ObservanceWednesday, April 21, 2027
Administrative Professionals Day
- Date
- Recurs
- The date changes each year. This page always shows the next one.
- Category
- Community
Administrative Professionals Day falls in late April — April 22 in 2026 and April 21 in 2027, the dates the International Association of Administrative Professionals publishes. IAAP says on its own site that the day was started by IAAP in 1952, which makes it one of the few workplace observances still run by the body that created it. Its instruction to anyone marking it is blunter than most: skip the flowers.
History
IAAP's account of the founding is short and unambiguous: "this day was started by IAAP in 1952 to provide administrative professionals a collective voice." The association began as the National Secretaries Association, whose first chapter was founded in Topeka, Kansas, and the observance began as National Secretaries Week — IAAP's history page records the "[f]irst National Secretaries Week, now known as Administrative Professionals Week."
What happened after that is documented in sequence but not in dates, and that is worth saying plainly, because this is a holiday whose history is usually told with confident years attached. IAAP's own history page carries no years at all. It records, in order: that convention delegates voted to open membership to men, with the first man joining six weeks later; that members approved a resolution supporting the Equal Rights Amendment; that the National Secretaries Association changed its name to Professional Secretaries International; that Professional Secretaries International became the International Association of Administrative Professionals; and that "Professional Secretaries Week and Day become Administrative Professionals Week and Day." Specific years are widely quoted for each of those steps. None could be confirmed against IAAP or another primary source for this page, so none is asserted here.
The same goes for the fuller founding story that circulates — that a U.S. Secretary of Commerce proclaimed the first National Secretaries Week in June 1952, sponsored by an office-equipment industry group. It is plausible and may well be right. No primary record of it could be found, so it is left out rather than repeated.
Timeline
- 1952 — IAAP starts the observance. It begins as National Secretaries Week; the association is then the National Secretaries Association, with its first chapter in Topeka, Kansas.
- Undated, in IAAP's own sequence — The National Secretaries Association becomes Professional Secretaries International; Professional Secretaries International becomes the International Association of Administrative Professionals; Professional Secretaries Week and Day become Administrative Professionals Week and Day. IAAP's history page gives this order without attaching a year to any step.
- 2025 — The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,515,600 jobs in secretaries and administrative assistants, at a median of $48,310, and projects a fall of 75,300 jobs — about 2 percent — by 2035.
- April 22, 2026 — The date IAAP publishes for Administrative Professionals Day 2026, with a members' event from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Central.
- April 21, 2027 — The date IAAP publishes for 2027. Both dates fall on the Wednesday of the last full Sunday-to-Saturday week in April, which is the rule this site uses to project the years ahead.
How to observe
Take IAAP at its word and skip the flowers and the mug. The association's own framing of the day is about the profession's standing, not about treats, and a bouquet on a desk is the most easily ignored form of recognition there is.
Pay for a credential instead. IAAP runs the Certified Administrative Professional exam, which is a line on a résumé that outlasts the week; covering the fee and the study time is a concrete thing an employer can do on a specific Wednesday in April.
Or do the unglamorous version: sit down with the person and compare their actual work against their written job description. Administrative roles accumulate responsibility faster than they accumulate titles, and the gap between the two is usually invisible until someone reads both documents side by side. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures give the context — about 3.5 million people held secretarial and administrative-assistant jobs in 2025, at a median of $48,310 a year, and the category is projected to shrink by 2 percent through 2035. A day of recognition in a shrinking occupation is worth more as a pay-and-title conversation than as a gesture.
Frequently asked questions
When is Administrative Professionals Day?
The date moves each year. IAAP publishes April 22, 2026 and April 21, 2027; both fall on the Wednesday of the last full Sunday-to-Saturday week in April, which is the rule the dates table above uses.
Who started Administrative Professionals Day?
IAAP, the International Association of Administrative Professionals, which says on its own site that it started the day in 1952. The association was called the National Secretaries Association at the time, and the observance was called National Secretaries Week.
Is Administrative Professionals Day a federal holiday?
No. It does not appear on the Office of Personnel Management's list of federal holidays, which is set by statute at 5 U.S.C. 6103. It is an observance, not a day off.
Is it the same thing as Administrative Professionals Week?
IAAP names both. The Week is the successor to National Secretaries Week, and the dates IAAP publishes are for the Day.
What are you supposed to give?
IAAP's own answer is to give something other than a gift: "Skip the flowers and treats." Professional development, a credential fee, or a title and pay review follow from how the association describes the day.
When is Administrative Professionals Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | April 21 | Wednesday |
| 2028 | April 26 | Wednesday |
| 2029 | April 25 | Wednesday |
| 2030 | April 24 | Wednesday |
| 2031 | April 23 | Wednesday |
Sources
- International Association of Administrative Professionals, About IAAP — https://www.iaap-hq.org/page/about_iaap → "this day was started by IAAP in 1952 to provide administrative professionals a collective voice"; "Skip the flowers and treats"; the published dates April 22, 2026 and April 21, 2027.
- International Association of Administrative Professionals, IAAP History — https://www.iaap-hq.org/page/iaap_history → the National Secretaries Association founded with its first chapter in Topeka, Kansas; "[f]irst National Secretaries Week, now known as Administrative Professionals Week"; membership opened to men, first man joining six weeks later; the Equal Rights Amendment resolution; NSA to Professional Secretaries International; PSI to IAAP; "Professional Secretaries Week and Day become Administrative Professionals Week and Day"; the Certified Administrative Professional exam. The page carries no years, which is why none are given above.
- International Association of Administrative Professionals, Administrative Professionals Day event, April 22, 2026 — https://www.iaap-hq.org/event/apd2026 → the 2026 date and the 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Central event time.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Secretaries and Administrative Assistants — https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/secretaries-and-administrative-assistants.htm → 3,515,600 jobs in 2025 (SOC 43-6000); median pay $48,310 in 2025; projected decline of 2 percent, or 75,300 jobs, 2025-35.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal Holidays — https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/ → the statutory list of federal holidays (5 U.S.C. 6103), which does not include this day.
Not used as sources: nationaltoday, nationaldaycalendar, checkiday, timeanddate, awarenessdays, greeting-card and gift-retailer pages, and Wikipedia. IAAP's live Administrative Professionals Day page was unreachable during this run, as were archived copies of it, the Truman Library search and congress.gov; the rename years and the 1952 proclamation story are omitted for that reason rather than disputed.
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