How Many Days Until Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2027?

This countdown updates live in your local timezone.

When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2027?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2027 falls on Monday, January 18, 2027.

About Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States, observed on the third Monday of January each year, close to the birthday of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., who was born on January 15, 1929. The day honours the civil rights leader, who is best remembered for advancing civil rights through nonviolent protest and for his "I Have a Dream" speech of 1963. The holiday was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 and first observed in 1986. Some states held out for years before fully recognising it, and it was not observed in all 50 states until 2000. Many Americans now use the day for community service, under the slogan "a day on, not a day off".

Although signed into law in 1983, the holiday took years to be fully recognised across the United States. Some states at first merged it with other observances or refused to adopt it. Arizona's refusal led to a tourism boycott in the early 1990s, and the state did not officially observe the holiday until 1992. In 1994 federal legislation designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national day of service, run through the Corporation for National and Community Service. On the day, projects across the country put volunteers to work on food drives, mentoring, blood drives and neighbourhood repairs. It is the only US federal holiday formally designated as a day of service rather than a day of remembrance, reflecting Dr King's call to confront social injustice through active community work.

Frequently asked questions

When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on the third Monday of January each year, so the date moves between January 15 and January 21. It was placed on a Monday to give workers a long weekend, in line with other US holidays moved by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The third Monday was chosen because it falls near Dr King's birthday, January 15, 1929. The Monday rule means the holiday only lands on his actual birthday in years when the 15th is itself a Monday.

Why is MLK Day a day of service?

In 1994 Congress passed a law designating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national day of service, encouraging Americans to spend it volunteering. The slogan often used is "a day on, not a day off". The aim was to honour Dr King's belief that anyone can serve and that progress depends on active work for justice. On the day, volunteers take part in food drives, mentoring, repairs to community buildings and similar projects. It is the only US federal holiday that Congress has formally framed as a day of service rather than simple remembrance.

When did MLK Day become a federal holiday?

President Ronald Reagan signed the bill creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day in November 1983, and it was first observed in January 1986. Campaigns for a holiday began soon after Dr King was assassinated in 1968, and a petition to Congress eventually gathered millions of signatures. The musician Stevie Wonder helped raise the profile of the campaign with his 1980 song "Happy Birthday". Even after the federal law passed, some states resisted, and the holiday was not observed in all 50 states until 2000.

Is MLK Day observed in all 50 states?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is now observed in all 50 US states, but that took time. After the federal holiday began in 1986, several states declined to adopt it or merged it with other observances. Arizona's refusal led to a high-profile tourism boycott and the loss of a Super Bowl before the state adopted the holiday in 1992. By 2000 all states observed it, although a few continued to pair it with other commemorations, such as Robert E. Lee's birthday, for some years afterwards.

What did Martin Luther King Jr. do?

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and the most prominent leader of the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his death in 1968. He pressed for an end to racial segregation and for equal rights, using nonviolent protest, marches and boycotts. He led the Montgomery bus boycott, helped organise the 1963 March on Washington, where he gave the "I Have a Dream" speech, and supported the campaigns behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.