day
- Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (third Monday in January)
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Veterans’ Day (November 11)
- Thanksgiving Day
- Friday after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Day
Nine days. Every state agency and branch observes them, and eligible employees receive their regular pay for the time off.
When a Paid Holiday Falls on a Weekend
If a paid holiday lands on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed. If it falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is observed. The rule applies uniformly across all state branches and agencies.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 110.117 – Paid Holidays
Florida’s Longer Legal Holiday List
Statute 683.01 designates a broader roster of “legal holidays, which are also public holidays.” It includes every Sunday plus more than 20 named dates:2Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 683.01 – Legal Holidays
- Every Sunday
- New Year’s Day
- 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
- Birthday of Jefferson Davis (June 3)
- Flag Day (June 14)
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day and Farmers’ Day
- Veterans’ Day
- General Election Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
- Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), in counties with organized carnival associations
Entries on this list that don’t also appear in Section 110.117 do not trigger paid time off for state workers or mandatory office closures. Their main legal weight shows up in deadline computation and commercial transactions.
What Actually Closes
On the nine paid holidays under Section 110.117, most non-essential state government offices shut down. That includes administrative agencies, driver’s license offices, and other service windows. If you need to file paperwork, renew a license, or handle other state business, plan around those dates.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 110.117 – Paid Holidays
Florida courts often close on additional days beyond the nine paid holidays. Individual judicial circuits set their own schedules, and many close for Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, and Juneteenth. Check your specific circuit’s calendar before making a trip to the courthouse or assuming a filing window is open.
The U.S. Postal Service follows federal holidays, not Florida’s. Postal workers observe 11 federal holidays and do not grant leave for state or local holidays. So mail delivery continues on Florida-only days like the Friday after Thanksgiving, and stops on federal holidays like Presidents’ Day when Florida state offices remain open.3USPS. 518 Holiday Leave
How Holidays Affect Legal Deadlines
This is where the broader 683.01 list actually bites. Under Florida’s rules for computing time in court proceedings, a filing deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday extends to the next day that is not one of those. The same principle applies in federal courts sitting in Florida, which incorporate state legal holidays into their calculations for periods measured after an event.4Legal Information Institute. Rule 6 Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers
Because 683.01 includes dates like Good Friday and General Election Day, a court deadline landing on one of those could shift forward even though state offices were technically open. If you’re tracking a filing deadline, check the full legal holiday list, not just the paid holiday list.
Federal Holidays That Florida Does Not Observe
Several federal holidays are not on Florida’s paid holiday list. Presidents’ Day, Columbus Day, and Juneteenth all give federal employees and postal workers the day off, but Florida state offices stay open. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 and appears in Chapter 683 as a commemorative observance, but it has not been added to the Section 110.117 paid list.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 110.117 – Paid Holidays
On a day like Presidents’ Day, mail won’t arrive and federal offices will be dark, but the Florida DMV, state courthouses, and other state agencies may be conducting business as usual. The reverse happens on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Private Employers and Holiday Pay
Florida’s state holiday designations do not bind private-sector employers. Florida has no law requiring private businesses to provide paid holidays, premium pay for working on a holiday, or even time off on any state or federal holiday. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act likewise does not require pay for time not worked on holidays. In the private sector, holiday pay is a matter of agreement between you and your employer or your union contract.5U.S. Department of Labor. Holiday Pay
State Employees Who Work on a Holiday
Essential personnel in law enforcement, corrections, healthcare, and similar fields often work through holidays. Florida’s administrative rules provide that career service employees required to work on a holiday earn special compensatory leave equal to the hours worked that day, on top of their regular pay for the holiday. The baseline rule is compensatory time rather than premium cash pay, though specifics can vary under collective bargaining agreements.6Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code Rule 60L-34.0032 – Holidays