North Carolina asks a different question from most states. Rule 6(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which G.S. 1-593 applies to statutory periods as well, excludes a last day that is a Saturday, a Sunday or “a legal holiday when the courthouse is closed for transactions”. The statute that declares legal holidays, G.S. 103-4, lists nineteen of them, but the courts close on twelve, so the list that governs a deadline is the Judicial Branch’s own schedule. It was read live on nccourts.gov on and matches the State Human Resources Commission’s schedule for 2027.
The Judicial Branch’s twelve closed days
New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and the day after it, and three days at Christmas. Independence Day falls on a Sunday in 2027 and the schedule observes it on Monday, July 5, the one weekend move the year requires outside Christmas. There is no formula in the schedule: each year’s dates are published, and the calculator uses them as published.
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | |
| Good Friday | |
| Memorial Day | |
| Independence Day (observed) | |
| Labor Day | |
| Veterans Day | |
| Thanksgiving Day | |
| Day after Thanksgiving | |
| Christmas holiday | |
| Christmas holiday | |
| Christmas holiday |
Source: Judicial Branch holiday schedule 2027 (archive capture of Oct. 22, 2026), matching the OSHR 2027 schedule · verified 2026-11-08.
Nineteen statutory holidays, twelve closures
G.S. 103-4 adds Robert E. Lee’s Birthday, Greek Independence Day, Anniversary of the signing of the Halifax Resolves, Confederate Memorial Day, Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence Day, Yom Kippur, Election Day in even-numbered years and others to the familiar federal dates. None of them closes a courthouse, so none of them moves a deadline, and a filer who counts on the statute’s list rather than the court’s will arrive a day late. Rule 6(a) also provides that “a half holiday shall be considered as other days”, so a clerk’s office that closes at noon on a listed day does not extend the period either. Periods of fewer than seven days skip the twelve closed days and the weekends in the middle of the count, not only at the end.
Three days at Christmas, placed by the schedule
The three Christmas holidays move with the calendar. In 2026 they are December 24, 25 and 28; in 2027, with Christmas on a Saturday, they are Thursday, December 23, Friday, December 24 and Monday, December 27, producing five consecutive days on which no clerk’s office is open. A 30-day answer period that starts on Tuesday, November 23 ends on Thursday, December 23 and runs to Tuesday, December 28; a ten-day period under Rule 59 that starts on Friday, December 17 ends on Monday, December 27 and runs to the same Tuesday. The North Carolina calculator applies the schedule and adds the three days Rule 6(e) gives for service by mail before it looks for a closed day. No 2028 court schedule had been posted when this page was checked, so the 2028 dates elsewhere on this site follow the state employee schedule until the courts publish their own.
Download the North Carolina 2027 list
- North Carolina court holidays (Judicial Branch schedule) 2027: iCalendar (.ics) · CSV
The file is regenerated whenever the schedule changes, the changelog records each change, and the 2027 overview shows how the other court systems treat the same weeks.
Questions about North Carolina holidays in 2027
When are North Carolina courts closed for Christmas 2027?
On Thursday, December 23, Friday, December 24 and Monday, December 27. Christmas Day is a Saturday, and the Judicial Branch schedule places the three Christmas holidays around it. A deadline that ends on any of those days, or on the weekend between them, runs to Tuesday, December 28 under Rule 6(a).
Is Veterans Day 2027 a court holiday in North Carolina?
Yes. The courts close on , so a deadline that ends that day runs to Friday, November 12. Two weeks later the courts close again for Thanksgiving on November 25 and the Friday after it.
Does a G.S. 103-4 holiday move a deadline if the courthouse is open?
No. Rule 6(a) treats a legal holiday as a non-day only when the courthouse is closed for transactions. Confederate Memorial Day, Greek Independence Day, Yom Kippur and the other statutory holidays on which the clerk’s office stays open do not extend a deadline; the calculator warns about them instead of moving the date.