Do Holidays Count as Part of the Rescission Period?

Federal holidays do not count in the rescission period. Regulation Z uses a special calendar-based definition of “business day” for the three-day right to cancel, and that definition excludes Sundays and all eleven federal holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a).{¹} Any federal holiday that lands inside your three-day window is skipped, and your deadline moves back one day for each one. Saturdays, by contrast, do count, which trips up a lot of borrowers.

Which Holidays Get Skipped

Only the eleven federal holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) affect the count:

New Year’s Day (January 1)
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (third Monday in January)
Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February)
Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19)
Independence Day (July 4)
Labor Day (first Monday in September)
Columbus Day (second Monday in October)
Veterans Day (November 11)
Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November)
Christmas Day (December 25)

Regulation Z incorporates this statutory list by reference.{²} Juneteenth, added to the statute in 2021, is excluded from the count even though the regulation’s own illustrative list has not been updated to name it.{³} State holidays, local government closures, and bank holidays do not affect the count. Whether your lender’s branch happens to be open on a given day is also irrelevant — the calendar alone controls.

Saturdays Count, Sundays Don’t

For rescission purposes, every calendar day is a business day except Sundays and the eleven federal holidays. Saturdays are always business days, even if the bank is closed. If you close on a Friday, Saturday is day one of your rescission window.

Sundays are always skipped. A borrower who closes on a Thursday counts Friday as day one, Saturday as day two, skips Sunday, and has until midnight Monday to cancel (assuming no holiday intervenes).{¹}

When a Holiday Lands on a Weekend

Five of the eleven holidays fall on fixed dates: New Year’s Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Veterans Day, and Christmas Day. When the actual date lands on a Saturday or Sunday, federal offices usually observe the holiday on an adjacent weekday. For rescission purposes, that shifted observance does not matter.

If the fixed date falls on a Saturday, the Saturday itself is excluded (it’s the date named in the statute), but the Friday the government observes as the holiday still counts as a business day.{⁴} If the fixed date falls on a Sunday, the Sunday is already skipped, and the Monday the government treats as the observed holiday still counts. The regulation references the dates in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), not the shifted observance dates in 6103(b) that govern federal pay and leave.{²} So if Christmas falls on a Sunday, December 26 is a counted business day even though banks and government offices may be closed.

A Worked Example With a Holiday in the Window

Say you close on a Wednesday, July 2, and your lender hands you all required disclosures and rescission notices the same day. The countdown starts the next day:

Thursday, July 3: day one
Friday, July 4: skipped (Independence Day)
Saturday, July 5: day two
Sunday, July 6: skipped
Monday, July 7: day three — your right to rescind expires at midnight

Without the Fourth of July in the window, the deadline would have been Saturday. The holiday pushed it back by one business day. The same shift happens for any federal holiday that lands inside your three days.

By contrast, a Friday closing with no holidays in sight runs like this: Saturday is day one, Sunday is skipped, Monday is day two, Tuesday is day three.

When the Clock Actually Starts

Three things must happen before the countdown begins, and it starts the day after whichever one comes last:

Consummation of the loan — the moment you become contractually obligated, as determined by state law, which usually coincides with signing the final documents.{}⁵
Delivery of the material disclosures: the annual percentage rate, finance charge, amount financed, total of payments, and payment schedule.{}⁶
Delivery of two copies of the rescission notice to each borrower with an ownership interest. One copy per borrower is enough if delivered electronically under the E-Sign Act.{}⁷

If disclosures arrive on Friday but the rescission notice doesn’t come until Monday, the three-day count doesn’t start until Tuesday. CFPB commentary confirms the period runs from whichever of those three events happens last.{⁷}

Sending the Cancellation in Time

You must notify the lender in writing. A phone call doesn’t do it. Mail, telegram, or any other written communication is acceptable, and your rescission notice form (which the lender is required to provide) lists the address to send it to.{⁷}

For a mailed notice, the postmark controls. Your cancellation is treated as given when you drop it in the mail, not when the lender opens it, so a letter postmarked Tuesday before midnight meets a Tuesday deadline even if it arrives Thursday.{⁸} Hand delivery or fax counts when it reaches the lender’s designated place of business. If timing is tight, mail with a postmark is the safest route.

When more than one borrower has the right to rescind, any one of them can cancel, and the cancellation is effective for everyone on the loan.{⁷}

Loans That Don’t Carry a Rescission Right at All

Before you count days, confirm the right actually applies to your loan. The three-day right of rescission covers credit transactions secured by your principal dwelling. Several common situations fall outside it:

Purchase-money mortgages — the loan you use to buy or build the home that will be your principal dwelling is not rescindable.{}⁹
Refinancing with the same lender who holds your existing loan, except for any new money borrowed above the existing balance and refinancing costs.{}⁷
Loans where a state agency is the creditor.{}¹⁰
Loans secured by investment properties, vacation homes, or business real estate — the security must be your principal dwelling.

If your loan is one of these, the counting rules above don’t come into play because there’s no three-day window to count.

1
eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.2 – Definitions and Rules of Construction
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 6103 – Holidays
3
Federal Register. Truth in Lending (Regulation Z) Impact of the 2021 Juneteenth Holiday on Certain Closed-End Mortgage Requirements
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 1026.2 Definitions and Rules of Construction
5
eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.2 – Definitions and Rules of Construction
6
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1026 Subpart C – Closed-End Credit
7
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 1026.23 Right of Rescission
8
eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.23 – Right of Rescission
9
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1026.23 – Right of Rescission
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1635 – Right of Rescission as to Certain Transactions