Skip to content
ClosingCodeClosingCode
ENES

Real estate business days calculator

Enter a start date and the number of days. Business days skip Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays; calendar days can roll off a weekend or holiday. Day 1 is the day after the start date.

Count
Direction

How contract days are usually counted

  1. 1. Day 1 is the next day

    The start date (acceptance, receipt, closing) is not counted.

  2. 2. Business days

    Monday to Friday, without legal holidays – the contract says which holidays.

  3. 3. Calendar days

    Every day counts; many contracts then move a deadline that falls on a weekend or holiday to the next business day.

  4. 4. Counting back

    "3 days before closing" counts backward from the closing date the same way.

The 11 federal holidays (5 U.S.C. 6103)

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

Check your contract

  • Some contracts add state holidays (California's purchase agreement does) or count Saturdays.
  • Some deadlines end at a set time – 5:00 p.m. or 11:59 p.m. – not just a date.
  • The Closing Disclosure 3-day rule counts Saturdays – use the CD calculator for that one.

Questions about counting days

What counts as a business day in real estate?

Usually Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays; the contract defines it. This calculator excludes the 11 federal holidays of 5 U.S.C. 6103.

Is the day the contract is accepted day 1?

Usually not – most contracts count from the day after the effective or acceptance date.

What happens if a deadline falls on a weekend?

It depends on the contract: many move it to the next business day; a calendar-day deadline without such a clause stays on the weekend.

Related guides and tools

In ClosingCode every deadline is counted this way automatically – business or calendar days, holidays, weekend rules and the property's time zone – and recalculated when a date changes.

Start free trial

Source: 5 U.S.C. 6103, Holidays (govinfo, read October 26, 2026).

A calculator, not legal advice. Your contract's definitions control. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm. This guide is not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney.