SPY expiration calendar

SPY Options Expiration Dates 2026

A SPY-focused 2026 expiration reference for common weekly and monthly workflows: January 9 weekly options, April weekly dates, May 2026 OpEx, and the API workflow for confirming listed SPY contracts.

January 9, 2026

Friday weekly cycle

This is a Friday weekly-cycle date. Confirm listed contracts before requesting chains.

May 2026 monthly OpEx

Friday, May 15, 2026

The May standard monthly SPY expiration is the third Friday.

June 2026 monthly OpEx

Thursday, June 18, 2026

The monthly cycle moves because Friday, June 19 is Juneteenth.

SPY workflow

Use the calendar to classify, not to invent contracts

SPY is liquid enough that weekly expiration workflows are common, but a robust implementation should still begin with listed dates. The calendar tells you whether January 9, April 17, or May 15 belongs to a weekly, monthly, or quarterly cycle. The API tells you which SPY contracts are actually listed for that date, which strikes exist, and which OCC tickers should be used in downstream quote, trade, or aggregate requests.

This distinction is especially important for backtests. If a model assumes a date exists and later joins bars, quotes, or snapshots to that assumption, it can create silent survivorship or empty-chain errors. A cleaner implementation fetches expirations, tags each date, requests contracts for the selected date, and stores the full contract ticker with every measurement.

January 2026 SPY weekly and monthly reference

January 9 is a useful weekly-cycle example, so the month is broken out directly.

DateCycleNote
Friday, January 2, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle
Friday, January 9, 2026WeeklyFriday weekly expiration reference.
Friday, January 16, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
Friday, January 23, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle
Friday, January 30, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle

April and May 2026 SPY expiration dates

These months cover April weekly context and the next standard May monthly OpEx.

DateCycleNote
Thursday, April 2, 2026WeeklyMoved from April 3, 2026 for a market holiday.
Friday, April 10, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle
Friday, April 17, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
Friday, April 24, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle
Friday, May 1, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle
Friday, May 8, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle
Friday, May 15, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
Friday, May 22, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle
Friday, May 29, 2026WeeklyWeekly Friday cycle

API example

Fetch SPY listed dates before building the chain

curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/tickers/expirations/SPY/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/options/contracts/?underlying_ticker=SPY&expiration_date=2026-01-09&limit=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Last verified

Date-sensitive calendar references on this page were checked on May 7, 2026. Calendar math is useful for planning, but listed contracts and exchange calendars should still be verified before production workflows run.

SPY options expiration FAQ

Was January 9, 2026 a SPY options expiration date?

January 9, 2026 was a Friday weekly-cycle date. Use listed-expiration data to confirm the actual SPY contracts available for that date.

When is the May 2026 SPY monthly expiration?

The standard May 2026 monthly SPY options expiration is Friday, May 15, 2026.

Should SPY weekly dates be hard-coded?

No. A static calendar is useful for planning, but production tools should fetch listed SPY expirations before requesting chains or contracts.

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