--- title: Why Inauguration Day Is on January 20 description: Inauguration Day didn’t always take place in January. Initially, Congress intended for the day to be honored in March. canonical: https://time.com/7207859/why-inauguration-day-is-on-january-20/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-01-17T18:02:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-10T23:27:36.574Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Inauguration Day Is on January 20 og:description: Inauguration Day didn’t always take place in January. Initially, Congress intended for the day to be honored in March. og:url: https://time.com/7207859/why-inauguration-day-is-on-january-20/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fa99ab294d60838/6998b2811500fb9ec4aa4133/Inauguration-Day-Jan20.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Supporters And Protesters Turn Out For The Inauguration Of President-Elect Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Inauguration Day Is on January 20 twitter:description: Inauguration Day didn’t always take place in January. Initially, Congress intended for the day to be honored in March. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fa99ab294d60838/6998b2811500fb9ec4aa4133/Inauguration-Day-Jan20.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Inauguration Day Is on January 20 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Jan 17, 2025 6:02 PM UTC  A view of Donald Trump's Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C. A view of Donald Trump's Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Noam Galai—WireImage/Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Jan 17, 2025 6:02 PM UTC Donald Trump will be sworn in as the [next President of the United States](https://time.com/7173338/donald-trump-wins-election-2024/) on Monday, Jan. 20. Inauguration Day takes place every four years on Jan. 20 at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. On years when Jan. 20 falls on a Sunday, the incoming President still takes the oath of office privately on that day, but the public inauguration occurs on Jan. 21, according to Shannon Bow O’Brien, an associate professor of instruction in the government department at the University of Texas at Austin. Events on the day include the swearing-in ceremony, the inaugural address, and the inaugural luncheon. For Trump’s inauguration, marking his return to the White House, several music artists are set to perform, including Grammy award-winning country singer Carrie Underwood, who is expected to sing “America the Beautiful.” But Inauguration Day didn’t always take place in January. Initially, Congress had set March 4, 1789 as the date “for commencing proceedings” of the new government, according to [History.com](https://www.history.com/news/why-does-inauguration-day-fall-on-january-20). But bad winter weather delayed George Washington’s inauguration for several weeks, and he wasn’t inaugurated until April 30, 1789, in New York City (at the time the [nation’s capital](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/new-york-historic/)), O’Brien says. For over a hundred years, Presidents and Vice Presidents after Washington were typically sworn in on March 4. **Read More**: [_11 Things to Do on Inauguration Day That Are Great for Your Mental Health_](https://time.com/7207613/trump-inauguration-day-mental-health-activities/) The gap between Election Day and Inauguration Day was partly because of how long it took officials to tabulate votes, according to History.com. And travel took longer because of poor road conditions, O’Brien says. The extended gap sometimes caused issues between the outgoing and incoming Administrations. “We have this period where we kind of functionally have two Presidents,” O’Brien says. “You’re seeing it right now: Donald Trump is still a private citizen at this moment in time, until Monday, but everybody is treating him almost like the President right now, and Joe Biden is really taking a back seat at many levels. We kind of have two Presidents right now, and that used to go on for about four months.” That was one of the reasons behind the decision to move up Inauguration Day. At the same time, advancements in technology helped speed up the process of counting votes, according to History.com. Travel and road conditions also improved, O’Brien says. So in 1933, the [20th Amendment](https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2013/01/the-20th-amendment-to-the-u-s-constitution/) was ratified, changing Inauguration Day to Jan. 20 and the first session of the new Congress to Jan. 3\. The first time [Inauguration Day took place on Jan. 20](https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/january-20/) was four years later, in 1937, setting forth the tradition we follow now. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7207859/why-inauguration-day-is-on-january-20/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7207859/why-inauguration-day-is-on-january-20/"},"headline":"Why Inauguration Day Is on January 20","datePublished":"2025-01-17T18:02:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-10T23:27:36.574Z","description":"Inauguration Day didn’t always take place in January. 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