Reviewed by Casa Academy and updated July 29, 2026 using the current DBPR checklist and Pearson VUE scheduling guidance.

Executed Contracts

An executed contract is a fully performed agreement in which all parties have done everything required, such as a sale where the deed is delivered, purchase price paid, and possession transferred, as opposed to an executory contract with duties still outstanding.

Exam context

Distinguish executed (fully performed) from executory (outstanding duties). A ratified offer is binding but executory until closing. Bilateral contracts exchange promises; unilateral contracts accept performance as acceptance.

Executed vs executory

A signed purchase agreement is often executory because closing tasks remain. After closing the same contract becomes executed because performance is complete. Exams sometimes use executed loosely to mean signed; read context: fully performed vs merely agreed.

Legal effects at execution

Even executory contracts bind parties to close unless contingencies fail. Either party may sue for specific performance while the contract is executory. Recorded deeds and paid consideration mark the shift to executed status in conveyance questions.

Examples

  • After closing

    Buyer and seller complete settlement, record the deed, and hand over keys. The purchase contract is executed because both sides fulfilled material obligations.

  • Pending contingency

    Parties sign a financing contingency contract. It is executory while the buyer seeks loan approval and becomes executed only after performance at closing.

Keep studying

Related terms

Related resources

Sources