What Government Offices Are Closed On Thanksgiving And Black Friday?

For the vast majority of Americans, you either get Thanksgiving day off or get holiday pay. 

Most retailers are closed, except for grocery and drug stores, and most banks will be closed as well. Some restaurants, including Applebee’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak House,  will be open on Thanksgiving if you want to take the family out, but many places will be closed.

Thanksgiving is both a Federal and a State holiday, so schools and most offices will be closed. 

But what about Black Friday? The day after Thanksgiving isn’t an officially recognized national holiday, though many people do get to stay home from work. But what complicated the situation is that many states do recognize The Day After Thanksgiving as a holiday, and give their employees the day off.

So if you don’t want to go shopping and would prefer to use your day off attending to some errand you’ve been meaning to get to, we’ve put together a list of what will and won’t be open on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

What Will Open And Closed On Thanksgiving And Black Friday?

The majority of banks, including Capital One and Chase, will be closed on Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday, though some branches may choose to close. Also, some banks will close early on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Schools 

With almost no exceptions, all schools will be closed on both Thanksgiving and the day after.

The Stock Market

The U.S. Stock Exchange, including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, will be closed for Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday. 

The Post Office

The United States Postal Service will be closed on Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday. 

The Federal Government 

All Federal Government offices, including courts, are closed on Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday.

State Governments

The day after Thanksgiving is a state holiday in Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. In Nevada, it is known as Family Day. In Indiana, the day after Thanksgiving celebrates Abraham Lincoln day while Georgia once observed Robert E. Lee's birthday, but now refers to it as Georgia State Holiday.

So for these states, and generally only in these states, city hall, state courts and agencies, and the Department of Motor Vehicles will be closed. Many libraries will be closed, but not all of them, as some states give local branches some leeway in this matter. Best to call ahead if you are not sure.

Grocery And Drug Stores

We went into more detail right over here, but the majority of grocery stores, including ACME, Whole Foods  (AMZN) - Get Free Report, Kroger  (KR,) - Get Free Report and Albertsons  (ACI) - Get Free Report will be open on Thanksgiving, and obviously on Black Friday. 

But Target and Walmart  (WMT) - Get Free Report, which both have a grocery element and a more general retail element, will be closed on Thanksgiving, as will Costco and some regional chains like Publix.

The three main drug store chains CVS  (CVS) - Get Free Report, Rite Aid  (RAD,) - Get Free Report and Walgreens  (WBA) - Get Free Report will be open on Thanksgiving, as they generally never close, as someone will always need toilet paper and their prescriptions.

Chain Restaurants

No restaurant, be it local or a chain like Olive Garden  (DRI) - Get Free Report, will take Black Friday off, as many families go out to dinner after shopping. As we went into detail over here, more chain restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving than you might suspect, in case you’d like to eat at McDonald’s  (MCD) - Get Free Report for breakfast.