Force majeure clause

A contract provision excusing one or both parties from performance obligations when extraordinary events outside their control — natural disasters, war, government action — make performance impossible.

Example

A contract's force majeure clause allows an agency to delay delivery without penalty when a regional internet outage makes it impossible to access client systems for a week.

Why it matters for agencies

Not directly related to scope management, but a standard MSA clause worth knowing alongside the others — it addresses timeline disruption from external events, as distinct from timeline disruption caused by scope changes, which is handled through the change order process instead.