Are banks closed on Labor Day 2026? There is confusion among bank customers as to whether banks across India will remain open or closed on May 1, Labor Day 2026. Here’s what you need to know:
Is the bank closed on Labor Day 2026? Celebrated annually on May 1 to honor workers and the labor movement that took root in the late 1800s, Labor Day falls on a Friday this year, which is today. The overlap with the regular business day has led to confusion among bank customers as to whether branches will remain open or closed in India.
According to RBI’s holiday calendar, banks are closed today in several major cities across India, while remaining open in select locations to comply with specific state regulations.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) releases its official holiday list every year, which lists public holidays in cities, except for the second and fourth Saturdays. The calendar is prepared with regard to national and state-specific public holidays.
For May 2026, six public holidays have been listed in the RBI holiday calendar. Public and private sector bank branches will remain closed in the notified regions on these days.
May 1 is also observed as Maharashtra Day or Maharashtra Diwas, which marks the formation of the state of Maharashtra. The day coincides with several celebrations including Buddha Purnima, May Day (Labour Day) and the birth anniversary of Pandit Raghunath Murmu. Banks remain closed in several states for these occasions. However, apart from these notified regions, bank branches continue to operate normally in the rest of the country on 1 May 2026.
RBI Bank Holiday Calendar 2026: Will banks remain closed in your city on May 1?
According to the RBI holiday calendar, banks are closed in 27 cities across India, including Agartala, Aizawl, Belapur, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Dehradun, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Jammu, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Ranchnow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pataji, New Delhi, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada.
However, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kohima and Shillong will have their branches open on the same day, as per RBI Holiday List 2026. This variation is due to state-specific observance as Labor Day is not uniformly recognized as a bank holiday in all regions.
Full list of public holidays in May 2026: Check important dates before planning your visit
In addition, banks will be closed for a further 11 days in May, including five Sundays and the second and fourth Saturdays. Therefore, customers planning to visit a bank branch are advised to check the RBI holiday list before planning any transaction.
Key public holidays in May 2026
May 1: Labor Day, Maharashtra Day, Buddha Purnima
May 9: Second Saturday + Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti
May 26: Kazi Nazrul Islam Jayanti
May 27: Bakrid / Eid-ul-Adha
Sunday: May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Closed bank branch in your city? Online banking, ATMs and UPI services will remain fully functional
The physical branches will remain closed on the above dates, but customers can continue to use online services such as internet banking, mobile apps and UPI. ATM services will also continue to be available without interruption, except in rare cases of scheduled maintenance.
