March 26, 20269 min read

Central Government Holiday List 2026: Gazetted Holidays, Restricted Holidays and Office Closures

Complete list of central government holidays in 2026 — all 17 gazetted holidays, 30+ restricted holidays, Saturday rules, DoPT notification details, and how state government holidays differ.

government holidays 2026 gazetted holidays restricted holidays central government DoPT office closure

Every November, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) publishes the official holiday list for central government offices for the upcoming year. This list applies to all central government employees across ministries, attached offices, and subordinate offices throughout India. Let's go through the complete central government holiday list for 2026 — gazetted holidays, restricted holidays, Saturday rules, and everything in between.

Gazetted Holidays 2026

Gazetted holidays are compulsory holidays. All central government offices remain closed on these days. There are typically 17 gazetted holidays each year, divided into three categories: national holidays (3), gazetted holidays by convention, and holidays based on festivals.

S.No.	Date	Day	Holiday
1	January 26	Monday	Republic Day
2	March 4	Wednesday	Maha Shivaratri
3	March 17	Tuesday	Holi (Dulhandi)
4	March 31	Tuesday	Id-ul-Fitr (Eid) *
5	April 3	Friday	Good Friday
6	April 14	Tuesday	Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti
7	May 12	Tuesday	Buddha Purnima
8	June 7	Sunday	Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) *
9	July 6	Monday	Muharram *
10	August 15	Saturday	Independence Day
11	August 22	Saturday	Janmashtami (Srikrishna Jayanti)
12	September 4	Friday	Milad-un-Nabi (Prophet Mohammad Birthday) *
13	October 2	Friday	Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti
14	October 21	Wednesday	Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami)
15	November 14	Saturday	Diwali (Deepavali)
16	November 30	Monday	Guru Nanak Jayanti
17	December 25	Friday	Christmas Day

\ Dates of holidays based on the Islamic calendar are subject to actual sighting of the moon and may shift by a day.* Three National Holidays — Republic Day (January 26), Independence Day (August 15), and Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) — are non-negotiable. Central government offices across India close on these days regardless of any other consideration.

Restricted Holidays 2026

Restricted holidays (RH) are optional holidays. Central government employees can choose any 2 restricted holidays from the list during the year. You need to inform your office in advance (typically by submitting a declaration at the beginning of the year or applying before the specific holiday).

Here's the full list of restricted holidays for 2026:

S.No.	Date	Day	Holiday
1	January 6	Tuesday	Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti
2	January 13	Tuesday	Lohri / Pongal Eve
3	January 14	Wednesday	Makar Sankranti / Pongal
4	January 23	Friday	Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti
5	February 2	Monday	Basant Panchami / Sri Panchami
6	February 14	Saturday	Swami Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti
7	February 19	Thursday	Shivaji Jayanti
8	February 26	Thursday	Hazrat Ali Birthday
9	March 14	Saturday	Holika Dahan
10	March 25	Wednesday	S. Bhagat Singh Martyrdom Day
11	March 29	Sunday	Ram Navami
12	April 2	Thursday	Mahavir Jayanti
13	April 5	Sunday	Easter Sunday
14	April 10	Friday	Vaisakhi / Vishu / Mesadi
15	April 14	Tuesday	Tamil New Year
16	May 9	Saturday	Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti
17	June 15	Monday	Rath Yatra
18	July 31	Friday	Raksha Bandhan
19	August 13	Thursday	Onam / Thiruvonam
20	August 16	Sunday	Parsi New Year (Nowruz)
21	September 23	Wednesday	Ganesh Chaturthi (Vinayaka Chaturthi)
22	October 1	Thursday	Maha Saptami
23	October 2	Friday	Maha Ashtami
24	October 3	Saturday	Maha Navami
25	October 19	Monday	Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti
26	November 2	Monday	Karva Chauth
27	November 12	Thursday	Naraka Chaturdashi
28	November 16	Monday	Govardhan Puja
29	November 17	Tuesday	Bhai Dooj
30	November 24	Tuesday	Chhath Puja (Pratihar Sashthi / Surya Sashthi)
31	December 24	Thursday	Christmas Eve

How to avail restricted holidays: Submit a written declaration to your office at the start of the year indicating which 2 restricted holidays you wish to observe. Some offices allow you to change your selection during the year with prior notice.

Saturday Working Rules

Central government offices follow a 5-day week with alternating Saturdays system:

Second Saturday — office closed (holiday)
Fourth Saturday — office closed (holiday)
First, Third, and Fifth Saturdays — working days (office timings 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM)
Sundays — closed

This means central government employees get approximately 26 Saturday holidays per year (2 per month), in addition to all Sundays, gazetted holidays, and 2 restricted holidays. Total approximate holidays in 2026:

Sundays: 52
2nd and 4th Saturdays: 24
Gazetted holidays: 17
Restricted holidays: 2
Total: ~95 holidays (some may overlap with weekends)

Holiday Falling on Sunday or Saturday — What Happens?

This is a common source of confusion. Here's how it works:

If a gazetted holiday falls on a Sunday: The next working day (Monday) is observed as a compensatory holiday. This is standard practice.
If a gazetted holiday falls on a 2nd/4th Saturday: No compensatory holiday is given, since that Saturday is already a holiday.
If a gazetted holiday falls on a 1st/3rd/5th Saturday: That Saturday becomes a holiday. No compensatory holiday on Monday.

In 2026, Independence Day (August 15) falls on a Saturday — so employees already get that day off as part of the weekend. Diwali (November 14) also falls on a Saturday.

How the Holiday Notification Works

The DoPT issues the holiday notification through an Office Memorandum (OM), usually in November of the preceding year. The process:

DoPT issues the official OM listing all gazetted and restricted holidays
The OM is circulated to all ministries, departments, and attached/subordinate offices
Individual offices may issue internal circulars adapting the list (e.g., specifying local arrangements)
The notification is published on dopt.gov.in and in the Gazette of India

You can find the official notification by visiting dopt.gov.in and searching for "Holiday List 2026" in the OMs section.

How State Government Holidays Differ

State government holiday lists differ significantly from the central government list. Key differences:

Number of holidays: States typically declare 15-25 gazetted holidays, often more than the central list
Regional festivals: States include local festivals (e.g., Onam in Kerala, Bihu in Assam, Chhath in Bihar) as gazetted holidays rather than restricted holidays
Saturday rules: Some states follow a 6-day week (Saturday working), others follow 5-day or alternating Saturday patterns
Notification authority: State holidays are declared by the respective State General Administration Department

Bank holidays are separately notified by the Reserve Bank of India under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Bank holiday lists often differ from both central and state government lists.

Public Holidays vs Bank Holidays vs Government Holidays

Type	Declared By	Applies To
Central Govt Holidays	DoPT	All central government offices
State Govt Holidays	State GAD	State government offices
Bank Holidays	RBI (under NI Act)	All scheduled banks
Public Holidays (NI Act)	State governments	Negotiable instruments, courts

A day can be a central government holiday but not a bank holiday, or vice versa. Always check the specific list relevant to your office or institution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take more than 2 restricted holidays in a year? No. Central government employees are entitled to exactly 2 restricted holidays per year. If you want additional days off on festivals not covered by gazetted holidays, you need to apply for Casual Leave or Earned Leave. Do central government holidays apply to PSUs and autonomous bodies? Not necessarily. Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and autonomous bodies may follow the central government holiday list, their own holiday list, or a modified version. It depends on the specific organization's rules. Many PSUs follow the central list with minor local additions. Is the holiday list the same across all states for central government offices? Yes. The gazetted holiday list issued by DoPT applies uniformly to all central government offices across India, regardless of the state. However, some central government offices in specific regions may get additional local holidays through separate orders (e.g., statehood day celebrations). What if my office asks me to work on a gazetted holiday? Gazetted holidays are compulsory holidays, and offices generally remain closed. However, in essential services (railways, hospitals, security), employees may be required to work on holidays. In such cases, they are entitled to a compensatory off on another day or overtime allowance as per applicable rules.