Public Holidays

Discover upcoming public holiday dates for Cook Islands and start planning to make the most of your time off.

2026 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Thu	New Year's Day
2 Jan	Fri	New Year Holiday
3 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
6 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday
25 Apr	Sat	Anzac Day
1 Jun	Mon	The Sovereign's Birthday
3 Jul	Fri	Ra o te Ui Ariki
4 Aug	Tue	Constitution Day
26 Oct	Mon	National Gospel Day
25 Dec	Fri	Christmas Day
26 Dec	Sat	Boxing Day
28 Dec	Mon	Boxing Day Holiday
Visit mfem.gov.ck for the original release.

2027 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Fri	New Year's Day
4 Jan	Mon	New Year Holiday
26 Mar	Fri	Good Friday
29 Mar	Mon	Easter Monday
25 Apr	Sun	Anzac Day
26 Apr	Mon	Anzac Day Holiday
7 Jun	Mon	The Sovereign's Birthday
2 Jul	Fri	Ra o te Ui Ariki
4 Aug	Wed	Constitution Day
26 Oct	Tue	National Gospel Day
25 Dec	Sat	Christmas Day
26 Dec	Sun	Boxing Day
27 Dec	Mon	Christmas Holiday
28 Dec	Tue	Boxing Day Holiday
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2027 are released.

2028 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Sat	New Year's Day
2 Jan	Sun	New Year Holiday
14 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
17 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday
25 Apr	Tue	Anzac Day
5 Jun	Mon	The Sovereign's Birthday
7 Jul	Fri	Ra o te Ui Ariki
4 Aug	Fri	Constitution Day
26 Oct	Thu	National Gospel Day
25 Dec	Mon	Christmas Day
26 Dec	Tue	Boxing Day
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2028 are released.

The people of the Cook Islands celebrate 11 national holidays each year. Many of these holidays are the same as those celebrated in New Zealand.

Under the Public Holidays Act of 1999, and the Employment Relations Act of 2012, employees are entitled to receive a day off with pay for all nationally recognised holidays. If an employee is required to work on the holiday, they are to receive a pay rate of twice their normal wages for that day or payment for that day and another paid day off in lieu of the holiday.

The Office of the Prime Minister regulates the national holidays in the Cook Islands and retains the authority to add one-time holidays for special events. The Office has, in the past, added holidays throughout the year in order to extend weekend celebrations or to allow for voting.

The Prime Minister’s office will release the dates of official holidays at the end of each year for the upcoming year. Since some of these holidays are based on the lunar cycle and change in dates each year, the government requests that all employers acknowledge those days as holidays each year, regardless of what day they occur.

All holidays which occur on a Sunday are celebrated on the following Monday. Until 2012, Sunday was considered a holiday and people were not required to work on that day. However, it is now legal to work on Sundays. Since a majority of businesses still remain closed on Sundays because of tradition, all holidays are moved to the next working day for the benefit of the employees.