Grace period

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A grace period is a period immediately after the deadline for an obligation during which a late fee, or other action that would have been taken as a result of failing to meet the deadline, is waived provided that the obligation is satisfied during the grace period. In other words, it is a length of time during which rules or penalties are waived or deferred. Grace periods can range from a number of minutes to a number of days or longer, and can apply in situations including arrival at a job, paying a bill, or meeting a government or legal requirement.

In law, a grace period is a time period during which a particular rule exceptionally does not apply, or only partially applies. For the grace period in patent law, see novelty (patent).

In games (video and real life), a grace period is the time after a respawn in which a player cannot be hit or killed – they are 'safe' for a short time so that they will not die repeatedly, which would lead to loss of enjoyment and excessive lag.