Editorial policy

Which sources we use

We go to the organization responsible for a schedule, in this order:

1. The schedule’s owner. U.S. Office of Personnel Management for federal holidays, the Federal Reserve for bank holidays, USPS for postal holidays, the NYSE for market closures, and each state’s human-resources, personnel or administration office for state holidays.
2. The law behind it. When the owner hasn’t published a dated list yet, we use the statute or written policy that fixes the dates (for example 5 U.S.C. 6103 for federal holidays, or a state’s holiday statute), and label the result rule-based.
3. Science agencies for natural events. Full-moon times come from the U.S. Naval Observatory; daylight saving time follows the Department of Transportation. Event dates such as the Super Bowl are added only after the organizer announces them.

We don’t use other holiday websites, forums or AI-generated summaries as a source. We may use them to find an official page, but a date goes on Daymark only once we see it on that official page.

How calculated dates are checked

Holidays that follow a fixed rule, such as “the fourth Thursday in November” or “the Friday before Easter,” are calculated by software. Before each release we compare the results with the government’s published lists. The federal dates match OPM’s schedules exactly, including weekend observance: a Saturday holiday is observed on Friday, and a Sunday holiday on Monday.

How state holiday pages are researched

Each state page lists the paid holidays for that state’s executive-branch employees, the people who staff state offices. We take the dates from the state’s own published calendar. Where a state publishes only its rules, we calculate the dates and label the page rule-based. Each page names the source and the employee group it covers. Union contracts, courts, universities, cities and school districts can follow different calendars, and we say so on the page.

What the labels mean

• Verified: matched to the official dated list linked on the page.
• Rule-based: calculated from the law or written policy linked on the page.
• Planning estimate: the owner hasn’t published the year yet; dates follow last year’s pattern and should be confirmed.
• Check locally: no single nationwide answer exists, for example school calendars or individual bank branches.

The data coverage register lists every dataset with its source, years covered and label.

Review schedule

We review the site every month. Every November we add the next year’s state, postal, market and event schedules as they are published. Each page shows the date it was last reviewed. Before any update goes live, automated checks confirm that links, dates, calendar files and page structure are valid. The checks also flag any dataset due to expire within 90 days.

Corrections

If something looks wrong, tell us. A link to the official source helps us move faster. We check the report against that source, correct the page, and update its review date. If a state or agency changes a published date, we change it here and note it on the state page.

Independence

Daymark is not affiliated with any government agency, bank, exchange, retailer or sports league. Our pages are planning information, not legal, payroll or financial advice. For decisions that matter, confirm with the office, branch or employer involved.

Who maintains this

Daymark is run by a small family from Missouri, not a large newsroom. We cover fewer topics, but each one is checked against the source linked on its page. Read more on our about page.