# Legal meaning of "should" vs "shall"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-meaning-of-should-vs-shall/551394>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 25, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-meaning-of-should-vs-shall/551394 "2010-08-25T13:55:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![spikebrennan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@spikebrennan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spikebrennan)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-meaning-of-should-vs-shall/551394/41 "2011-12-21T20:56:57Z")

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I’m a lawyer in the United States.

In a well-drafted legal document, “shall” means “has a duty to”, and “should” generally means something like “ought to (but there’s no particular penalty for failing to)”.

Not that all documents that use those words do so correctly.

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