Central Government Holiday Calendar 2026

The Central Government holiday calendar for 2026 was notified by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) through its annual Office Memorandum, published on 3 July 2025. It governs holidays for all Central Government offices, ministries, departments and most autonomous bodies across India. The calendar is split into two parts: 17 compulsory gazetted holidays on which every administrative office stays closed, and a longer list of restricted (optional) holidays from which each employee may pick any two during the year. This page lists every 2026 date with the exact day of the week, so you can plan leave, travel and long weekends well in advance.

How many holidays do Central Government employees get in 2026?

A Central Government employee gets up to 19 paid holidays in 2026 — 17 gazetted holidays plus 2 restricted holidays of their choice. Of the 17 gazetted holidays, three are national holidays observed everywhere without exception: Republic Day (26 January), Independence Day (15 August) and Gandhi Jayanti (2 October). Offices located outside Delhi/New Delhi follow a slightly different model — they observe 14 compulsory closed holidays, with the remaining days and the optional list decided by the Central Government Employees Welfare Co-ordination Committee (CGEWCC) of each state capital, so regional lists can vary.

Gazetted vs restricted holidays — what is the difference?

Gazetted holidays are mandatory. The office is closed and every employee gets the day off automatically — you do not apply for it and it is not deducted from any leave account. Restricted holidays (RH), sometimes called optional holidays, work differently: the office stays open, but an employee may choose to take the day off for a festival they observe. You must declare your two restricted holidays in advance, and they cannot be carried forward or encashed. The idea is to let a diverse workforce observe the festivals that matter most to them without closing the whole office for every regional celebration.

Long weekends in 2026 — plan your leave early

Because several 2026 gazetted holidays fall on a Friday or a Monday, the year offers a healthy run of three-day weekends — and a few four-day breaks if you add a single day of casual leave:

• Republic Day: Monday 26 January → Sat–Sun–Mon three-day weekend.
• Good Friday: Friday 3 April → Fri–Sat–Sun, with Easter Sunday on 5 April.
• Buddha Purnima: Friday 1 May → a three-day May Day weekend.
• Janmashtami: Friday 4 September → three-day weekend.
• Gandhi Jayanti: Friday 2 October → three-day weekend.
• Christmas: Friday 25 December → close the year with a three-day weekend.

Bridge opportunities are worth noting too: Ram Navami falls on Thursday 26 March and Dussehra on Tuesday 20 October — take one day of leave on the adjacent Friday or Monday and each becomes a four-day break.

How to choose your 2 restricted holidays

Pick the two festivals you actually observe or that give you the best break, and submit your choice to your office (usually in January). Smart picks for 2026 include festivals that do not already fall on a gazetted holiday or weekend — for example Makar Sankranti / Pongal (14 January), Vaisakhi (14 April), Ganesh Chaturthi (14 September, a Monday) or Govardhan Puja (9 November, also a Monday). Choosing a restricted holiday that lands on a Monday or Friday effectively buys you another long weekend on top of the gazetted ones.

What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?

In 2026, Independence Day (15 August) falls on a Saturday and Diwali (8 November) on a Sunday. There is no automatic substitute holiday when a gazetted holiday coincides with a weekly off. A "compensatory" or substitute holiday is only granted if the Government issues a specific order for that instance — it is not a standing rule. So unlike some private employers, Central Government staff do not automatically get a replacement weekday when a holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday.

Are these 2026 dates official?

The 17 gazetted holidays here match the official DoPT notification for 2026. Dates tied to the lunar calendar — Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid), Muharram and Id-e-Milad — are declared subject to the actual sighting of the moon and may shift by a day; the Government confirms the final date closer to the festival. For the most current position always cross-check your ministry's circular or the DoPT website. This calendar also pairs naturally with your leave planning: see the CCS Leave Rules guide for casual, earned and half-pay leave, and the LTC guide if you are timing a long weekend around a Leave Travel Concession journey.