Restricted and Gazetted Holidays for Central Government Offices

Central government offices observe 17 gazetted (closed) holidays a year, and each employee may take 2 restricted holidays. They are holidays, not leave.

Updated 15 August 2026

Restricted and gazetted holidays are the two kinds of holiday observed by central government offices under the annual holiday list issued by the Department of Personnel and Training. A gazetted holiday, also called a closed holiday, is a day on which the office is shut for everyone. A restricted holiday is optional: the office stays open, and an individual employee may choose to take the day off by availing one of their two restricted holidays for the year. Both are holidays under the DoPT holiday policy, not leave under the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972.

The distinction matters in practice because the two behave very differently. A closed holiday needs no application and consumes nothing: the office is simply shut. A restricted holiday is a personal choice from a list, capped at two in a year, and it too consumes no leave, since it is a holiday rather than casual leave. This article sets out the structure of central government holidays, how the annual list is fixed, how restricted holidays work, why holidays are not leave, and how the government-office list differs from the bank holidays declared under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The three kinds of central government holiday

Central government holidays fall into three groups. First are the three national holidays, which are compulsory across the whole country: Republic Day on 26 January, Independence Day on 15 August, and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on 2 October. No office may open on these, and no employee may be asked to treat them as working days except where essential duty requires it.

Second are the gazetted or closed holidays. These are the days, 17 in all for central government offices, on which the office remains shut. The 17 include the three national holidays, so the office closes on 17 days of festivals and occasions across the year. Third are the restricted holidays, a longer supplementary list from which each employee may pick two days to take off in the year. The first two groups close the office; the third is a personal option.

The three kinds compared:

Kind	Number	Office	Nature
Gazetted (closed) holidays	17 a year	Closed	Observed by the whole office
National holidays (a compulsory subset of the 17)	3: 26 January, 15 August, 2 October	Closed	Compulsory nationwide, cannot be substituted
Restricted holidays	2 a year, per employee	Open	Optional, each employee chooses from a list

Gazetted (closed) holidays and how the list is fixed

The gazetted or closed holidays are fixed each year by the Department of Personnel and Training in an Office Memorandum from its Pers. Policy (JCA) Section. The order for a given calendar year is issued in the middle of the preceding year, and the same file number, 12/2/2023-JCA, carries it from one year to the next, so the date identifies the year: F. No. 12/2/2023-JCA dated 3 July 2025 notified the list for 2026, and F. No. 12/2/2023-JCA dated 16 July 2026 notified the list for 2027. It carries two annexures: Annexure I lists the closed holidays, and Annexure II lists the restricted holidays.

For the Central Secretariat and offices in Delhi and New Delhi, the DoPT order fixes all 17 closed holidays directly. For central government offices outside Delhi, the order prescribes 14 compulsory holidays, which include the three national holidays, and leaves 3 more to be chosen from a list of 12 optional holidays, so that these offices also observe 17 closed holidays. The three optional closures are settled by the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee in the State capital, and once fixed they apply uniformly to all central government offices in that State and cannot be changed for that year. Holidays for Indian missions abroad are fixed under a separate DoPT order of 2002.

The three national holidays

The three national holidays, Republic Day, Independence Day and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, sit at the top of the scheme because they are compulsory everywhere and for every kind of establishment, including the industrial and commercial establishments of the central government. Those establishments observe a shorter list than an administrative office, up to 16 holidays against 17, and the three national holidays are the compulsory core of that 16 while the establishment determines the rest itself. They cannot be substituted or dropped in the way an optional holiday can, and they anchor the closed-holiday list in every State.

Because some offices must keep essential services running on these days, an employee who is required to perform duty on a national holiday may, if they belong to the eligible categories, be paid a national holiday allowance for the day. That allowance is a separate entitlement for working on the holiday, and it does not change the status of the day as a holiday for everyone else.

Restricted holidays: the optional two

A restricted holiday, sometimes called an optional holiday, is not an office closure. The office stays open, and the employee who wishes to observe a particular festival takes the day off by availing one of their restricted holidays. Each employee may avail two restricted holidays in a calendar year, chosen from the supplementary Annexure II list, which is deliberately long and varied so that employees of different faiths and regions can each find the occasions that matter to them.

The two-holiday limit is firm. There is no substitute if a chosen occasion falls on a Sunday or another weekly off, and unused restricted holidays do not carry forward to the next year; the entitlement is fixed for the calendar year and lapses at its end. Many offices ask employees to declare their two chosen restricted holidays early in the year and to record them in the attendance register, so that the choice is clear when the day comes.

How restricted holidays work with leave

The most useful thing to understand about a restricted holiday is that it is a holiday, not leave. It is not debited to the casual leave account, and it is not debited to any other leave account. An employee who takes a restricted holiday has spent no leave; they have simply exercised one of their two optional days.

A restricted holiday may be prefixed or suffixed to casual leave or to regular leave to make a longer break, and when it is combined in that way it is not counted against the leave. This mirrors the general rule for holidays: a closed holiday or a weekly off that falls immediately before, after or within a spell of casual leave is not counted as part of the casual leave, so an employee can bridge two closed holidays with a day of casual leave without the holidays eating into their casual leave. The same combining logic lets an employee attach a restricted holiday to a weekend and a closed holiday for a short break at the cost of a single optional day.

Holidays are not leave

Gazetted and restricted holidays are administered under the DoPT holiday policy, not under the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. They are not earned leave, half pay leave or any of the other leave heads, and they are not credited to or debited from a leave account. Casual leave itself sits in a similar space, being a regulated absence rather than a formal kind of leave under the rules, which is why holidays and casual leave combine so cleanly.

The practical effect is that an employee’s holiday entitlement and their leave entitlement are two separate things. The 17 closed holidays and the two restricted holidays are fixed each year by the holiday order, while earned leave, half pay leave and the rest accrue and are governed by the leave rules. A day off can come from either, and the two do not draw on each other.

The same non-counting rule extends to regular leave. When a closed holiday falls at the start or the end of a spell of earned leave or commuted leave, it is not counted as leave, so the leave is debited only for the working days of the spell. An employee who plans a longer trip, whether on ordinary leave or on the leave travel concession, can therefore anchor it on the closed holidays and the two restricted holidays to stretch the time away without spending any extra leave. This is why the timing of a leave application around the festival season is worth a little thought: a spell begun the day after a closed holiday and ended the day before another can cover a long break for only a few days of debited leave.

Working on a holiday: compensatory off

An employee who is required to attend office on a closed holiday or on a weekly off does not simply lose the holiday. They are ordinarily granted a compensatory off, a day off in lieu to be taken within a set period, so that the closed holiday is restored to them on another working day. For the three national holidays, the eligible categories of staff who perform duty receive the national holiday allowance instead, or in addition, depending on the terms that apply to them.

Compensatory off is itself distinct from leave: it is earned by working on a day that should have been off, and it is availed as a substitute day, not debited to any leave account. It is the counterpart, for closed holidays, of the choice a restricted holiday gives for optional ones.

Not the same as bank holidays

A common confusion is between the closed holidays of government offices and the bank holidays that close banks. They are fixed under different laws. Bank holidays are declared under the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, and the power to declare them has been delegated to the State governments, so each State issues its own list of days on which banks and negotiable-instrument obligations are suspended. The closed holidays for central government offices are fixed by the DoPT holiday order.

The two lists overlap on the major festivals but are not identical, and a day that is a bank holiday in one State may be a working day for a government office, or the reverse. An employee planning around a particular date confirms it against the correct list: the DoPT holiday order for the office, and the State bank-holiday notification for the bank.

Applicability

The gazetted and restricted holiday scheme applies to central government offices and their employees, fixed each year by the DoPT holiday Office Memorandum, with the three national holidays compulsory everywhere, 17 closed holidays in all, and two restricted holidays for each employee. Offices outside Delhi observe the same total through the Welfare Coordination Committee mechanism, and Indian missions abroad follow the separate 2002 order. State government employees, and employees of autonomous bodies, follow the holiday lists fixed by their own governments or managements, which often track the central pattern. An employee confirms the holidays that apply to their own office from the current year’s order.

In force today

Central government offices observe 17 gazetted or closed holidays a year, fixed by the annual DoPT holiday Office Memorandum (for 2026, F. No. 12/2/2023-JCA dated 3 July 2025), including the three compulsory national holidays: Republic Day, Independence Day and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. Each employee may in addition take two restricted holidays in the calendar year, chosen from the supplementary list; these do not carry forward and give no substitute if the day falls on a weekly off. Holidays are administered under the DoPT holiday policy and are not leave under the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972: a restricted holiday is not debited to casual leave or any leave account, and may be combined with leave. Offices outside Delhi reach the same 17 through the State Welfare Coordination Committee.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between a gazetted holiday and a restricted holiday?

A gazetted holiday, also called a closed holiday, is a day on which the central government office is shut and which applies to everyone. A restricted holiday is optional: the office stays open, but an individual employee may choose to take the day off by availing one of their restricted holidays. Gazetted holidays are office-wide closures; restricted holidays are a personal choice, limited to two in a calendar year.

How many gazetted holidays and how many restricted holidays are there?

Central government offices observe 17 gazetted or closed holidays in a year, which include the three compulsory national holidays. Separately, each employee may avail two restricted holidays in the calendar year, chosen from a longer supplementary list of festivals and occasions. So the fixed office closures are 17, and the personal optional days are two.

Which are the national holidays for central government employees?

There are three national holidays that are compulsory across the whole country: Republic Day on 26 January, Independence Day on 15 August, and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, Gandhi Jayanti, on 2 October. These three are compulsory holidays for all central government offices and establishments, and they are part of the 17 gazetted holidays.

Is a restricted holiday debited to casual leave?

No. A restricted holiday is a holiday, not leave, and it is not debited to the casual leave account or to any other leave account. It may be prefixed or suffixed to casual leave or to regular leave, and when it is combined in that way the restricted holiday is not counted against the casual leave entitlement.

How many restricted holidays can I take, and do they carry forward?

An employee may take two restricted holidays in a calendar year, chosen from the supplementary list attached to the annual holiday order. They do not carry forward: the entitlement is for the calendar year, and no substitute holiday is given if a chosen occasion falls on a Sunday or another weekly off. Unused restricted holidays simply lapse at the end of the year.

Who decides the central government holiday list each year?

The Department of Personnel and Training issues an Office Memorandum each year listing the closed holidays and the restricted holidays for the Central Secretariat and offices in Delhi and New Delhi. For offices outside Delhi, the order prescribes 14 compulsory holidays and 3 more chosen from a list of 12 optional holidays, and the three are fixed by the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee in the State capital, applying uniformly across the State.

Are gazetted and restricted holidays leave under the CCS (Leave) Rules?

No. Gazetted and restricted holidays are holidays under the DoPT holiday policy, administered separately from the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. They are not earned leave, half pay leave or any other kind of leave, and they are not debited to a leave account. Holidays can be combined with leave, and a holiday that falls immediately before, after or within a spell of casual leave is not counted as part of the casual leave.

Are central government holidays the same as bank holidays?

No. Bank holidays are declared under the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, and the power to declare them is exercised by the State governments, so each State has its own list. The closed holidays for central government offices are fixed by the DoPT holiday Office Memorandum. The two lists serve different purposes and do not always coincide.

What if I have to work on a closed holiday?

An employee required to attend office on a closed holiday or a weekly off is ordinarily granted a compensatory off, a day off in lieu to be availed within a set period. For the three national holidays, a national holiday allowance is payable to the categories of staff eligible for it who are required to perform duty on the day. These are separate from the ordinary holiday entitlement.

External references

References

Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum F. No. 12/2/2023-JCA dated 3 July 2025, “Holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2026” (Annexure I, 17 closed holidays including the three national holidays; Annexure II, the list of restricted holidays; each employee may avail two restricted holidays in the year).
Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum F. No. 12/2/2023-JCA dated 16 July 2026, “Holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2027”, Pers. Policy (JCA) Section (paragraph 2, the 14 holidays observed compulsorily outside Delhi; paragraph 3.1, the 12 optional holidays from which the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee in the State capital chooses three, applied uniformly across the State; paragraph 7, up to 16 holidays for industrial, commercial and trading establishments).
The three national holidays (Republic Day, 26 January; Independence Day, 15 August; Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, 2 October) are compulsory for all central government offices and establishments.
Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 12/5/2002-JCA dated 17 December 2002 (holidays for Indian missions abroad).
Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, Section 25 and its Explanation (public holidays for negotiable instruments), read with the Ministry of Home Affairs Notification No. 20/25/56-Public I dated 8 June 1957 delegating the declaration of such holidays to the State governments, as the separate basis of bank holidays.