Postal Rule of Acceptance | Report

Running Head: POSTAL RULE OF ACCEPTANCE
POSTAL RULE OF ACCEPTANCE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

POSTAL RULE OF ACCEPTANCE1
INTRODUCTION:
The general rule of acceptance is that it should be communicated directly to the party
making an offer. However the postal rule is an exception to the general wherein the parties can
enter into the contract without actual communication but exchange of offer and acceptance by
the means of a post or a mail1. The postal rule of acceptance states that the communication would
be deemed to have been accepted once the communication has been posted or mailed to the
offeror. This is because in the case of non-instantaneous mails, the receipt of the sending of the
acceptance is what notifies the sender that the mail has been sent. The sender receives no
notification upon the delivery of the mail to the addressed party.
The aim of the thesis is to establish the critical analysis on the possible use of the rule
with respect to the restriction upon the offeror to revoke the offer with substantial reference to
modern forms of communication.
GENERAL CONCEPT OF POSTAL RULE:
The general concept of postal rule states that an offer would be deemed to have been accepted by
the party once the acceptance mail or letter confirming the acceptance has been sent2. The
sending of the mail or the post refers to the handing over of the mail or the letter to the concerned
official of the post office authorized to collect and send out mails3. Thus, the theory of postal rule
is based on following criteria4:
1 Goodrich, Peter. "The posthumous life of the postal rule: requiem and revival of Adams v
Lindsell." Feminist Perspectives on Contract Law. Routledge-Cavendish, 2017. 87-102.
2 Adams vs. Lindsell [1818] B & Ald 681
3 Re London & Northern Bank [1900] 1 Ch 220
4 Mires, Stanley F. "POSTAL SERVICE." Policy (2016).

POSTAL RULE OF ACCEPTANCE2
 An offer which is made by the postal shall not be effective until the same has been
received by the party addressed. In other words, it can be explained that the offer is the
set of terms and conditions of the offer shall be accepted and the contract formed upon
the same terms and conditions shall be enforceable when the offeree sends the letter
confirming the acceptance and the offeror receives the same. The receiving of the offeror
is an important aspect to con firm the applicability of general rule of acceptance upon the
instantaneous modes of communication.
 Acceptance shall be enforced from the moment it has been posted. This is an exception to
the general principles of acceptance stating that the acceptance shall be deemed to have
been communicated from the moment the same has been posted by the offeree.
 The revocation of an offer shall be effective only when the letter of revocation has been
received by the offerree before the posting of acceptance mail or post confirming the
acceptance of the offer. In other words, it can be explained that the offer cannot be
revoked after the acceptance. Hence, for an offer to be revoked, the letter confirming the
revocation of the offer should reach or deliver to the offeree before the letter of
acceptance has been posted.
The rule is imposed so because the receipt of the sending of the letter is assumed to be the
receipt of communication5. This would bind the parties in a legally enforceable contract with all
the terms and conditions of the contract as agreed upon by the parties. This is also made so for
the protection of the rights of the offeree who has accepted the offer in all free will and genuine
honesty to enter into the contract confirming all the terms and conditions of the offer as proposed
by the offeror.
5 Butler, Petra, and Bianca Maria Mueller. "Acceptance of an Offer Under the CISG." CISG and Latin
America: Regional and Global Perspectives Eleven International Publishing, the Hague (2016).