Federal Judicial Vacancies

As of October 4, 2026, uscourts.gov lists 27 current vacancies on the federal courts, 10 with a nominee pending, 15 future vacancies announced and 15 judicial emergencies. Each row is the Administrative Office’s own record; the incumbent, court and nominee link to their pages here.

Jump to: Current vacancies · Future vacancies · Judicial emergencies · Pending nominations · Confirmed in 2026

Current vacancies by circuit

“Reason” is the vacancy reason as uscourts.gov words it. “Days vacant” counts from the vacancy date to October 4, 2026. Judicial emergencies are marked.

Future vacancies

Seats whose incumbent has announced a departure. “TBD” is uscourts.gov’s own entry where no effective date has been set.

Judicial emergencies

Vacancies the Judicial Conference classifies as emergencies by caseload and time pending. The filings figures and “days pending” are uscourts.gov’s own, as of October 4, 2026.

Questions & answers

How many federal judicial vacancies are there?

As of October 4, 2026, uscourts.gov lists 27 current vacancies on the federal courts and 15 future vacancies announced.

How many judicial nominees are pending?

10 nominees are pending for current vacancies and 6 nominees for future vacancies, as of October 4, 2026.

Which courts have judicial emergencies?

uscourts.gov lists 15 judicial emergencies as of October 4, 2026: S.D. New York, D. South Carolina, N.D. Texas, S.D. Texas, W.D. Texas, N.D. Illinois, D. Minnesota, D. North Dakota, C.D. California, S.D. California, E.D. Oklahoma, M.D. Florida, N.D. Georgia.

Which federal judicial vacancy is the oldest?

The seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California vacated by William Q. Hayes on August 1, 2021, 1890 days before October 4, 2026; no nominee is listed.

Sources

• Current Judicial Vacancies (uscourts.gov)
• Future Judicial Vacancies (uscourts.gov)
• Judicial Emergencies (uscourts.gov)

Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Judicial Vacancies (uscourts.gov), update as of October 4, 2026; a U.S. government work in the public domain. Verify against the primary source before relying.