2026 options expiration calendar
Standard monthly equity and index options expire on the third Friday of the month. This lists that date for every month of 2026, per the OCC and exchange listing convention. It does not include weekly or daily-listed contracts.
| Month | Expiration date | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2026-01-16 | |
| February | 2026-02-20 | |
| March | 2026-03-20 | Quarterly |
| April | 2026-04-17 | |
| May | 2026-05-15 | |
| June | 2026-06-19 | Quarterly |
| July | 2026-07-17 | |
| August | 2026-08-21 | |
| September | 2026-09-18 | Quarterly |
| October | 2026-10-16 | |
| November | 2026-11-20 | |
| December | 2026-12-18 | Quarterly |
Quarterly expirations in 2026
2026-03-20, 2026-06-19, 2026-09-18, 2026-12-18 are the quarterly (March, June, September, December) monthly expirations, sometimes called quad witching when index futures and index and single-stock options expire together.
Frequently asked questions
What is an options expiration calendar?
It is a list of the dates on which listed option contracts stop trading and are settled or exercised for a given month. Standard monthly equity and index options expire on the third Friday of the month; this calendar lists that date for every month.
Do all options expire on the same date every month?
Standard monthly contracts do: the third Friday of the month, per the OCC and exchange listing convention. Weekly and daily-listed contracts, and some index or futures options, follow separate schedules not covered by this calendar.
What is quarterly or "quad witching" expiration?
The March, June, September, and December monthly expirations are widely referred to as quarterly expirations; when they coincide with the simultaneous expiration of stock index futures, stock index options, and single-stock options, the day is often called quad witching.
Does OptionHistoryDesk provide live options-chain or open-interest data for these dates?
No. This calendar lists the public, published standard listing cycle only. OptionHistoryDesk itself works from open-interest snapshots that you enter or import; it has no connected market-data feed and does not publish vendor option-chain data.
What happens if the third Friday is a market holiday?
Options typically stop trading on the last business day before the holiday in that case. This calendar shows the standard third-Friday date; always confirm the exact trading date against the OCC’s published expiration calendar before relying on it for a holiday-adjacent month.