United Kingdom Public Holidays 2026
The United Kingdom has 8 national public holidays in 2026, starting with New Year's Day on 1 January 2026 and ending with Boxing Day on 26 December 2026, observed on Monday 28 December 2026. One holiday moves this year: Boxing Day falls on 26 December 2026 but the day off is taken on Monday 28 December 2026. It is counted once, on the day observed.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thursday | Public holiday | |
| Good Friday | Friday | Public holiday | |
| Easter Monday | Monday | Public holiday | |
| Early May bank holiday | Monday | Public holiday | |
| Spring bank holiday | Monday | Public holiday | |
| Summer bank holidayScotland takes its Summer bank holiday on the first Monday in August instead, so the date differs inside the UK. | Monday | Public holiday | |
| Christmas Day | Friday | Public holiday | |
| Boxing Day | in lieu of | Monday | Public holidayMoved |
- Status
- Set in lawThe calendar is set in standing law rather than announced year by year, so 2026 needs no separate publication.
- Last verified
- The newest check behind a United Kingdom entry, against the source named in the corrections log.
- Source
- date-holidays open dataset (ISC and CC BY 3.0), with 1 correction applied to United Kingdom. See what we changed.Always confirm official dates with a local authority before booking travel. How these calendars are built. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it.
The busiest stretch is April (2 holidays), a good window to plan around if you rely on offices, banks or schools being open. None of them falls on a weekend in 2026, so every holiday adds a genuine weekday off. Below you will find the full 2026 list for the United Kingdom, sorted by date, with the weekday marked for quick planning. The list is the national one, and the United Kingdom also has sub-national calendars that differ from it, so check the note above the table before you rely on a single date.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does the United Kingdom have in 2026?
The United Kingdom has 8 national public holidays in 2026. The first is New Year's Day on 1 January 2026 and the last is Boxing Day on 26 December 2026, observed on Monday 28 December 2026.
What is the first public holiday of 2026 in the United Kingdom?
The first public holiday of 2026 is New Year's Day, which falls on 1 January 2026.
When is New Year celebrated in the United Kingdom in 2026?
In 2026, New Year's Day in the United Kingdom is on 1 January 2026.
Which 2026 holidays in the United Kingdom are moved to another day?
One is: Boxing Day, which falls on 26 December 2026 but is taken on Monday 28 December 2026. A moved holiday is one holiday with a shifted day off, not two holidays, so it is counted once here. Sites that list both the weekend date and its replacement report a higher total than the official calendar does.
Are regional holidays included for the United Kingdom?
No. This calendar lists national public holidays only, so it stays consistent across countries. Holidays that apply to just part of the United Kingdom are listed separately on the United Kingdom holiday hub, together with the nations and jurisdictions that observe them.
Do the United Kingdom holiday dates change from 2026 to the next year?
Some of them do. Five of the 8 holidays in 2026 sit on a moving rule (linked to easter and set weekday of the month), so their date has to be recalculated for every year. The rest keep the same calendar date and only change weekday. Moving ones this year include Good Friday on 3 April 2026, Easter Monday on 6 April 2026 and Early May bank holiday on 4 May 2026, plus 2 more.
How far ahead is the United Kingdom calendar actually fixed?
Through 2027. The holidays are set in law rather than announced year by year, so the dates repeat predictably. What can still change is a law amendment, a one-off holiday declared for a national event, and the exact day of any holiday on the Islamic calendar, which is confirmed by moon sighting. This table also applies 1 correction to the underlying open dataset, each checked against the legislation. The full list with sources is on the United Kingdom holiday hub.
Which United Kingdom holidays are regional, and which move?
The table above is the national calendar for 2026. Some holidays keep the same date every year while others are tied to Easter, to a lunar calendar or to a named weekday, and some parts of the country add their own days off. The United Kingdom holiday hub breaks that down: which holidays are fixed, which move and why, and which ones are observed in certain regions only. To compare United Kingdom with other countries in the same year, see the 2026 worldwide overview.
Other years for United Kingdom
Planning further ahead or looking back? Compare the United Kingdom public holiday calendar across years:
Plan around the United Kingdom 2026 calendar
Knowing the dates is half the question. The other half is what they add up to: which of them create a long weekend on their own, and where a single day of leave turns a holiday into a four day break. That is on the United Kingdom long weekends page for 2026, alongside how many working days 2026 actually has once weekends and holidays come out. The same figures are available as JSON, and the dates as a calendar file.