Veterans Day 2026 is today, Wednesday, Nov. 11. Post offices, federal offices and Federal Reserve banks are closed for the federal holiday. The stock market is open, the bond market is not, and most stores and restaurants keep normal hours.
That split catches people out every year. Veterans Day is one of 11 federal holidays on the Office of Personnel Management’s 2026 list. The New York Stock Exchange doesn’t treat it as a trading holiday, though. And because it falls on a Wednesday, nothing shifts: the day off is today only.
What is open and closed on Wednesday
We built this table from agency and exchange calendars first. Where a company’s own page blocked us, the row names the outlet we relied on instead.
| Service | Today, Nov. 11 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Federal offices | Closed; paid holiday for federal workers | OPM |
| Post offices and regular mail | Closed; delivery and counter service resume Thursday | USPS |
| UPS and FedEx | Operating; check local hours | FOX Television Stations (carrier pages blocked us) |
| Federal Reserve banks | Closed | Federal Reserve |
| Most bank branches | Mostly closed; check your bank | FOX Television Stations |
| Stock market (NYSE) | Open, regular hours | NYSE calendar |
| Bond market | Closed (recommended full close) | SIFMA |
| Public schools | Varies; each district decides | AP via ABC7 (2025 guide) |
| Walmart, Target, Home Depot | Open; hours vary by store | FOX Television Stations |
| Grocery stores and restaurants | Generally open; check your store’s app | FOX says most restaurants are open; we found no chain-wide grocery closure |
The pattern is simple once you see it. Anything run by the federal government, or that settles money through the Fed, takes the day off. Private businesses mostly stay open, and that includes the stock exchanges.
Mail and bonds stop, stocks keep trading
The Postal Service said on Nov. 4 that every post office would close today. Regular mail delivery and retail service resume on Thursday. Stamps, Hold Mail and change-of-address requests still work on usps.com, and many lobby kiosks run around the clock.
UPS and FedEx are private carriers. FOX’s holiday guide says both are open and tells customers to check each company’s website for hours. Both companies’ own holiday-schedule pages blocked our requests, so treat that as reported rather than confirmed.
The NYSE’s 2026 calendar lists 10 market holidays, and Veterans Day isn’t one of them. The bond market is different. On Oct. 28 the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the trade group behind the bond-trading calendar, recommended a full close today. That covers dollar bonds traded in American, British and Japanese markets, though SIFMA says member firms make the final call.
Banks take their cue from the Federal Reserve, which lists Nov. 11 as a holiday. A deposit or transfer started today may not post until Thursday. For what the Fed might do next, see our explainer on what a December rate hike would cost you, and our market rally story for stocks.
Ten free meals for veterans, checked at the chain
We kept only offers we could open on the chain’s own page or release. Each applies at participating locations unless noted.
| Chain | What veterans get today | Who and what to bring | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chili’s | Free entrée from four choices | Veterans and active military; dine-in | Chili’s |
| Outback Steakhouse | Free Bloomin’ Onion and a drink, Nov. 10 and 11 | Active, retired and veteran service members; tell your server | Outback |
| Golden Corral | Free buffet and drink, 4 p.m. to close | Service members, retirees and veterans; dine-in | Golden Corral release via PR Newswire |
| Ruby Tuesday | Free meal up to $17.99, with Garden Bar and drink | Veterans, retirees, active duty and Reserve; proof of service; dine-in | Ruby Tuesday |
| Wendy’s | Free Dave’s Single, no purchase needed | Veterans and active duty; in-restaurant or drive-thru | Wendy’s |
| Chipotle | Free chips and guac, queso or salsa with a $5 purchase | Active duty and veterans; military or VA ID, or discharge papers; in-restaurant | Chipotle |
| Sonny’s BBQ | Free Pork Big Deal: sandwich, side and drink | Veterans and active duty; ID or proof; not online | Sonny’s |
| Pilot and Flying J | Free sandwich and a coffee or fountain drink | Veterans and active duty, verified via ID.me; in the Pilot app | Pilot |
| Hopdoddy | Free Classic Burger | Veterans and active duty; proof of service; dine-in | Hopdoddy |
| Cotton Patch Cafe | Free chicken fried steak or chicken fried chicken | Active-duty and retired military; ID or proof; dine-in | Cotton Patch |
Order in person, and bring ID anyway
Online orders almost never count: Wendy’s, Chipotle and Sonny’s exclude app or web orders, and Outback excludes online and delivery orders. Pilot is the reverse, since its offer lives only in its app. Outback diners who eat in and join its rewards program also get a “Hero’s Meal” for a later visit, and Ruby Tuesday’s offer excludes Guam, Hawaii and airport restaurants.
ID rules also vary. Golden Corral’s release says it needs no military identification, while Wendy’s and Outback ask guests to identify themselves. Chipotle’s terms rule out spouses and family members. Bring a military ID, VA card or DD-214 anyway, because local managers have the final word.
Why the holiday stays on the 11th
Veterans Day never moves to a Monday, and the reason goes back to 1918. The World War I armistice took effect “on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month,” according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Congress made Nov. 11 a legal holiday, Armistice Day, in 1938. It became Veterans Day on June 1, 1954, to honor veterans of all wars.
The Uniform Holiday Bill of 1968 moved it to a Monday in October for a few years. President Gerald Ford then signed a law in September 1975 that restored Nov. 11 from 1978 on, whatever the weekday.
The national ceremony keeps the same clock. Stars and Stripes reports that the 73rd National Veterans Day Observance starts at 11 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater.
A 10:30 a.m. prelude by the Coast Guard Band and the Air Force Singing Sergeants comes first, and the day includes a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Everything closed today reopens Thursday. The next full shutdown is Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26, which appears on both OPM’s holiday list and the NYSE’s calendar, so stocks close that day too.
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