Ohio recognizes eleven legal holidays in 2026 under Ohio Revised Code Sections 1.14 and 124.19. State offices and courts close on each one, and any legal deadline that lands on a holiday shifts to the next business day. Here is the full list of Ohio state holidays in 2026, followed by what the closures mean for filings, agency services, and paychecks.
The Eleven Ohio Legal Holidays in 2026
- New Year’s Day — Thursday, January 1
- Martin Luther King Day — Monday, January 19
- Washington-Lincoln Day — Monday, February 16
- Memorial Day — Monday, May 25
- Juneteenth Day — Friday, June 19
- Independence Day — Saturday, July 4 (observed Friday, July 3)
- Labor Day — Monday, September 7
- Columbus Day — Monday, October 12
- Veterans Day — Wednesday, November 11
- Thanksgiving Day — Thursday, November 26
- Christmas Day — Friday, December 25
Ohio uses “Washington-Lincoln Day” for the February holiday and “Juneteenth Day” in its statute; the dates match the federal calendar. Ohio law also treats any day the governor or the president appoints as a legal holiday, though such proclamations are rare.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 1.14 – Excluding First and Including Last Day – Legal Holidays2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.19 – Holidays
The Weekend Shift and What It Means for July 4
Only one 2026 holiday falls on a weekend: Independence Day, which lands on Saturday, July 4. Under ORC 124.18, state employees observe a Saturday holiday on the preceding Friday and a Sunday holiday on the following Monday. So state offices will close Friday, July 3, 2026. Employees on seven-day operations observe holidays on the actual date.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 124 – Department of Administrative Services
The Supreme Court of Ohio uses the same Friday-for-Saturday and Monday-for-Sunday approach for its own filings.4Supreme Court of Ohio. Holiday Filing Rule
How Holidays Affect Legal Deadlines
If a filing deadline or other legally required act falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday, ORC 1.14 lets you complete the act on the next day that is not a Sunday or holiday. The same statute covers office closures directly: if a public office is closed for all of the last day of a deadline, or closes before its usual time, you have until the next business day.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 1.14 – Excluding First and Including Last Day – Legal Holidays
The statute explicitly addresses only Sunday holidays, not Saturday ones. In practice the closure rule fills the gap: when a state office is closed on a Saturday holiday, the deadline moves to the next open business day anyway.
Individual courts sometimes add closure days beyond the statutory list. Some municipal courts, for instance, close on the Friday after Thanksgiving or on Christmas Eve, even though neither is a state holiday.5Bowling Green Municipal Courts. Holiday Closures For a time-sensitive filing, confirm the schedule for your specific court rather than relying only on the eleven statutory dates.
What Closes and What Stays Open
State offices generally close on all eleven statutory holidays. Ohio.gov notes that “state offices are closed on these days and certain programs and resources may be unavailable,” and that “timelines for certain transactions are subject to change.”6Ohio.gov. State Holidays That covers the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, professional licensing boards, and other executive branch offices.
County and municipal offices set their own calendars. Some add closure days that the state list does not include; others stay open on days like Columbus Day. Call the specific office if you need a local service on a holiday.
Private businesses have no obligation to close on any state holiday and typically stay open. No Ohio law requires a private employer to give paid holidays, close on any date, or pay a premium rate for holiday work. Those decisions come from company policy or a collective bargaining agreement.
Holiday Pay Rules for State Employees
ORC 124.18 sets the compensation rules for Ohio state employees on holidays.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 124 – Department of Administrative Services
- Every full-time permanent employee gets at least eight hours of pay for each holiday, regardless of shift or schedule.
- You must be in active pay status on the scheduled workday immediately before the holiday to receive holiday pay. The only exception is a mandatory or voluntary cost savings day under ORC 124.392.
- For New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, employees scheduled to work who call in sick the day before, the day of, or the day after lose the holiday pay unless they can document extenuating circumstances.
- If the holiday falls on your regular day off, you still receive eight hours of holiday pay.
- The state can require employees to work on holidays when their absence “would impair the public service,” at the discretion of the administrative authority.
The attendance rule around the five major holidays is stricter than many employees realize. A single unexcused sick day next to Thanksgiving or Christmas can wipe out the holiday pay for that day.
Election Day Is Not a Holiday
Ohio does not designate Election Day as a legal holiday. It does not appear in ORC 1.14 or ORC 124.19, state offices stay open, and legal deadlines are not affected.
Ohio law does protect voting time. Under ORC 3599.06, an employer cannot fire or threaten to fire an employee for taking “a reasonable amount of time to vote on election day.” The statute does not fix a number of hours or require the time to be paid. A violation carries a fine between fifty and five hundred dollars.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3599.06
State Versus Federal Holidays
Ohio’s schedule closely tracks the federal one set by 5 U.S.C. 6103, with naming differences. The federal government calls the February holiday “Washington’s Birthday”; Ohio calls it “Washington-Lincoln Day.” Federal offices in Ohio, including post offices and federal courthouses, follow the federal calendar, which can occasionally diverge from the state schedule when the governor proclaims a special day that does not apply federally.