California DMV Holidays 2026–2027: Every Day DMV Offices Are Closed
California DMV offices close on 10 days in 2026 — and the list is not the federal one. The day after Thanksgiving is closed, but Friday, July 3 is open. Here is every closure for 2026 and 2027, plus what still works on a holiday.
TL;DR
- 10 closure days in 2026: DMV offices close on 10 published holidays in 2026 — the list below, straight from dmv.ca.gov.
- 2 surprise closures: Farmworkers Day (Tue, Mar 31) and the day after Thanksgiving (Fri, Nov 27) catch people out every year.
- 1 surprise opening: offices are OPEN Friday, July 3, 2026 — California doesn’t shift the Saturday July 4 holiday to Friday like the federal government does.
- Also open: Juneteenth, Columbus Day, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve are all normal business days at California DMV offices.
- On closed days: online services run 24/7, grocery-store kiosks follow store hours, and the automated phone line answers around the clock.
Last verified against official sources: October 2026
If you’re planning a DMV trip around a holiday, don’t trust the federal calendar — California plays by its own list. The DMV publishes its closures a year at a time, and a few of them surprise almost everyone: offices stay open on Juneteenth and Columbus Day, but close for Farmworkers Day and the day after Thanksgiving. Below is every 2026 closure from DMV’s own published list, the 2027 schedule, the weekend rules that decide the tricky years, and your options when offices are dark.
California DMV Holiday Closures — 2026
These are the 10 days every California DMV field office is closed in 2026, exactly as published on dmv.ca.gov. Offices are also closed on weekends, as usual.
| Date | Holiday | Offices |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, January 1 | New Year’s Day | Closed |
| Mon, January 19 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Closed |
| Mon, February 16 | Presidents’ Day | Closed |
| Tue, March 31 | Farmworkers Day | Closed |
| Mon, May 25 | Memorial Day | Closed |
| Mon, September 7 | Labor Day | Closed |
| Wed, November 11 | Veterans Day | Closed |
| Thu, November 26 | Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Fri, November 27 | Day after Thanksgiving | Closed |
| Fri, December 25 | Christmas Day | Closed |
Open When You’d Expect Closed
Just as important: the days people assume are closures but aren’t. California does not observe several federal holidays as office closures, and it doesn’t shift Saturday holidays to Friday the way the federal government does.
| Date (2026) | Day | Why offices are open |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, July 3 | Day before Independence Day | July 4 falls on a Saturday. California gives employees holiday credit instead of a Friday closure — federal offices close, DMV doesn’t. |
| Fri, June 19 | Juneteenth | An elective holiday-credit day for state employees, not an office closure. |
| Mon, October 12 | Columbus Day | A California legal holiday, but not a paid state-employee holiday — offices stay open. |
| Thu, December 24 | Christmas Eve | Not a closure day. Offices run normal hours (8 AM–5 PM), and DMV publishes no early closing. |
| Thu, December 31 | New Year’s Eve | Same story — open, normal hours. |
| Fri, September 25 | Native American Day | Courts close; DMV doesn’t. It’s an elective-credit day only. |
| Thu, February 12 | Lincoln’s Birthday | A legal and court holiday, but DMV offices stay open. |
| Wed, September 9 | Admission Day | California’s statehood day is a legal holiday, not an office closure. |
| Fri, April 3 | Good Friday | The 12–3 PM observance applies to courts, not DMV offices. |
Christmas 2026 needs one more note: because Christmas Day itself is a Friday, there’s no extra closure around it. Saturday, December 26 is a normal weekend closure, and offices reopen Monday, December 28.
Closed When You’d Expect Open
Farmworkers Day — Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Nothing else closes: banks, mail, and shops all run normally, but every DMV office is shut. Until 2026 this was César Chávez Day; it was renamed Farmworkers Day (AB 2156), so older calendars may show the old name or miss it entirely. The date never changed.
The day after Thanksgiving — Friday, November 27, 2026. This is the single most wasted DMV trip of the year. It’s retail’s biggest day, so people plan errands around it — but the DMV closes for Thanksgiving on both Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27.
Presidents’ Day — Monday, February 16, 2026. Car-dealer sales make it feel like an ordinary business day, and a few states keep their DMVs open, but California closes.
How Weekend Holidays Are Observed
Three rules from California law (Government Code §19853) decide what happens when a holiday lands on a weekend:
- Sunday → Monday. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is the closure day. In 2027, Independence Day (Sunday, July 4) is observed Monday, July 5.
- Saturday → no weekday closure. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, state employees receive holiday credit instead, and offices do not close the Friday before. That’s why Friday, July 3, 2026 is open even though federal offices shut.
- One exception: Veterans Day. If November 11 falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed instead. That next happens in 2028, on Friday, November 10.
The baseline underneath all of this: DMV offices are closed on weekends. A limited number of offices run a Saturday pilot, and those offices still close when a listed holiday lands on their Saturday. This is also why you should never copy a federal holiday calendar onto California: the federal government shifts Saturday holidays to Friday and Sunday holidays to Monday, while California only shifts the Sunday ones.
California DMV Holidays — 2027
DMV has confirmed only the first row below (January 1, 2027) on its own holidays page so far. The remaining 2027 dates follow California’s statutory state holiday schedule (Government Code §19853) — the same list DMV’s 2026 closures mirror. DMV confirms its own list each year, so check dmv.ca.gov before planning around a 2027 date.
| Date | Holiday | Offices |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, January 1 | New Year’s Day | Closed |
| Mon, January 18 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Closed |
| Mon, February 15 | Presidents’ Day | Closed |
| Wed, March 31 | Farmworkers Day | Closed |
| Mon, May 31 | Memorial Day | Closed |
| Mon, July 5 | Independence Day (observed — July 4 is a Sunday) | Closed |
| Mon, September 6 | Labor Day | Closed |
| Thu, November 11 | Veterans Day | Closed |
| Thu, November 25 | Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Fri, November 26 | Day after Thanksgiving | Closed |
| Sat, December 25 | Christmas Day | Closed (Saturday) — no extra Friday closure |
About Christmas 2027: because Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, offices are closed that weekend as usual, and California law gives employees holiday credit rather than an added Friday closure. DMV has not announced a Friday, December 24, 2027 closure — if you’re planning a Christmas-week trip, check dmv.ca.gov once DMV posts its full 2027 list.
Also open in 2027, under the same state schedule: Juneteenth (Fri, June 18), Columbus Day (Mon, October 11), Native American Day (Fri, September 24), Lincoln’s Birthday (Fri, February 12), and New Year’s Eve (Fri, December 31).
What You Can Still Do on a Holiday
A closed office doesn’t mean a lost day. Most routine DMV business keeps moving on holidays:
| Option | On holidays | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Online at dmv.ca.gov | Works 24/7 | Renew registration or an eligible driver’s license, book appointments, order records, and change your address — holidays included. |
| DMV Now kiosks in grocery stores | Follow store hours | Kiosks inside supermarkets (289 statewide) keep the host store’s hours — typically 6 AM to midnight — and print your registration card and sticker on the spot. |
| DMV Now kiosks inside DMV offices | Closed | Office kiosks follow office hours, so they’re unavailable whenever the office is closed. |
| Phone — 1-800-777-0133 | Automated line 24/7 | The automated system renews vehicle registration and books appointments around the clock. Live representatives are available on business days only — no reps on holidays. |
| AAA offices | Varies by branch | Members can handle select registration services at AAA; holiday hours are set by AAA, not the DMV, so check your branch. |
One warning: if an existing appointment lands on a closure date, reschedule online right away. The first open days after a holiday fill up fastest. And if you’re not sure whether your errand can wait, do the online part on the holiday itself and save the office trip for the next business day — you’ll skip the post-holiday rush entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the DMV open on Veterans Day?
No. Veterans Day is a full closure — Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and Thursday, November 11, 2027. All California DMV offices are closed both years.
Is the California DMV open on Juneteenth?
Yes. Offices are open on Friday, June 19, 2026 with normal hours. In California, Juneteenth is an elective holiday-credit day for state employees, not an office closure — unlike the federal government, which closes.
Is the DMV open on Friday, July 3, 2026?
Yes. July 4, 2026 falls on a Saturday, and California gives state employees holiday credit instead of shifting the closure to Friday. Federal offices close on July 3 — California DMV offices do not.
Is the DMV open on Black Friday?
No. The day after Thanksgiving — Friday, November 27, 2026 — is a full DMV closure, along with Thanksgiving Day itself (Thursday, November 26). It’s the most common wasted DMV trip of the year.
Is the DMV open on Christmas Eve?
Yes. Thursday, December 24, 2026 is a normal business day with regular hours (8 AM–5 PM). The DMV publishes no early-closing schedule for Christmas Eve — if you’re visiting late in the day, it’s still worth checking your office’s page on dmv.ca.gov.
Is the DMV open on New Year’s Eve?
Yes. Thursday, December 31, 2026 is a normal business day with regular hours. Offices then close for New Year’s Day on Friday, January 1, 2027.
Is the DMV open on Columbus Day in California?
Yes. Monday, October 12, 2026 is a regular business day. Columbus Day is a California legal holiday, but it isn’t one of the paid state-employee holidays that close DMV offices.
Is the DMV open on Farmworkers Day (César Chávez Day)?
No. Tuesday, March 31, 2026 is a full closure. It’s the same March 31 holiday California used to call César Chávez Day, renamed Farmworkers Day in 2026.
Is the DMV open on Good Friday?
Yes. The Good Friday observance (Friday, April 3, 2026, from noon to 3 PM) applies to California courts, not to DMV offices, which stay open all day.
What can I still do on a day the DMV is closed?
Plenty: online services at dmv.ca.gov run 24/7, DMV Now kiosks inside grocery stores follow store hours (often 6 AM to midnight), and the automated phone line at 1-800-777-0133 answers around the clock for registration renewals and appointment booking. Only live phone representatives are unavailable on holidays.
If a holiday falls on a weekend, when is the DMV closed?
It depends on the day. A holiday on a Sunday is observed the following Monday. A holiday on a Saturday creates no weekday closure at all — employees get holiday credit instead. The one exception is Veterans Day: if November 11 falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed.
Is the DMV open the day after Christmas?
In 2026 there’s no extra closure. December 26 is a Saturday, when offices are closed as they are every weekend, and offices reopen on Monday, December 28. Christmas week 2027 is different only in that Christmas itself falls on a Saturday — DMV has not announced any Friday, December 24, 2027 closure.
Related Guides
Planning a DMV Trip?
Check the closure list before you go, then book your visit on the official scheduler — appointments are free, and the days right after a holiday go first.
Book on dmv.ca.gov →Last verified against dmv.ca.gov, calhr.ca.gov, and California Government Code §19853: October 2026. The 2026 closures are DMV’s published list; 2027 dates beyond January 1 follow the state holiday schedule until DMV posts its own — confirm on dmv.ca.gov before your visit.