Why is silence not accepted?
Christopher Ramos
Published May 21, 2026
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Herein, can an offer be accepted by silence?
The untimely acceptance of an offer. Such an acceptance is not valid although it does have the legal status of a counteroffer. The general rule is that silence does not constitute acceptance.
Beside above, what is silence contract law? Acceptance by silence is a type of acceptance of a contract. Generally a contract cannot be accepted by silence. However, a contract will be considered as accepted even in case of silence in the following cases: 1.
Keeping this in view, why is silence generally not evidence of acceptance?
General Rule: Silence Is Not Acceptance. Ordinarily, for there to be a contract, the offeree must make some positive manifestation of assent to the offeror's terms. The offeror cannot usually word his offer in such a way that the offeree's failure to respond can be construed as an acceptance.
Is Silence acceptance in contract law UK?
Acceptance usually cannot be silent. The courts in England did not think that silence could show that there was mutual agreement, and so decided that a contract only exists if there was some affirmative acceptance from the party receiving an offer. When Silence is Acceptance. To every rule, there is an exception.
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