Force majeure contract termination letter checklist

Read the Letter to make sure it meets your needs. Remember that, if you have any questions, you can Ask a lawyer for advice. Read Force majeure for more information.

Read your contract and make sure that: 

• it contains a force majeure clause, and

• the clause expressly covers the type of event that has occurred and has prevented you from performing your obligations under the contract

If the type of event that has occurred is not covered (eg if floods are covered but you cannot perform your obligation due to the effects of a storm, which isn’t covered), you cannot use a Force Majeure Contract Termination Letter to end your contract. You may be able to end the contract following the law of frustration. If you think this may apply to your situation, or if you need help reading your contract, you can Ask a lawyer.

The business sending the Letter must sign it. If the sender is a company or a partnership, its representative (ie signatory) must sign. 

You can sign your Force Majeure Contract Termination Letter by either:

• signing online using RocketSign, or

• signing in print, by downloading, printing, and signing and dating the document

A Force Majeure Contract Termination Letter is a formal notice which must be served (ie sent) properly.

You can usually serve a Force Majeure Contract Termination Letter in various ways, as long as you ensure the recipient receives it. Common ways to send this type of business notice include:

• by courier or post

  • use a tracked delivery service and keep a copy of the proof of posting and delivery

  • check you have the recipient’s latest business address

• by email

  • you can sign the Letter online and attach a copy of it to an email to the recipient

  • request a ‘read receipt’ as proof of service

Always check the contract you are ending for any special rules about serving notices. For example, service of notices by email may not be allowed. Make sure any such rules are followed.

A copy of your Force Majeure Contract Termination Letter will be stored automatically in your Rocket Lawyer account ‘Dashboard’. You should also download and securely store a copy of your Letter for your records.

You should also securely store:

• any proof of service, for example: 

  • Royal Mail receipts or courier receipts

  • emails or messages from the recipient acknowledging that they’ve received the Letter

  • email ‘read receipts’

• copies of anything else (eg other documents) that were sent with the Letter