obligation
An obligation is a duty to do or not to do something. In a legal context, an obligation is a civil law concept. An obligation can be created voluntarily, such as one arising from a contract, quasi-contract, or unilateral promise. An obligation can also be created involuntarily, such as an obligation arising from torts or a statute.
An obligation binds together two or more determinate persons or entities. Therefore, the legal meaning of an obligation does not only denote a duty, but also denotes a correlative right: one party has an obligation means another party has a right. The person or entity who was liable for the obligation is called obligor; the person or entity who holds the correlative right to an obligation is called obligee.
Some common uses of the term "obligation" include:
- Contractual obligation refers to the duty to pay or perform some certain acts created by a contract or an agreement
- Conditional obligation means the duty to pay or perform certain acts depending on the occurrence of a particular event.
- Current obligation means an obligation that is enforceable in the present moment.
- Heritable obligation means a legal obligation or the related right is not ended by the death of the person who was liable for the obligation or who held the right.
[Last reviewed in August of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Wex