Skip to main content
Business Day Calculator

Germany Business Day Calculator

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Holiday data: July 23, 2026

Count Arbeitstage in Germany between two dates, or add and subtract them, with Saturdays, Sundays and the nine Feiertage that every Land observes already excluded: Neujahrstag, Karfreitag, Ostermontag, Tag der Arbeit, Christi Himmelfahrt, Pfingstmontag, Tag der Deutschen Einheit and both Weihnachtstage. A Feiertag that only some Länder keep, such as Fronleichnam or Reformationstag, is not in that set: the Bundesland pages linked below add their own, and the Advanced options take any local date.

How German business days are defined

German statutes count in Werktage, a wider unit than the Arbeitstage this calculator counts. The Bundesurlaubsgesetz (§ 3 Abs. 2) treats as Werktage all calendar days that are not Sundays or gesetzliche Feiertage, so a Saturday is a Werktag there; this calculator counts Monday to Friday and leaves Saturday out. For deadlines, §§ 187 and 188 BGB fix the day a period starts and the day it ends, and § 186 BGB applies them to contracts as well as statutes. When a declaration or a payment falls due on a Saturday, a Sunday or a Feiertag recognised at the place concerned, § 193 BGB puts the next Werktag in its place, and court periods under § 222 Abs. 2 ZPO end the same way.

Apart from 3 October, which Article 2 of the Einigungsvertrag makes a gesetzlicher Feiertag, each Land sets its Feiertage in its own act, and nine days are on every Land's list. This calculator uses those nine. For a contract performed in one Land, open that Land's page below, which adds its own Feiertage, or enter the extra dates under Advanced options.

Sources for these rules

Checked October 9, 2026. All sources

Feiertage observed in every Land

The nine bundesweite Feiertage:

  • Neujahrstag (1 January)
  • Karfreitag (Friday before Easter)
  • Ostermontag (Monday after Easter)
  • Tag der Arbeit (1 May)
  • Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension, 39 days after Easter)
  • Pfingstmontag (Whit Monday, 50 days after Easter)
  • Tag der Deutschen Einheit (3 October)
  • Erster Weihnachtstag (25 December)
  • Zweiter Weihnachtstag (26 December)

In the holiday data this calculator uses, each Feiertag stays on its calendar date and none is moved off a weekend: Tag der Deutschen Einheit falls on Saturday 3 October 2026, and no weekday takes its place. How we determine holidays →

Sources for these dates

Checked October 9, 2026. All sources

Common use cases in Germany

Retention runs in calendar years rather than business days, and §257 Abs. 4 HGB sets three different lengths: ten years for Handelsbücher, Inventare and Jahresabschlüsse, eight for Buchungsbelege, six for the other documents it lists, such as received Handelsbriefe. Bank transfers run on the banks' own Geschäftstage: an order that reaches the payer's bank on a day that is not one of its Geschäftstage counts as received on the next one (§ 675n Abs. 1 BGB), and the amount must reach the payee's bank by the end of the following Geschäftstag (§ 675s Abs. 1 BGB).

Court periods under the ZPO are counted with the BGB's rules (§ 222 Abs. 1 ZPO). A Klageerwiderung deadline counted in Wochen rolls under §222 Abs. 2 ZPO when it lands on a Sonnabend, Sonntag or allgemeiner Feiertag, ending instead with the close of the next Werktag.

Sources and verification

For informational purposes only

This calculator provides general estimates based on business day counting rules. It does not constitute legal advice. Deadlines in legal, regulatory, or contractual matters may be subject to jurisdiction-specific rules, court orders, or statutory exceptions. Always verify critical deadlines with a qualified professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Feiertage apply in every German Land?
Nine Feiertage are on the list of every Land: Neujahrstag (1 January), Karfreitag (Good Friday), Ostermontag (Easter Monday), Tag der Arbeit (1 May), Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Thursday, 39 days after Easter Sunday), Pfingstmontag (Whit Monday, 50 days after Easter Sunday), Tag der Deutschen Einheit (3 October) and the two Weihnachtstage (25 and 26 December). Only 3 October is fixed by federal law, Article 2 of the Einigungsvertrag; every Land's own act lists all nine. Several Länder add further days, such as Heilige Drei Könige, Fronleichnam, Mariä Himmelfahrt, Reformationstag and Allerheiligen, and those are not in this calculator's nationwide set.
Why do Feiertage differ between German Länder?
Each Land lists its Feiertage in its own act, and the lists go beyond the nine shared days in different ways. For example, Heilige Drei Könige is a Feiertag in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt; Internationaler Frauentag in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; Fronleichnam statewide in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland; Reformationstag in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia; Allerheiligen in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland; and Buß- und Bettag in Saxony. The nine days in this calculator are the ones every Land shares, so a count across several Länder starts from them. For one Land, open its page below or add its dates under Advanced options.
Does this calculator follow the Werktage or Arbeitstage definition?
It counts Arbeitstage: Monday to Friday, less the Feiertage selected. Werktage is the wider statutory unit. The Bundesurlaubsgesetz (§ 3 Abs. 2) treats as Werktage all calendar days that are not Sundays or gesetzliche Feiertage, so Saturdays count there. A period written in Werktage in that sense therefore ends earlier than the same number of Arbeitstage here; count it as calendar days less Sundays and Feiertage instead.
How does Skonto interact with German business days?
A Skonto clause such as "2 % Skonto bei Zahlung innerhalb von 10 Tagen, netto 30 Tage" counts calendar days, not Arbeitstage. § 186 BGB applies the BGB's counting rules to periods set in a contract: the day of the event that starts the period, such as receipt of the invoice, is not counted (§ 187 Abs. 1), and a period in days ends when its last day ends (§ 188 Abs. 1). Where a payment is to be made within a period whose last day is a Saturday, a Sunday or a Feiertag recognised at the place of performance, § 193 BGB puts the next Werktag in its place. The calculator shows which weekday a window's last day falls on and which Feiertage lie inside it.
How many working days does Germany have in a typical year?
On the nationwide set this calculator uses, the count runs from 252 to 256 Arbeitstage a year between 2024 and 2029 (2024: 253, 2025: 252, 2026: 254, 2027: 256, 2028: 252, 2029: 252). The four movable Feiertage always fall on a weekday (Karfreitag on a Friday, Ostermontag and Pfingstmontag on Mondays, Christi Himmelfahrt on a Thursday), so the count moves with the number of weekdays in the year and with how many of the five fixed-date Feiertage (1 January, 1 May, 3 October, 25 and 26 December) land on a Saturday or Sunday. A Land with Feiertage of its own loses one more Arbeitstag for each of them that falls on a weekday; the Bundesland pages below add each Land's own days.

Sources for these rules

Checked October 9, 2026. All sources

Germany Arbeitstage by month

Working-day counts, calendar grids, and German federal holidays for each of the next 13 months.