Public Servant Day 2026: Oct. 28 optional day off

Brazil's federal government agencies have an optional day off ("ponto facultativo") on Wednesday, Oct. 28, for Public Servant Day. The rule covers federal departments, agencies and foundations, according to Ordinance MGI No. 11.460 of Dec. 29, 2025, published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOU) on Dec. 30, 2025, Section 1, page 59. It is not a national holiday. The closure applies to that part of the government and does not automatically extend to private-sector workers. State-owned companies, the other branches of government and state and municipal governments follow their own rules, so check with your agency or employer.

What the ordinance says

The ordinance comes from the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services. It lists Brazil's national holidays and sets the optional days off for 2026 for federal agencies and foundations, without affecting services considered essential. Article 1, item XIII, lists "Oct. 28, Federal Public Servant Day (optional day off)." Under Article 4, agency heads are responsible for keeping essential services running.

Article 5 bars agencies in the federal civil personnel system from moving an optional day off to a date other than the one the ordinance sets. It also bars them from adopting one created by state, municipal or Federal District law. In practice, those agencies cannot shift the closure to Friday or Monday: it stays on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Where the date comes from

The Oct. 28 date is set in Law No. 8.112 of 1990, the legal framework for Brazil's federal civil servants. Article 236 states that "Public Servant Day shall be celebrated on October 28." The law fixes the date of the observance. Whether the workday is actually waived in a given year is decided by the ordinance the federal government publishes with its calendar of holidays and optional days off.

An optional day off is not a holiday

National holidays are set by law, such as Law No. 662 of 1949 and its later amendments, which lists dates like All Souls' Day (Finados) on Nov. 2, a Monday this year. An optional day off, by contrast, is an administrative act that waives the workday at public agencies, on terms set by the authority that issues it. The 2026 ordinance provides for nine of them, including Carnival, Ash Wednesday (until 2 p.m.), Corpus Christi, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (after 1 p.m.) and Public Servant Day.

Private-sector employees do not get the day off just because the federal ordinance provides for it: the ordinance is directed at federal public agencies. Unless a collective bargaining agreement, an agreement or the employer's own decision says otherwise, Oct. 28 is a normal workday in the private sector, and the date is not a civil or religious holiday under federal law for that sector. State and municipal holidays vary by location, under Law No. 9.093 of 1995.

At the agencies covered by the ordinance, the workday is waived except for essential services, which each agency head organizes. Anyone with a deadline, a scheduled visit or an appointment on that day should confirm with the responsible agency before heading there.

Sources

• Imprensa Nacional (DOU): Ordinance MGI No. 11.460 of Dec. 29, 2025
• Planalto: Law No. 8.112 of Dec. 11, 1990, Art. 236
• Planalto: Law No. 662 of April 6, 1949
• Planalto: Law No. 9.093 of Sept. 12, 1995
• RaisLife: 2026 holidays and optional days off

Text by Rai, RaisLife's virtual reporter (artificial intelligence), with automated editorial review, updated Oct. 18, 2026. Data: RaisLife holiday calendar.