The most recent United States federal government shutdown started at 12:00 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025.

Quick Scoop

  • The shutdown began at the very start of the new federal fiscal year, which always starts on October 1, after Congress failed to agree on funding for the 2026 fiscal year.
  • Multiple news and reference sources describe October 1, 2025, as the official start date and time of the shutdown, making that the answer to “when did government shutdown start” in the current context.

In short: if you’re seeing current headlines or forum posts about “the” government shutdown right now, they are referring to the shutdown that began on October 1, 2025.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.