Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2024: What’s open, what’s closed
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which falls on the third Monday of January each year, marks the birth of one of America’s most famous civil rights leaders.
This year, the holiday lands on the 15th — King’s actual birthday.
As with all holidays that fall during the week, some closings and service disruptions can be expected.
Stores and business
The U.S. Postal Service is not delivering mail on Monday, Jan. 15, and neither will UPS. Postal Service locations are closed. Many UPS locations may also be closed, although you may want to check your local store’s website to confirm. FedEx locations are open, but some services are under modified conditions.
Most supermarket and department store chains are open during their regular hours, including Whole Foods, ALDI, Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Publix and Giant.
CVS and Walgreens are open. Smaller pharmacies, including those inside supermarkets, might have reduced hours or be closed despite the rest of the store being open — call ahead to be sure.
Public transit
Metrorail will run on a Saturday holiday schedule with modified service on Blue, Orange and Silver lines. Metrobus will operate with Saturday supplemental service.
Metrorail is utilizing the MLK holiday weekend from Friday, Jan. 12, to Monday, Jan. 15, to do some construction on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines.
Buses will replace the out-of-service train lines in the affected areas. Metro advises riders traveling through the affected area to expect serious delays and recommends allowing at least 30 minutes of additional travel time.
Maryland’s MARC commuter trains operate on an R schedule across all three lines Monday. There is no service on MTA local buses except for Route 201, which will run on a weekend/holiday schedule.
The Virginia Railway Express will not have service on Monday.
DC
MLK Day is a federal holiday so students, teachers and most of the city’s public workers have the day off. All Department of Motor Vehicles locations and most employment offices will be closed for the day, although residents in need of vehicle or unemployment services are encouraged to use online options.
And since the holiday is on a Monday, all DMV services are also unavailable on Saturday, Jan. 13.
The D.C. Circulator will run a normal schedule on all routes.
A Library location will be open in each ward with modified hours; see which branches are open by visiting the D.C. library website.
Trash and recycling collection normally scheduled for Monday will slide to Tuesday.
D.C. does not require meter fees to be paid on District holidays, but tickets for safety violations will continue.
MARYLAND
Montgomery Co.
County offices, county courtrooms and Montgomery County Public Schools are all closed on Monday. County libraries are closed both Sunday, Jan. 14, and Monday, Jan. 15, to observe the holiday.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s RideOn will run on modified schedules, depending on the route. Flex bus services and the Flash Orange Line will both operate on a modified holiday schedule.
On-street parking meters or facilities are free.
Recycling and trash collections are postponed on Monday. Shady Grove Transfer Station is closed on Monday, Jan. 15, as well.
Prince George’s Co.
County government offices will close on Monday. Curbside trash collection will be suspended on Monday and will resume on Tuesday, except for curbside composting and yard trim collections which will have normal pickup on Monday.
Prince George’s County Public Schools will be closed to observe the holiday and all public libraries will be closed on Sunday and Monday.
TheBus will operate on a regular schedule on Monday except for Route 51x service to the Equestrian Center/Courthouse. Regular operations of Route 51x will continue as normal on Tuesday.
Additionally, the County’s Call-A-Bus and PGC Link services will not operate on Monday.
Anne Arundel Co.
Government offices are closed and so are Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
All county library branches are also closed.
Curbside trash and recycling collection will not be affected by the holiday, but landfill and recycling drop-off centers are closed.
Some Anne Arundel County Transit routes are running on a Sunday Schedule; find route-specific schedules on the Anne Arundel County Office of Transportation’s website.
Charles Co.
All county offices are closed and Charles County Public Schools are also out. The county’s public libraries will be closed Monday as well.
The county’s VanGo buses will have limited service on Monday. Refer to each route’s schedules for specifics on the holiday limitations.
VIRGINIA
Alexandria
City offices are closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Public schools and offices are closed on Monday as well as public libraries.
Alexandria’s fare-free DASH buses will run on a Saturday service schedule and the King Street Trolley will run on a regular weekday schedule.
Arlington Co.
County government offices and facilities are closed on Monday and parking meters will not be enforced. Libraries are also closed.
Circuit courts are closed.
Students will have a day off because Arlington Public Schools are closed as well.
Prince William Co.
All Prince William County government offices, including courts and libraries, will be closed Monday.
County public schools will be closed on Monday
Prince William Public Libraries will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday to observe the holiday.
The Prince William County Landfill and the Compost Facility will be open on Monday and trash pickup should continue as normal. The Prince William County Landfill and Balls Ford Road Compost Facility will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Loudoun Co.
County government offices, courts and libraries are closed. Public schools will be closed to observe the holiday.
Loudoun County transit and commuter services will operate a significantly reduced schedule on Monday. See routes and timetables for local fixed-route bus services.
Loudoun County landfill will be closed on Monday for the holiday.
Fairfax Co.
Government offices, public libraries and local courts in both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax are closed on Monday. Public schools have Monday off as a student holiday.
The Fairfax Connector will operate on a holiday weekday schedule.
Fairfax’s CUE buses will run on a modified weekday schedule with service reduced to one bus on each route.
Trash and recycling will not be affected on Monday.