Business days vs calendar days
How deadlines are counted, and which holidays are skipped.
Every deadline is counted from one of two key dates, acceptance or closing, in either calendar days or business days.
- Calendar days count every day, weekends and holidays included.
- Business days skip Saturdays, Sundays and US federal holidays.
The holidays skipped are New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the observed day is skipped.
State and local holidays aren't skipped. If your contract's definition of a business day differs, set that deadline to a fixed date instead (see Change a deadline or key date).
An example
Acceptance on Friday, October 9 with 3 business days for earnest money: Monday October 12 is Columbus Day, so the deadline lands on Thursday, October 15.