Brazil public holidays 2026

Brazil's movable dates in 2026 hang off Easter Sunday, April 5: Good Friday is two days earlier (April 3), Carnival Tuesday 47 days earlier (February 17) and Corpus Christi 60 days later (June 4).

The optional days for 2026 come from Portaria MGI nº 11.460 of December 29, 2025. Besides the usual ones, it gave federal staff two bridge days, April 20 (the Monday before Tiradentes) and June 5 (the Friday after Corpus Christi), plus the afternoons of Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve from 1 pm.

In 2026, November 15 falls on a Sunday. Brazil does not move holidays to the next weekday, so that date gives no extra day off to people who work Monday to Friday.

2026 is a general election year: the first round is on October 4 and any runoff on October 25, both Sundays. Under article 380 of the Electoral Code, an election day set by the Constitution is a national holiday; since it is always a Sunday it does not change the business-day count and is left out of the totals above.

Of the 19 dates in the 2026 table, 10 are national holidays set by federal law: Lei 662/1949 (January 1, April 21, May 1, September 7, November 2 and 15, December 25), Lei 6.802/1980 (October 12) and Lei 14.759/2023 (November 20), plus Good Friday. Only essential work is allowed on those days, and work without a compensatory day off is paid double (TST Súmula 146).

The other 9 are pontos facultativos of the federal civil service. They bind neither private employers nor states and cities: in 2026, whether you work on Carnival Monday and Tuesday (February 16 and 17) or Ash Wednesday morning (February 18, optional until 2 pm) depends on local law, your union agreement or your employer.

Public Servant Day (Lei 8.112/1990, art. 236) only applies to federal staff and falls on a Wednesday in 2026. November 20, a national holiday since Lei 14.759/2023, falls on a Friday.

A long weekend (feriadão) is three or more days off in a row: a weekend plus a holiday on Monday or Friday. A bridge (ponte) is a holiday on Tuesday or Thursday, which becomes four days off if you take the Monday or Friday. 2026 has seven long weekends and two bridges from national holidays alone.

Long weekends (no leave needed)

• Friday, April 3 to Sunday, April 5: 3 days · Good Friday (Paixão de Cristo)
• Friday, May 1 to Sunday, May 3: 3 days · Labor Day (Dia Mundial do Trabalho)
• Saturday, September 5 to Monday, September 7: 3 days · Independence Day (Independência do Brasil)
• Saturday, October 10 to Monday, October 12: 3 days · Our Lady of Aparecida (Nossa Senhora Aparecida)
• Saturday, October 31 to Monday, November 2: 3 days · All Souls' Day (Finados)
• Friday, November 20 to Sunday, November 22: 3 days · Black Consciousness Day (Dia Nacional de Zumbi e da Consciência Negra)
• Friday, December 25 to Sunday, December 27: 3 days · Christmas Day (Natal)

Bridge days (one day of leave, four days off)

• Thursday, January 1 to Sunday, January 4: 4 days · New Year's Day (Confraternização Universal) · take Friday, January 2 off
• Saturday, April 18 to Tuesday, April 21: 4 days · Tiradentes Day (Tiradentes) · take Monday, April 20 off

If your employer adopts the pontos facultativos

Counting the full-day optional days (Carnival and Corpus Christi, plus the April 20 and June 5 bridge days), these also open up for people who get them off:

• Saturday, February 14 to Tuesday, February 17: 4 days · Carnival Monday (Carnaval), Carnival Tuesday (Carnaval)
• Saturday, April 18 to Tuesday, April 21: 4 days · Bridge day before Tiradentes (Ponto facultativo), Tiradentes Day (Tiradentes)
• Thursday, June 4 to Sunday, June 7: 4 days · Corpus Christi, Bridge day after Corpus Christi (Ponto facultativo)

Business days = Monday to Friday minus national holidays that fall on a weekday. Pontos facultativos (Carnival, Ash Wednesday, Corpus Christi, Public Servant Day) and state or municipal holidays are not subtracted. In 2026, the month with the fewest business days is November (19), and the one with the most is July (23).

The 10 national holidays of 2026 are highlighted; optional days are shaded grey. Weeks start on Sunday, as Brazilian calendars do. To print, use your browser's print command: each month is its own table.

The list above is national. Under Lei 9.093/1995, each state may add its own founding date (art. 1, II) and each municipality up to four religious holidays, counting Good Friday, which falls on April 3 in 2026 (art. 2). Portaria MGI 11.460/2025 tells federal offices to observe those local holidays where they apply.

One example: July 9, São Paulo state's Data Magna, falls on a Thursday in 2026. Corpus Christi (June 4) is a municipal holiday in many cities, and some also declare Carnival a holiday. Because this varies city by city, check your municipality's official calendar before setting deadlines.

How many public holidays does Brazil have in 2026?

10 national holidays: New Year's Day (January 1), Good Friday (April 3), Tiradentes Day (April 21), Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (September 7), Our Lady of Aparecida (October 12), All Souls' Day (November 2), Proclamation of the Republic (November 15), Black Consciousness Day (November 20), and Christmas Day (December 25). 9 fall between Monday and Friday. Carnival, Ash Wednesday and Corpus Christi are optional days, not national holidays.

Is Carnival a public holiday in Brazil in 2026?

Not nationally. In 2026, Carnival Monday is February 16, Carnival Tuesday is February 17 and Ash Wednesday is February 18. The federal government treats them as pontos facultativos (Ash Wednesday until 2 pm). A day off is only guaranteed where a state or municipal law makes it a holiday, or when a union agreement or the employer grants it.

Is November 20 a national holiday in Brazil in 2026?

Yes. Lei 14.759/2023 made November 20, Black Consciousness Day (Dia Nacional de Zumbi e da Consciência Negra), a national holiday. In 2026 it falls on a Friday.

When is Corpus Christi in 2026, and is it a holiday in Brazil?

Corpus Christi is Thursday, June 4, 2026, 60 days after Easter. Federally it is an optional day; many cities make it a municipal holiday. In 2026 the federal ordinance also made Friday, June 5 an optional day.

How many working days are there in Brazil in 2026?

252 working days, counting Monday to Friday and subtracting the 9 national holidays that fall on weekdays. The month with the fewest business days is November (19), and the one with the most is July (23). Optional days and local holidays are not subtracted.