party of the first part

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Party of the first part indicates the party mentioned first in documents such as deeds and contracts in order to avoid repeating their names. The other party is referred to as the “party of the second part”. 

This is an archaic phrase. Modern contractual practice is to identify the parties by the short form of their names, or by an identifier such as buyer, seller, licensee, licensor, lessee or lessor.

[Last updated in August of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]