Public holidays in Montenegro
Photo: Miomir Magdevski · CC BY-SA 4.0
Montenegro has six public holidays: New Year (1 January), Labour Day (1 May), Independence Day (21 May), Statehood Day (13 July), the Day of the Ecological State (20 September) and Njegoš Day (13 November). Each is kept for two days, the day itself and the next, and both are non-working; the one exception is 20 September, a working holiday. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, the two following days are off; if the second day is a Sunday, the Monday is off too. Shops close on holidays and on Sundays, apart from pharmacies, bakeries, petrol stations and a few other kinds. Religious holidays are paid leave for believers, not general days off.
Non-working days in 2027 and 2028
The dates apply the law's two-day rule and Sunday rule to the calendar. Njegoš Day has been a state holiday with two non-working days since 2023; the earlier one-day rule was repealed. For a trip that depends on a particular day, confirm the dates on gov.me or with your host.
| Holiday | Date | Non-working days 2027 | Non-working days 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year | 1 January | Friday 1 and Saturday 2 January | Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 January; the second day is a Sunday, so Monday 3 January is off as well |
| Labour Day | 1 May | Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May; the second day is a Sunday, so Monday 3 May is off as well | Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 May |
| Independence Day (state holiday) | 21 May | Friday 21 and Saturday 22 May | 21 May is a Sunday, so Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 May are off |
| Statehood Day (state holiday) | 13 July | Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 July | Thursday 13 and Friday 14 July |
| Day of the Ecological State (state holiday) | 20 September | None: a working holiday | None: a working holiday |
| Njegoš Day (state holiday) | 13 November | Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 November; the second day is a Sunday, so Monday 15 November is off as well | Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 November |
Religious holidays
A separate law on religious holidays gives believers paid leave. Orthodox and Catholic Christians: Christmas Eve, Christmas (two days), Good Friday and Easter Monday; Orthodox believers also their family's patron-saint day (krsna slava), Catholics also All Saints. Muslims: Ramadan Bayram and Kurban Bayram, three days each. Jews: Passover and Yom Kippur, two days each. These are individual rights at work, not closing days: Orthodox Christmas on 7 January is a normal trading day for the shops that choose to open. Easter and the Bayrams move with the church and lunar calendars.
What closes on a holiday
The two holiday days are non-working for public offices and employers in general. State bodies, local authorities and public services must keep running whatever cannot be interrupted without harm, and businesses whose work must run continuously may work; any other employer needs a permit from the economy ministry to open on a holiday (Art. 5). Shops follow the trade law instead: on public holidays they stay closed except the kinds allowed to open on Sundays (Art. 35b, below). Banks and museums set their own holiday hours; the post offices, pharmacies and museums directories carry each office's own hours. A few pharmacies are open 00-24; they are shown below.
Montefarm, Apoteka Gojko Darić 1
Open 24 hoursPharmacy · Public · Nikšić
Narodnih heroja br.8, Nikšić
Montefarm, Apoteka Kruševac
Open 24 hoursPharmacy · Public · Podgorica
Bul.Sv.Petra Cetinjskog br.45/a, Podgorica
Apoteka "BENU Budva Autobuska"
Open 24 hoursPharmacy · Private · Budva
Mediteranski sportski centar br 11, Budva
Apoteka BENU Moskovska
Open 24 hoursPharmacy · Private · Podgorica
Moskovska 22, Podgorica
Sources
montefarm.co.me: Montefarm: Lokacije naših apoteka
fzocg.me: Health Insurance Fund: private pharmacies under contract 13.10.2025-12.10.2027 (list of 20.06.2026)
apoteke.me: apoteke.me: Apoteka BENU Autobuska (category "Dežurne apoteke 00-24h") · apoteke.me: Apoteka BENU Moskovska
openstreetmap.org: OpenStreetMap: node 6533833185 (pharmacy, opening_hours 24/7) · OpenStreetMap: node 2270743857 (pharmacy)
Sundays and shop hours
Since 19 February 2026, Article 35b of the Internal Trade Act (Sl. list CG 21/2026) bans retail and wholesale trade on Sundays and on state and other public holidays. Pharmacies, bakeries, flower, souvenir and newspaper shops, petrol stations, markets, and shops inside stations, airports and ports may still open. The Constitutional Court struck down the earlier ban (Article 35a) on 28 January 2026; Article 35b replaced it and is in force, and the employers' union has asked the Court to review it as well. The rules may change, so check a shop's hours locally. The full list, shopping-centre and market hours are on the shopping page.
Usual opening hours
Shops set their own hours from Monday to Saturday (Internal Trade Act, Art. 35b), and banks set theirs; each branch publishes its own. Post office hours are published per office by Pošta Crne Gore and are in the directory; pharmacy hours come from Montefarm and the Health Insurance Fund's list, and for a few private pharmacies from two independent directories that agree; museum hours are on each museum's page.
Sources
Zakon o državnim i drugim praznicima, Sl. list RCG 27/07 and Sl. list CG 36/13, 145/21, 3/23 with the correction in 30/23 (the 2023 amendment made Njegoš Day a state holiday and the correction repealed its one-day rule). The employers' union summary of the religious-holidays law. Zakon o unutrašnjoj trgovini, Art. 35b (Sl. list CG 21/2026). The Constitutional Court's decision of 28 January 2026 on Article 35a and the employers' union's initiative on Article 35b.
Common questions
Are shops open on Sunday in Montenegro?
Most are not. Since February 2026 Article 35b of the Internal Trade Act bans retail trade on Sundays and public holidays; pharmacies, bakeries, flower and souvenir shops, petrol stations, markets and shops in stations, airports and ports may open.
What are the non-working days in July?
13 and 14 July (Statehood Day and the day after): Tuesday and Wednesday in 2027, Thursday and Friday in 2028.
Is 21 May a holiday?
Yes, Independence Day, a state holiday kept on 21 and 22 May. When 21 May is a Sunday, as in 2028, the Monday and Tuesday after it are off.
Is 13 November a day off?
Yes. Njegoš Day has been a state holiday since 2023 and is kept for two days, 13 and 14 November: Saturday and Sunday in 2027, with Monday 15 November off as well, and Monday and Tuesday in 2028.
Do supermarkets close on 1 January?
Yes. 1 and 2 January are non-working days by law, and under Article 35b of the Internal Trade Act shops may not trade on them, except pharmacies, bakeries, petrol stations, markets and the other exempt kinds.
Are Orthodox Christmas and Easter public holidays?
Not general ones. They are paid leave for Orthodox believers under the religious-holidays law, as Catholic, Muslim and Jewish holidays are for their faithful.
Related
Sources
- Zakon o državnim i drugim praznicima, Sl. list RCG 27/07, Sl. list CG 36/13, 145/21 (consolidated, data.gov.me) and the base text in the gazette register
- Unija poslodavaca CG, Slobodni dani za vrijeme praznika (29.04.2024), quoting Art. 3 of Zakon o svetkovanju vjerskih praznika (Sl. list RCG 56/93, 27/94, Sl. list CG 73/10)
- Zakon o izmjenama i dopuni Zakona o unutrašnjoj trgovini, Sl. list CG 21/2026 (19.02.2026), Art. 35b
- Montefarm, Apoteke (Kruševac and Gojko Darić 1 marked 00-24)
- OpenStreetMap, pharmacies in Montenegro (extract 14.10.2026, ODbL)
- apoteke.me, pharmacy directory (cross-check only)
- Zakon o izmjenama i dopuni Zakona o državnim i drugim praznicima, Sl. list CG 3/2023 (Njegošev dan became a state holiday)
- Ispravka Zakona o izmjenama i dopuni Zakona o državnim i drugim praznicima, Sl. list CG 30/2023 (Art. 3b, the one-day rule, deleted)
- Ustavni sud Crne Gore, Ustavni sud ukinuo kao neustavnu neradnu nedjelju u trgovinama (28.1.2026; Art. 35a)
- Unija poslodavaca Crne Gore, Podnijeta nova Inicijativa za ocjenu ustavnosti zabrane rada nedjeljom (8.4.2026; Art. 35b)