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2026 · 2027 · Banks and offices · Substitute days

Thai public holidays, 2026 and 2027

Every Thai public holiday for 2026 and 2027, with the days banks close, the days government offices close, and the few where the two differ. With the rules on substitute days and special holidays, the regional holidays of the far south, and how the Buddhist Era year works.

The year in the Buddhist Era

Thailand counts years from the Buddha’s passing into nirvana, in the Buddhist Era (B.E., พุทธศักราช, phutthasakkarat). Add 543 to the Western year: 2026 is 2569 and 2027 is 2570. Dates are written day, month, year, so 10 December 2026 is 10 ธันวาคม 2569. The year turns on 1 January; from 1889 it had turned on 1 April, and the change to January came in 1941. The Buddhist calendar explains the lunar months behind the religious holidays.

Holidays in 2026

2026 (B.E. 2569): banks per the Bank of Thailand, offices per the government
DateHolidayBanksGovernment offices
Thu 1 JanNew Year’s DayClosedClosed
Fri 2 JanSpecial holidayClosedClosed
Tue 3 MarMakha BuchaClosedClosed
Mon 6 AprChakri DayClosedClosed
Mon 13 to Wed 15 AprSongkranClosedClosed
Fri 1 MayNational Labour DayClosedOpen
Mon 4 MayCoronation DayClosedClosed
Wed 13 MayRoyal Ploughing CeremonyOpenClosed
Mon 1 JunVisakha Bucha (Sun 31 May), substitute dayClosedClosed
Wed 3 JunQueen Suthida’s birthdayClosedClosed
Tue 28 JulThe King’s birthdayClosedClosed
Wed 29 JulAsalha BuchaClosedClosed
Thu 30 JulKhao Phansa, start of the Buddhist LentOpenClosed
Wed 12 AugQueen Sirikit the Queen Mother’s birthday, Mother’s DayClosedClosed
Tue 13 OctKing Bhumibol Memorial DayClosedClosed
Fri 16 OctSpecial holiday, Bangkok onlyClosed in BangkokClosed in Bangkok
Fri 23 OctKing Chulalongkorn Memorial DayClosedClosed
Mon 7 DecKing Bhumibol’s birthday, National Day, Father’s Day (Sat 5 Dec), substitute dayClosedClosed
Thu 10 DecConstitution DayClosedClosed
Thu 31 DecNew Year’s EveClosedClosed

Chinese New Year (Tuesday 17 February 2026) is not a national holiday; see regional holidays below.

Holidays in 2027

The Bank of Thailand announced the 2027 bank holidays in August 2026. The government announces its own list, with the date of the Royal Ploughing Ceremony and any special holidays, later; until then, expect the government list to match the bank list except for Labour Day, plus the ploughing ceremony and Khao Phansa, the start of the Buddhist Lent, which always falls the day after Asalha Bucha.

2027 (B.E. 2570): bank holidays per the Bank of Thailand
DateHoliday
Fri 1 JanNew Year’s Day
Mon 22 FebMakha Bucha (Sun 21 Feb), substitute day
Tue 6 AprChakri Day
Tue 13 to Thu 15 AprSongkran
Mon 3 MayNational Labour Day (Sat 1 May), substitute day
Tue 4 MayCoronation Day
Thu 20 MayVisakha Bucha
Thu 3 JunQueen Suthida’s birthday
Mon 19 JulAsalha Bucha (Sun 18 Jul), substitute day
Wed 28 JulThe King’s birthday
Thu 12 AugQueen Sirikit the Queen Mother’s birthday, Mother’s Day
Wed 13 OctKing Bhumibol Memorial Day
Mon 25 OctKing Chulalongkorn Memorial Day (Sat 23 Oct), substitute day
Mon 6 DecKing Bhumibol’s birthday, National Day, Father’s Day (Sun 5 Dec), substitute day
Fri 10 DecConstitution Day
Fri 31 DecNew Year’s Eve

Banks, government offices and private employers

Three sets of rules decide who has the day off. The Bank of Thailand sets the holidays of banks and other financial institutions. The government sets the holidays of ministries, schools and state offices, including immigration offices, under a 2019 Prime Minister’s Office notice of 19 regular days a year, plus any the cabinet adds. Private employers follow the labour law, which gives employees at least 13 traditional holidays a year, National Labour Day among them; the employer chooses the rest from the official holidays and local customs and announces them in advance.

So the lists differ on a few days. On Labour Day, 1 May, banks and most private firms close but government offices open. On the Royal Ploughing Ceremony in May and on Khao Phansa in July, government offices close but banks open. If you have an appointment at an immigration or land office, it is the government list that counts.

Substitute days and special holidays

When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the next working day becomes a substitute holiday (วันหยุดชดเชย, wan yut chotchoei). In 2026 that moved Visakha Bucha to Monday 1 June and 5 December to Monday 7 December; 2027 has five such Mondays. The same rule applies to employees: a traditional holiday that falls on a weekly rest day is given on the next working day.

The cabinet can also declare special holidays (วันหยุดพิเศษ, wan yut phiset), often a Friday or Monday that turns a holiday into a long weekend to encourage domestic travel. They usually apply to government offices, and banks follow when the Bank of Thailand issues a notice of its own, as it did for both special days in 2026.

Regional holidays

In the five southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla, where many people are Muslim or of Chinese descent, banks also close for Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Chinese New Year when those days fall on a weekday, and government offices there close for the two Eids. The Islamic Bank of Thailand closes for the Eids everywhere. Chinese New Year falls on Tuesday 17 February 2026 and Saturday 6 February 2027; elsewhere in Thailand it is a working day, though Bangkok’s Chinatown and many family firms celebrate it.

Big days that are not holidays

Some of the best-known days in the Thai year are working days: Ok Phansa, the end of the Buddhist Lent (Monday 26 October 2026), Loi Krathong, when people float candle-lit baskets on rivers and ponds (Tuesday 24 November 2026), and Chiang Mai’s Yi Peng lantern festival at the same full moon.

Sources

Checked against the sources below. Rules, fees and dates change, sometimes at short notice: confirm with the Bank of Thailand, the office you are visiting or your employer before you rely on them.

Questions people ask

What year is it in Thailand?

Thailand counts years in the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years ahead of the Western count: 2026 is B.E. 2569 and 2027 is B.E. 2570. The year changes on 1 January, as in the West. Official papers, receipts and expiry dates use the Buddhist year, so a card that expires in 2572 expires in 2029.

Are shops and malls open on Thai public holidays?

Most are. Banks, government offices, schools and many offices close, but malls, supermarkets, restaurants and markets usually open, often busier than usual. Around Songkran many small family businesses close for several days while their owners go home to their provinces.

Can I buy alcohol on Buddhist holidays?

Generally not. Alcohol sales are restricted on the main Buddhist holy days, Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asalha Bucha, and the start and end of the Buddhist Lent, and supermarkets and convenience stores will refuse to sell it.

What is a special holiday?

An extra day off that the cabinet adds to the year, usually to make a long weekend or for a special event. In 2026 it added Friday 2 January for the whole country and Friday 16 October for Bangkok, during the IMF and World Bank meetings. They can be announced at a few weeks’ notice, so check again before you book.

Related

The Buddhist calendarHow the Thai Buddhist calendar works: the Buddhist Era, the lunar months, why Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha and the Buddhist Lent move every year, and the weekly holy days.Thai New YearsThailand celebrates the new year three times: on 1 January, at Songkran in April and at Chinese New Year. When each falls, which are holidays, and how each is kept.Constitution DayWhy Thailand marks 10 December: the revolution of 1932, the first permanent constitution, the many charters since, and how the day is kept as a public holiday.Buddhism in ThailandTheravada Buddhism as Thais live it: the temple and its buildings, monks and the morning alms round, making merit, ordination, the Sangha, and how to behave as a visitor.Visas and immigrationAn overview of the ways to stay in Thailand: visa exemption, tourist visas, the DTV, the Non-Immigrant visas and LTR, extensions, 90-day reports, TM30, overstay rules and the digital arrival card.Thai cultureGuides to Thai culture: the calendar and public holidays, Buddhism and the temples, regional food, festivals, the anthems, Muay Thai, massage and the hermit exercises.