Buying or Selling a Richmond-Area Home Over the Holidays: Closing Dates, Recording and Lender Schedules From Thanksgiving to New Year

Published November 2026 | Written by the Mission Realty Team.

You can close on a Richmond-area home between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, but three different calendars run at once, and they do not agree. The circuit court clerk’s office that records your deed follows Virginia’s state holidays, the Federal Reserve’s payment services follow the federal list, and your lender’s three-business-day Closing Disclosure clock follows its own federal definition, so the day after Thanksgiving is a holiday on one calendar and an ordinary day on the other two.

Below are the 2026 to 2027 dates, what each calendar does on them, and how to plan a closing date that holds. This guide applies across the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County and Hanover County.

The holiday calendar, November 2026 to January 2027

Sources: Code of Virginia section 2.2-3300, which lists the fourth Thursday in November “and the Friday next following” as Thanksgiving; the Federal Reserve Financial Services holiday schedule for 2026 and 2027; and the CFPB’s Regulation Z definition of business day, all read in November 2026. Saturdays count toward the Closing Disclosure clock. Sundays do not.

Clock one: recording at the clerk’s office

Your deed and deed of trust are recorded with the circuit court clerk for the locality where the home sits. Under Code of Virginia section 17.1-207, clerks’ offices are closed on Sundays and on the legal holidays in section 2.2-3300, and on Saturdays unless the clerk chooses to open. The same section lets a circuit court clerk close on Christmas Eve, on days the Governor declares a holiday for state employees, and on general holidays the county or city adopts by resolution.

So in 2026, expect clerks’ offices to be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27, Friday, December 25, and Friday, January 1, and check whether yours closes on December 24. Ask your settlement agent when your documents will be recorded and whether a closure changes that.

Clock two: wires and the Federal Reserve

Your down payment and the loan funds usually move by wire. The Federal Reserve’s standard holiday schedule for its financial services lists November 11 and 26, December 25 and January 1 as holidays. The Friday after Thanksgiving is not on it. Your own bank also sets its own wire cutoff times, which may be earlier around a holiday, so ask for them in writing.

Whatever the date, verify instructions before you send anything. Read how to verify wire instructions for a Richmond closing, and call your settlement agent at a number you already know.

Clock three: the Closing Disclosure

If you are financing, the lender must make sure you receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you close. For this rule, the CFPB’s Regulation Z defines a business day as every calendar day except Sundays and the federal legal public holidays, such as Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Our guide to the Closing Disclosure three-day rule covers what resets the clock.

Picking a closing date that holds

Put the three clocks together and a few patterns appear.

• The Friday after Thanksgiving is the trickiest day. The CFPB clock counts it and the Federal Reserve is open, but Virginia treats it as a legal holiday, so clerks’ offices are closed.
• Christmas Eve depends on your clerk. It is not a Virginia legal holiday, but a clerk may close. Ask before you plan on it.
• Mondays after a holiday weekend need early paperwork. Plan for the Closing Disclosure to arrive the week before.
• Build in a spare day. If your lease ends December 31, a closing scheduled for December 30 leaves no room for a late form. Our guide to timing a lease end against a closing has options.

Lenders, title companies and settlement attorneys each set their own holiday office hours, which are not in any of the public schedules above. Send these four questions as soon as you have a closing date:

1. To the lender: on what date will you send the Closing Disclosure, and how will it be delivered?
2. To the settlement agent: which days is your office closed, and when will the deed be recorded?
3. To your bank: what is the wire cutoff time the day before and after each holiday?
4. To everyone: who is the backup contact if you are out that week?

Write the answers next to your closing date. For the rest of the pre-closing stretch, see what not to do between approval and closing.

Year-end tax dates that land in the same window

Chesterfield’s Treasurer page says the second-half real estate tax normally due December 5 will be observed on Monday, December 7, 2026, because the 5th is a Saturday. Henrico also bills its second half for December 5, and the City of Richmond’s Department of Finance page lists January 14 for its first half. A closing near those dates changes who pays what, so read when real estate tax is due across the Richmond area and our guide to closing prorations.

If you are selling over the holidays

The same calendars apply to a sale. Your payoff letter has to run through the closing date, your proceeds move by wire, and the deed cannot record while the clerk’s office is closed. Ask your settlement agent when you will receive funds if you close the day before a holiday. If you are deciding whether to list now or wait, start with a number. Get your instant home value, built from recent sales near you.

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For help with the sale itself, see selling with Mission Realty. Buyers can browse homes for sale or start at buying with us.

Holiday closing questions