What’s open, what’s closed: Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026
The nation will honor a pivotal leader in the Civil Rights movement on Monday.
Along with celebrations, Martin Luther King Jr. Day brings some closings and service disruptions to the D.C. region.
Stores and business
All post offices will be closed. The U.S. Postal Service is not delivering mail and neither will UPS. FedEx will stay open but offer modified services.
For the most part, banks will be closed Monday.
Most supermarket and department store chains are open during their regular hours, including Whole Foods, ALDI, Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Publix and Giant.
CVS and Walgreens are open. For smaller pharmacies, it’s worth calling the business to double checking its holiday hours.
Public transit
For the holiday, Metro will run trains on a weekend schedule from 5 a.m. to midnight. Metrobus will run on a reduced schedule with Saturday supplemental service.
Maryland’s MARC Train will run on a reduced schedule on all three lines.
The Virginia Railway Express will not operate on Monday.
Some D.C. roads will be shut down on Monday to make way for a parade to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.
According to parade organizers, the rolling road closures begin at 9:30 a.m.:
- Sumner Road SE
- Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE
- Talbert Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE
- Morris Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast
- Chicago Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast
- Maple View Place and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast
- Pleasant Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast
- W Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast
- V Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast
- U Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast
- Marion Barry Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast (as the procession approaches)
- 11th Street Bridge and Marion Barry Avenue SE (as needed)
DC
The following are closed:
- D.C. schools
- Department of Motor Vehicles (offices will also be closed on Saturday, Jan. 17)
Check out the D.C. Public Library’s website for details on which libraries are staying open for the holiday. One public library per Ward will be open Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Trash and recycling will slide to Tuesday, and the rest of the week will follow by moving forward by one day.
You can park in D.C. without paying the meter fee on District holidays, but tickets for safety violations will continue.
All low-barrier homeless shelters and overflow hypothermia shelters will be open. The St. Josephine Bakhita shelter will only be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Maryland
Montgomery County
All county offices, county courtrooms and Montgomery County Public Schools are closed Monday. County libraries are closed both Sunday and Monday to observe the holiday.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s RideOn will run on holiday schedules, which varies depending on the route. Some routes will have no change while others will run on fewer trips.
Flex bus services and the Flash Orange Line will both operate on a modified holiday schedule. The Flash Blue Line won’t run.
There’s no charge to park at Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton public garages, lots and curbside meters.
Recycling and trash won’t be collected on the holiday. Collections slide by one day for the week, with the last day being Saturday, Jan. 24. Shady Grove Transfer Station is closed Monday as well.
Prince George’s County
County courts will be closed on Monday. Curbside trash collection will be postponed on Monday and moved one day for the week.
Prince George’s County Public Schools will be closed to observe the holiday. All public libraries will be closed on Sunday and Monday.
For the most part TheBus will operate a regular schedule with the exception being Route P78 service to the equestrian center and courthouse.
Call-A-Bus and PGC Link services will not run Monday.
Anne Arundel County
Government offices are closed and so are Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
All county library branches are also closed.
Curbside trash and recycling collection will not be affected by the holiday, but landfill and recycling drop-off centers are closed.
Some Anne Arundel County Transit routes are running on a Sunday schedule; find route-specific schedules on the Anne Arundel County Office of Transportation’s website.
Charles County
All county offices are closed and so are Charles County Public Schools. The county’s public libraries will be closed Monday as well. All indoor pools, senior centers and school-based community centers will also be closed.
The Charles County Landfill, all recycling centers and the Piney Church Road Mulch Facility will be closed on Monday, and curbside recycling collection will slide to Tuesday.
The county’s VanGo buses will operate with limited service on Monday. Refer to each route’s schedules for specifics on the holiday limitations.
Virginia
Alexandria
City offices are closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Public schools and offices are closed on Monday as well as public libraries.
Alexandria’s fare-free DASH buses will run on a Saturday service schedule.
Arlington County
County government offices and facilities are closed on Monday and parking meters will not be enforced. Libraries are also closed.
Circuit courts are closed.
Students will have a day off because Arlington Public Schools are closed as well.
Prince William County
All Prince William County government offices, including courts, will be closed Monday.
County public schools will be closed on Monday
Prince William Public Libraries will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday to observe the holiday.
The Prince William County Landfill and the Compost Facility will be open on Monday and trash pickup should continue as normal.
Loudoun County
County government offices, courts and libraries are closed. Public schools will be closed to observe the holiday.
Loudoun County transit and commuter services will operate a significantly reduced schedule Monday. See routes and timetables for local fixed-route bus services.
Loudoun County landfill will be closed Monday for the holiday.
Fairfax County
Government offices, public libraries and local courts in both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax are closed on Monday. Public schools have Monday off as a student holiday.
The Fairfax Connector will operate on a holiday weekday service schedule.
Fairfax’s CUE buses will run on a modified weekday schedule with service reduced to one bus on each route.
Fairfax County trash and recycling will not be affected Monday. Fairfax City trash and recycling normally collected on Monday will be collected on Tuesday.