What's open and closed on Good Friday?
Good Friday is the day the usual pattern flips. The stock market is closed — NYSE and Nasdaq have kept Good Friday on their own holiday calendars for well over a century — while banks are open, mail is delivered, federal offices are working, and both package carriers are running. It isn't a federal holiday at all, which is why the teller and the passport agency keep normal hours on a day the trading floor is dark.
The bond market is the one piece to look up rather than assume. SIFMA's recommended schedule normally closes it, with a 2pm ET early close on the Thursday before — but in a year when the monthly jobs report lands on Good Friday morning, dealers have kept a shortened session that day instead of closing outright. A small number of states, roughly a dozen, treat Good Friday as a state holiday, so some state offices and DMVs close even while the federal building next door is open; your state's page here has its list.
| Year | Falls on | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, April 3, 2026 | Same day |
| 2027 | Friday, March 26, 2027 | Same day |
| Who | Status |
|---|---|
| The Stock Market | Closed — the exchanges take Good Friday even though it isn't a federal holiday, and it's a full closure rather than a shortened session. |
| The Bond Market | Usually closed — SIFMA's recommended schedule closes it, and the exception is a year when the monthly jobs report lands that morning, when dealers have kept a short session instead. |
| Banks | Open — Good Friday isn't on the Federal Reserve calendar, so branches keep normal hours and payments settle as usual. |
| Mail & the Post Office | Open — carriers run full routes, post offices keep regular hours, and collection boxes are emptied at the usual times. |
| Federal Offices | Open — Good Friday isn't on OPM's schedule, so Social Security offices, IRS assistance centers, and passport agencies keep regular hours and federal courts sit. |
| UPS | Open — normal pickup and delivery, with no postal delay either, since the post office is running too. |
| FedEx | Delivering on a modified schedule — deliveries run as normal, while on-call and drop-box pickups go early in some areas. |
Questions people ask
Why is the stock market closed on Good Friday if banks are open?
The exchanges publish their own holiday calendars and have closed for Good Friday since the 1800s. The Federal Reserve never adopted it, so banks treat the day as ordinary business — traders are off, tellers aren't.
Is the post office open on Good Friday?
Yes, on its regular schedule. Good Friday isn't a federal holiday, and the USPS holiday list follows the federal one. Individual locations set their own hours, so check yours if you're going late in the day.
Do state offices and DMVs close on Good Friday?
In a small number of states they do — roughly a dozen treat it as a state holiday and close licensing offices while federal offices stay open. Your state's DMV page here has that state's full list.