In all districts parking is free at meters on the following nine (9) holidays, as specified on each meter: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Electronic meters (SmartMeters) are programmed not to accept payment on holidays and will display a message on the screen letting you know that it's a holiday. While government offices observe holidays on the actual day of the holiday unless the holiday falls on a weekend, the City of Portland charges for parking on every day except the nine actual holidays, regardless of what day of the week they fall on, and parking enforcement officers work on every day except those nine actual holidays. This means that holidays falling on a Sunday no longer have free parking on Monday and holidays falling on a Saturday no longer have free parking on a Friday.

Since July 2009, Portland has been charging for on-street parking on Sundays from 1-7 p.m. This helps create more turnover in the area, something the business community has said its customers need. Parking is free at meters only on the nine actual holidays listed below.  

Except in city parks, metered parking in the City of Portland is free on the following 2018 holidays: