The responsibility of a person to pay a debt or other financial obligation. If an individual signs a promissory note, that individual usually has full personal liability for the debt. An exception is the unusual situation of a non-recourse individual loan, in which the lender agrees to look only to the collateral for recovery in the event of default.

An arrangement where all of the parties involved are each liable up to the full amount of the relevant obligation. If one party dies, disappears or is declared bankrupt the others remain fully liable. The converse is several or proportionate liability, where the parties are liable only for their respective obligations and not for the obligations of any of the other parties.

Sometimes called absolute liability, is the legal responsibility for damages, or injury, even if the person found to be strictly liable was not at fault or negligent. Strict liability is especially found in product liability cases.

A strict form of secondary liability that arises under the doctrine of agency – the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate, or, more broadly, the responsibility of any third party that had the right, ability or duty to control the actions of a violator.