A period immediately after the deadline for the performance of an obligation during which a late fee or penalty, or other action would have been taken as a result of failing to meet the deadline, is waived provided that the obligation is satisfied during the grace period. Grace periods can range from a couple of minutes to a number of days or longer, depending on the context, and can apply in various situations, such as complying with a legal obligation by a specified deadline.

A common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties such as war, strike, riot, crime, or an event known as an act of God (such as a hurricane, flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract. In practice, most force majeure clauses do not exclude a party’s non-performance entirely, but only suspends it for the duration of the force majeure event.