united-states contract-law
Is a contract valid on its &quot;expiration date&quot;
<p>I'm attempting to parse a US contract that states that its &quot;expiration date&quot; is 20th March 2021.
Ideally the contract itself would specify explicitly that either:</p>
<ol>
<li>the expiration date is the first day on which the contract is <em>not</em> in force - meaning that the contract expires at midnight at the start of its expiration date, or</li>
<li>the expiration date is the last day on which the contract <em>is</em> in force - meaning that the contract expires at midnight at the end of its expiration date.</li>
</ol>
<p>However, it does not.</p>
<p>In the absence of any such disambiguating text, is such a contract still in force on its &quot;expiration date&quot;? Is there statute or case law dictating this?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>In the absence of any such disambiguating text, is such a contract still in force on its &quot;expiration date&quot;?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One cannot answer in the affirmative or in the negative without assessing the contract altogether and perhaps the extrinsic evidence. If the matter is not ascertainable from elsewhere in the contract, the controversy would have to be decided via the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_proferentem" rel="nofollow noreferrer">doctrine of <em>contra proferentem</em></a>.</p>

<h2>Yes</h2>
<p>In a normally drafted contract, dates are inclusive. So an “expiry date” is the last date the contract was in force, expiring at 23:59:59 since midnight is actually the first moment of the next day. Most contracts don’t usually need such precision in their timekeeping but some do.</p>
