Are federal offices open on Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving — the fourth Thursday in November — is on OPM's federal holiday schedule and every federal office closes. It's always a Thursday, so there's no observance shift, but it's also a one-day holiday, which is the part people get wrong.

Wednesday is a full workday and so is the Friday after. If you need a Social Security office or a passport agency that week, both of those days work — the counters are open, just thinly staffed.

What else on Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving across the board

Who	Status
Banks	Closed No — banks are closed on Thanksgiving.
Mail & the Post Office	Closed No — there's no mail delivery on Thanksgiving, and post offices are closed.
The Stock Market	Closed No — the stock market is closed on Thanksgiving.
UPS	Closed No — UPS doesn't pick up or deliver on Thanksgiving.
FedEx	Closed No — FedEx is closed on Thanksgiving, with no pickup or delivery.
Trash Pickup	Varies Almost certainly not — Thanksgiving stops collection in nearly every city, with the rest of the week usually running a day late. Your hauler posts the details.
Schools	Closed No — schools are closed on Thanksgiving.

Questions people ask

Is the Friday after Thanksgiving a federal holiday?

No. Only the Thursday is on OPM's schedule. Federal offices are open Friday; many employees take it as leave, so service can be slower than usual.

Checked against the OPM federal holiday schedule, verified August 2026. When a schedule for a new year has not been published yet, this page says so — it never guesses.