National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2026: Monday, Dec. 7, and Flags at Half-Staff

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2026 is Monday, Dec. 7, the 85th anniversary of the 1941 attack, and federal law asks that the U.S. flag fly at half-staff that day. The law, 36 U.S. Code § 129 (Cornell Legal Information Institute), says “December 7 is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.” It is not a federal holiday. The 2026 presidential proclamation had not been issued as of Nov. 2, 2026.

What federal law says about Dec. 7

Congress set the day in Public Law 103-308, enacted Aug. 23, 1994. The statute asks the President to issue a proclamation each year calling on two groups:

• the people of the United States, to observe the day “with appropriate ceremonies and activities”;
• all federal departments, agencies and instrumentalities, and interested organizations, groups and individuals, to “fly the flag of the United States at halfstaff each December 7 in honor of the individuals who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.”

The statute does not give a time of day for half-staff. It says “each December 7” and leaves the details to the proclamation each year.

Is Pearl Harbor Day a federal holiday?

No. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 2026 federal holiday list does not include Dec. 7, and federal holidays are set by 5 U.S. Code 6103. Federal offices follow a regular Monday schedule. Our 2026 US holiday list shows the days that do close federal offices, and the December 2026 printable calendar marks Dec. 7.

Has the 2026 proclamation been issued?

Not as of Nov. 2, 2026. Last year, Proclamation 10996, “National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2025,” was signed Dec. 5, 2025 and published in the Federal Register on Dec. 10, 2025. It said “I do hereby proclaim December 7, 2025, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day” and asked all to “fly the flag of the United States at half-staff in honor of those American patriots who died.” It added that “the surprise offensive claimed the lives of 2,403 American service members and civilians.”

In 2025, then, the proclamation was signed two days before the date and appeared in the Federal Register three days after it. Check the Federal Register for the 2026 text.

How to fly a flag at half-staff

4 U.S. Code § 7 says “the flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position.” The same wording asks that the flag be raised to the peak again before it is lowered for the day. Our one-page printable checklist on this page collects these steps.

When is the Pearl Harbor ceremony, and what time is it in your zone?

The National Park Service (NPS) runs the commemoration at Pearl Harbor National Memorial. Its page, updated July 30, 2026, had not posted the 2026 schedule, start time or livestream as of Nov. 2.

In 2025, for the 84th anniversary, the NPS listed a “7:50- 9 a.m. HST 84th Anniversary Commemorative Program,” with gates opening at 6 a.m. and a United States Ship (USS) Oklahoma ceremony from 1 to 2 p.m. HST. Livestream links were posted. Hawaii Standard Time (HST) is 10 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-10), and Hawaii does not use daylight saving time. In December, Eastern Time (ET) is UTC-5, so HST runs 5 hours behind ET. This table converts last year’s program start; the 2026 time may differ.

Zone	2025 program start	2025 gates open
Hawaii	7:50 a.m.	6:00 a.m.
Alaska	8:50 a.m.	7:00 a.m.
Pacific	9:50 a.m.	8:00 a.m.
Mountain	10:50 a.m.	9:00 a.m.
Central	11:50 a.m.	10:00 a.m.
Eastern	12:50 p.m.	11:00 a.m.

How many people died at Pearl Harbor?

Counts differ by source, and this story gives each as the source states it. The NPS says “2,390 Americans, including both service members and civilians, lost their lives”: 2,341 service members and 49 civilians (page updated Sept. 20, 2024). It lists 1,177 service members who died on the USS Arizona and 429 fatalities on the USS Oklahoma. The 2025 proclamation says 2,403 American service members and civilians.

Dec. 7 weekdays, 2026 to 2031

The anniversary stays on Dec. 7, so the weekday moves. Weekdays below are computed from the calendar.

Year	Dec. 7 falls on	Anniversary
2026	Monday	85th
2027	Tuesday	86th
2028	Thursday	87th
2029	Friday	88th
2030	Saturday	89th
2031	Sunday	90th

For the rest of the month, see December 2026 important dates. The related fall observance is covered in Veterans Day 2026, and the wreath ceremonies on Dec. 19 are in Wreaths Across America 2026.