Business Days for Shipping (2026)
Shipping times are quoted in business days, usually Monday to Friday; the carrier's service terms and the seller's policy decide which days count. The split that changes the date is holidays: FedEx's 2026 schedule lists six federal holidays as open or "Modified Service", so a count that skips federal holidays can land a day later than one that skips only FedEx's closed days. Shipped Monday, November 9, 2026, 3 business days after shipping is Thursday, November 12 if you skip only FedEx's closed days, and Friday, November 13 if you also skip Veterans Day, November 11.
This page counts the ship date as day 0, the same way the site's other pages count from an order date. That is a counting convention, not a carrier rule. Shipped after the carrier's pickup cutoff, on a weekend, or on a closed day? Start from the next pickup day instead.
2026 federal holidays on FedEx's schedule
From FedEx's 2026 holiday service schedule (PDF), FedEx column, checked November 13, 2026. Its footnote for "Modified Service" reads: "Early on-call pickups and drop box pickups (including Drop Box closures) in some areas." The schedule shows which days FedEx operates; it does not say how a transit estimate counts them. It also notes: "FedEx includes all U.S. and international parcel and express freight services, except LTL freight services."
| Federal holiday 2026 | Date | FedEx | FedEx closed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Mon, Jan 19 | Modified Service | No |
| Presidents' Day | Mon, Feb 16 | Modified Service | No |
| Memorial Day | Mon, May 25 | Closed | Yes |
| Juneteenth | Fri, Jun 19 | Open | No |
| Independence Day (observed) | Fri, Jul 3 | Modified Service | No |
| Labor Day | Mon, Sep 7 | Closed | Yes |
| Columbus Day | Mon, Oct 12 | Modified Service | No |
| Veterans Day | Wed, Nov 11 | Modified Service | No |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thu, Nov 26 | Closed | Yes |
| Christmas Day | Fri, Dec 25 | Closed | Yes |
| New Year's Day 2027 | Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | Closed | Yes |
Six of the eleven federal holidays from January 19, 2026 to January 1, 2027 are listed as open or Modified Service. FedEx also lists Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, April 5 (Easter) as closed, both weekend days. Its schedule notes that "These dates are subject to change." Other carriers publish their own lists, and this page does not cover them; check yours.
Where the two counts split, worked
Each example counts Monday-to-Friday days after the ship date (day 0). One column skips only the days FedEx lists as closed; the other skips federal holidays.
| Shipped | Business days | Skipping FedEx closed days | Skipping federal holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Jun 18, 2026 | 1 | Fri, Jun 19 | Mon, Jun 22 |
| Fri, Oct 9, 2026 | 2 | Tue, Oct 13 | Wed, Oct 14 |
| Mon, Nov 9, 2026 | 3 | Thu, Nov 12 | Fri, Nov 13 |
| Mon, Nov 23, 2026 | 3 | Fri, Nov 27 | Fri, Nov 27 |
| Mon, Dec 21, 2026 | 3 | Thu, Dec 24 | Thu, Dec 24 |
Around Thanksgiving and Christmas the two counts agree, because FedEx closes on those days too, unless a President closes federal offices on Christmas Eve by executive order (see is Christmas Eve a business day). They split on the federal holidays FedEx lists as open or Modified Service.
Count your own dates
For a federal business-day count from any date, use the business days from today calculator, or the business days calculator for the days between two dates. What "3–5 business days" and "1–2 business days" come to in calendar days is on how long is 3-5 business days and how long is 1-2 business days, and whether Saturday counts is on is Saturday a business day.
Last updated November 13, 2026 (America/Chicago). FedEx column from FedEx's 2026 holiday service schedule (PDF), checked November 13, 2026; FedEx says its "dates are subject to change". Federal holidays from 5 U.S.C. 6103 and OPM.