Martin Luther King Jr. Day Dates 2025–2045

Last reviewed on May 4, 2026

Martin Luther King Jr. Day — usually shortened to MLK Day — is observed on the third Monday of January in the United States. It is a federal holiday honouring the civil-rights leader, whose actual birthday is January 15. This page lists every MLK Day date from 2025 through 2045, with the corresponding January calendar link.

MLK Day, 2025–2045

The rule

MLK Day is the third Monday of January. The third Monday falls between January 15 and January 21. When it lands on January 15, it coincides with King's actual birthday — that happens in 2018, 2024, 2029, 2035, 2046, and so on (years where January 1 is a Monday or Tuesday). The third-Monday rule was established when the holiday was created in 1983 and first observed in 1986. It became a holiday in all 50 states in 2000, when South Carolina was the last state to recognize it.

Why the third Monday?

The third-Monday rule follows the pattern of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Memorial Day, Columbus Day, Washington's Birthday (now Presidents Day), and Veterans Day to Mondays in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although MLK Day was created later, it adopted the same pattern to produce a reliable three-day weekend around the third week of January.

Practical implications

• Federal services. Federal employees, banks, USPS, and the Federal Reserve are closed.
• Schools. Most US public schools observe MLK Day; many also use the day for service projects under the "Day of Service" framework established by the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994.
• Long weekend. The Saturday–Monday window provides one of the few three-day weekends in the first quarter of the year, alongside Presidents Day in February.
• Travel. Significantly less travel demand than Memorial Day or Labor Day — flights and hotels around MLK Day weekend are usually cheaper than the spring-summer holidays.

MLK Day vs Presidents Day

Both holidays produce a Monday off in the first quarter. MLK Day is the third Monday of January; Presidents Day (officially Washington's Birthday) is the third Monday of February. The two are separated by roughly four weeks. Some employer calendars combine them into a single "winter long-weekend window" for staffing purposes.

Common mistakes

• Conflating MLK Day with King's actual birthday. They coincide only in years where January 1 is a Monday or Tuesday.
• Treating MLK Day as a state-only holiday. It has been federal since 1986.
• Assuming all employers observe the day. Private-sector observance is high but not universal.

Related

• 2026 US federal holidays — full list with dates.
• Memorial Day dates 2025–2045 — the next major Monday holiday.
• Working days vs calendar days — the January working-day count.
• January 2026 calendar — see MLK Day in context.