National First Responders Day 2026 Is Wednesday, Oct. 28: Proclamations and Resolutions by Year

National First Responders Day is today, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, a date with its basis in U.S. Senate resolutions from 2017 and 2019 and in presidential proclamations published in the Federal Register for 2022, 2023 and 2024. It is not a federal holiday, so offices, banks and mail run normally.

As of Wednesday morning, the Federal Register lists no 2025 or 2026 proclamation for the day. Proclamations in 2023 and 2024 were signed a few days before Oct. 28 and published on Nov. 1.

How did Oct. 28 become National First Responders Day?

The record starts in Congress. The two resolutions below are concurrent resolutions that express support; they did not create a permanent federal holiday. The proclamations that follow are presidential documents, each dated to a single year.

Year	Document	What the official text says	Source
2017	Senate Concurrent Resolution (S. Con. Res.) 15, 115th Congress, “Honoring the Nation’s First Responders Day”	Senator Lisa Murkowski requested immediate consideration on Aug. 3, 2017. “The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 15), as amended, was agreed to.”	Congressional Record, p. S4892
2019	S. Con. Res. 15, 116th Congress	Titled “Expressing support for the designation of October 28, 2019, as ‘Honoring the Nation’s First Responders Day’.” The text “supports the designation of October 28, 2019, as ‘Honoring the Nation’s First Responders Day’.”	govinfo, engrossed Senate text
2022	Presidential proclamation, “National First Responders Day, 2022”	Published in the Federal Register on Nov. 1, 2022.	Federal Register
2023	Proclamation 10659, “National First Responders Day, 2023”	Signed Oct. 27, 2023; published Nov. 1, 2023.	Federal Register
2024	Proclamation 10845, “National First Responders Day, 2024”	Signed Oct. 25, 2024; published Nov. 1, 2024. “Do hereby proclaim October 28, 2024, as National First Responders Day.”	Federal Register
2025	None found	A Federal Register search of presidential documents returns only 2022 to 2024 (checked Oct. 28, 2026).	Federal Register
2026	None published as of Wednesday morning	See above.	Federal Register

The 2024 proclamation states its purpose “to honor our brave first responders and to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.” The Congressional Record and bill pages are hosted by govinfo, the website of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO).

Is today a federal holiday?

No. National First Responders Day is not a federal holiday. The 2017 and 2019 resolutions expressed support and the proclamations name a single year, so nothing in this record makes the date a permanent holiday. See the U.S. holidays calendar for the federal holidays; the next is Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Who counts as a first responder?

This story does not quote the 2024 proclamation’s list of groups, because the full text could not be retrieved for checking. The term is generally understood to include firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical services (EMS) workers and dispatchers.

Are there other days for first responders?

Two other observances are on the record. A White House proclamation of Apr. 30, 2026, says: “do hereby proclaim May 2 through May 3, 2026, as National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend.” Separately, federal law (36 U.S.C. 136) sets Peace Officers Memorial Day for May 15 each year; May 15, 2027, is a Saturday.

How can you mark the day?

• Write a thank-you note to a local fire station, police department or EMS service.
• Check smoke alarms. Clocks go back on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026; our daylight saving time story has the details.
• Look at the October 2026 and November 2026 printable calendars to plan a visit before the month turns.

For a different October day of service, see Make a Difference Day on Oct. 24. The free printable timeline on this page lists the history above and the two 2026 dates.