Who has the authority to accept an offer?

The authority to accept an offer lies primarily with only authorized individuals. In contract law, an offer is a proposal by one party, called the offeror, to enter into a legally binding agreement with another party, called the offeree. For an acceptance to be valid and binding, it must be made by the offeree or a person who has been granted the authority to accept on behalf of the offeree.

Authorized individuals are those who have the legal capacity or delegated power to bind the parties to the agreement. This means they must have been explicitly given permission or designated to make decisions regarding the acceptance of offers. If someone who is not authorized accepts an offer, that acceptance would not create a valid contract.

In contrast, other groups such as any interested party, anyone who has received the offer, or anyone involved in the discussion do not inherently possess the authority to accept an offer unless they have been specifically approved to do so. Therefore, recognizing the importance of authorization helps clarify who can legitimately accept an offer and thereby form contracts within the bounds of law.