Public holidays 2026/2027 in Czechia: when things close and what it means for deadlines
Holidays from October 2026 to the end of 2027 with weekdays, when large shops are closed, how the end of a deadline moves, how working days are counted for address registration, and what an employee gets for working on a holiday.
Moving, handing over a flat, giving notice or a trip to a government office: everything has a date, and a holiday can get in the way. Shops are closed, offices don't work, and the deadline you counted on may end on a different day. Here are the holidays for the next 15 months and the rules that go with them.
1. Holidays until the end of 2026
- Wednesday 28 Oct 2026: Independent Czechoslovak State Day
- Tuesday 17 Nov 2026: Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day and International Students' Day
- Thursday 24 Dec 2026: Christmas Eve
- Friday 25 Dec 2026: Christmas Day
- Saturday 26 Dec 2026: St Stephen's Day (second day of Christmas)
2. Holidays in 2027
- Friday 1 Jan 2027: Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State and New Year's Day
- Friday 26 Mar 2027: Good Friday
- Monday 29 Mar 2027: Easter Monday
- Saturday 1 May 2027: Labour Day
- Saturday 8 May 2027: Liberation Day
- Monday 5 Jul 2027: Saints Cyril and Methodius Day
- Tuesday 6 Jul 2027: Jan Hus Day
- Tuesday 28 Sep 2027: Czech Statehood Day
- Thursday 28 Oct 2027: Independent Czechoslovak State Day
- Wednesday 17 Nov 2027: Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day and International Students' Day
- Friday 24 Dec 2027: Christmas Eve
- Saturday 25 Dec 2027: Christmas Day
- Sunday 26 Dec 2027: St Stephen's Day
The law distinguishes public holidays (Section 1 of Act No. 245/2000 Coll.) from other holidays, which include New Year's Day, Easter, 1 May and Christmas (Section 2 of Act No. 245/2000 Coll.). Both are days of rest (Section 3 of Act No. 245/2000 Coll.). When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the law gives no extra day off for it. So-called significant days, such as 8 March or 1 May as the day of EU accession, are ordinary working days unless they are also a holiday (Section 4(2) of Act No. 245/2000 Coll.).
3. When shops are closed
- Shops with a sales area over 200 m² are closed on 1 Jan, Easter Monday, 8 May, 28 Sep, 28 Oct, 25 Dec and 26 Dec (Section 1(1) of Act No. 223/2016 Coll., on Opening Hours).
- On Christmas Eve they may sell only until 12:00 (Section 1(2) of Act No. 223/2016 Coll.).
- Smaller shops up to 200 m², petrol stations, pharmacies and shops at airports, stations and hospitals may stay open (Section 1(3) of Act No. 223/2016 Coll.).
- The same ban applies to pawnshops, second-hand shops and waste collection points regardless of size (Section 2 of Act No. 223/2016 Coll.).
- On the other holidays (Good Friday, 1 May, 5 Jul, 6 Jul, 17 Nov) the law does not restrict sales; each shop sets its own hours.
4. A deadline ending on a holiday
If the last day of a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the last day becomes the next working day (Section 607 OZ). The same rule applies to deadlines in court proceedings (Section 57(2) OSŘ). Example: a deadline that would end on Friday 1 Jan 2027 ends on Monday 4 Jan 2027. The rule covers deadlines, i.e. the time by which you must do something. A notice period or the term of a lease is counted differently, so don't leave a notice or a flat handover until the last day before the holidays.
5. Address registration: working days count
A third-country national registers their address within 3 working days of entry (Section 93(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.), and a landlord acting as accommodation provider also reports a foreign tenant within 3 working days (Section 102(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.). Holidays and weekends don't count towards these deadlines. If you arrive on Wednesday 23 Dec 2026, the next working days are only 28, 29 and 30 Dec, because 24–27 Dec are holidays and a weekend.
6. Working on a holiday
- An employer may order work on a holiday only exceptionally and only for certain jobs, such as urgent repairs, transport or continuous operations (Section 91(4) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labour Code).
- For work on a holiday you get your pay plus time off in lieu, to be given no later than the end of the third month after the holiday (Section 115(1) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll.).
- Instead of time off, you can agree with the employer on a bonus of at least your average earnings (Section 115(2) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll.).
- If a holiday fell on your usual working day and you didn't work, you are entitled to wage compensation (Section 115(3) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll.).
7. Moving and tradespeople around the holidays
- Arrange the flat handover for a working day. Offices are closed on holidays, and it is hard to get meter readings or a lock change.
- A payment sent just before a holiday may arrive only on the next working day, so send rent and the deposit with time to spare.
- Christmas 2026 gives a break from Thursday 24 Dec to Sunday 27 Dec, Easter 2027 from Friday 26 Mar to Monday 29 Mar, and July 2027 from Saturday 3 Jul to Tuesday 6 Jul. Tradespeople and removal firms are often booked up for these dates in advance.
- Living in a shared building? Noisy work on holidays may be limited by municipal ordinances and the house rules; check them beforehand.
