Kerala government has announced 18 public holidays for the year 2025. This was notified by the General Administration (Co-ordination) Department on 14 October 2024 through G. O. (P) No. 34/2024/GAD. Along with this, the government has also given a list of 3 restricted holidays, each tied to a specific community rather than open to every employee. There is one more list too, of 6 festivals that fall on a Sunday and are therefore left out of the main calendar. Kerala also treats all Sundays and the second Saturday of every English month as closed holidays. Below you can see the full table with dates, days, and the type of each holiday, so you get a clear picture of how the holidays are spread through the year.
Holiday calendar 2025
| Date | Day | Holiday | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Jan 2025 | Thursday | Mannam Jayanthi | Cultural |
| 26 Jan 2025 | Sunday | Republic Day | National |
| 26 Feb 2025 | Wednesday | Maha Sivarathri | Religious |
| 4 Mar 2025 | Tuesday | Ayya Vaikunda Swami Jayanthi | Religious |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Monday | Id-ul-Fitr (Ramzan) | Religious |
| 14 Apr 2025 | Monday | Vishu / Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Jayanthi | Cultural |
| 17 Apr 2025 | Thursday | Maundy Thursday | Religious |
| 18 Apr 2025 | Friday | Good Friday | Religious |
| 20 Apr 2025 | Sunday | Easter | Religious |
| 1 May 2025 | Thursday | May Day | Cultural |
| 6 Jun 2025 | Friday | Id-ul-Ad'ha (Bakrid) | Religious |
| 6 Jul 2025 | Sunday | Muharram | Religious |
| 24 Jul 2025 | Thursday | Karkadaka Vavu | Religious |
| 9 Aug 2025 | Saturday | Avani Avittom | Religious |
| 15 Aug 2025 | Friday | Independence Day | National |
| 28 Aug 2025 | Thursday | Ayyankali Jayanthi | Cultural |
| 4 Sep 2025 | Thursday | First Onam | Cultural |
| 5 Sep 2025 | Friday | Thiruvonam / Milad-i-Sherif | Cultural |
| 6 Sep 2025 | Saturday | Third Onam | Cultural |
| 7 Sep 2025 | Sunday | Fourth Onam / Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi | Cultural |
| 14 Sep 2025 | Sunday | Sreekrishna Jayanthi | Religious |
| 17 Sep 2025 | Wednesday | Vishwakarma Day | Religious |
| 21 Sep 2025 | Sunday | Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi | Cultural |
| 1 Oct 2025 | Wednesday | Mahanavami | Religious |
| 2 Oct 2025 | Thursday | Vijayadasami / Gandhi Jayanthi | National |
| 20 Oct 2025 | Monday | Deepavali | Religious |
| 25 Dec 2025 | Thursday | Christmas | Religious |
Besides the calendar above, Kerala declares 14 March 2025 (Friday) a holiday for all State Government offices and Public Sector Undertakings functioning in New Delhi, on account of Holi. Banks do not follow the state list and observe a separate 14-day calendar notified the same day under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, which drops Mannam Jayanthi, Maundy Thursday, Karkadaka Vavu, Ayyankali Jayanthi and Third Onam, and adds the annual closing of accounts of commercial and co-operative banks on Tuesday, 1 April 2025. Id-ul-Fitr, Bakrid, Muharram and Milad-i-Sherif are subject to change depending on the appearance of the moon.
Get the Official Kerala Government Notification
Download PDFHow Kerala Holidays Impact Payroll and Leave Management
Kerala has two busy patches in the year. In mid-April, Vishu, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday all come within five days. In September, 4 to 7 September fall together during Onam, giving four days off in a row.
Two rules cause most of the trouble for HR. First, Kerala has only three restricted holidays, and each one is meant for a specific community, so whether an employee can take it depends on who they are, not on what they pick. Second, Sundays and second Saturdays are already off days, so six festivals in 2025 fall on them and no extra day is given in return. Payroll has to watch a third calendar as well, because five days close offices while banks stay open, and 1 April closes banks while offices work. Keeping these calendars separate in a leave system, and checking community eligibility for the restricted days, takes care of most of this for HR and payroll.