Definition
The act or point of beginning; in legal usage, the moment at which a legal proceeding, right, obligation, or instrument takes effect or is treated as having been initiated.
The term carries distinct meanings depending on context:
1. Commencement of an action. The procedural step that marks the formal beginning of a lawsuit. In common law practice, an action was commenced by the issuance of original process — that is, the writ by which a defendant was summoned to answer. Under modern code pleading and rules-based systems, commencement is typically defined by the filing of a complaint or petition with the court, though some jurisdictions treat service of process as the operative moment. The distinction matters critically for limitations purposes.
2. Commencement of a statute or instrument. The date on which a legislative act, contract, lease, or other legal instrument becomes operative. A statute may be enacted on one date but commence — that is, take legal effect — on a later specified date. Similarly, a lease or deed may recite a commencement date distinct from the date of execution.
3. Commencement of title or interest. The point at which an estate, interest, or right is deemed to begin running, particularly relevant in property law when analyzing future interests, remainders, and the operation of the Rule Against Perpetuities.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): The beginning or start of something; the act of commencing. Also used for graduation ceremonies at universities and schools.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): The act or fact of commencing; rise; origin; beginning; start. Also, in American usage, the day when degrees are conferred at colleges.
The ordinary sense is simply "beginning," and legal usage does not depart from that core meaning. What differs is precision: law fixes commencement to a specific act or event with procedural and substantive consequences — particularly for statutes of limitations, vesting of rights, and court jurisdiction. The common usage is descriptive; the legal usage is operative.
Common Confusion
Commencement vs. accrual. These are related but distinct. A cause of action accrues when the plaintiff has a complete and enforceable claim — typically when the injury occurs or is discovered. An action commences when the plaintiff takes the procedural step of filing or serving process. A limitations period begins to run at accrual, not at commencement; commencement is what stops it. Researchers conflating the two will misread whether a claim is timely.
Commencement vs. filing vs. service. In federal practice under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, an action is commenced by filing a complaint. In some state systems, service of process is the operative act of commencement. These are not interchangeable, and historical sources often reflect the older service-based rule without flagging the divergence from modern filing-based systems.
Why It Matters in Research
The practical stakes of commencement are highest in limitations research. Whether a plaintiff has beaten a statute of limitations depends entirely on when the action commenced — and the answer varies by jurisdiction and era. Researchers using historical sources must be alert to the fact that pre-code practice generally tied commencement to issuance of the writ or service of process, not to filing. A researcher applying that rule to a modern filing-based jurisdiction will reach a wrong conclusion.
For transactional research — leases, contracts, regulatory compliance — the commencement date of an instrument may govern rent obligations, option periods, notice requirements, and default calculations. Commencement as used in a lease is a term of art that often differs from the execution date, the possession date, and the rent commencement date, all of which may be defined separately in the same document.
In statutory construction, the commencement date of legislation determines which version of the law governs a dispute. Retroactivity analysis begins here. Researchers working with historical statutes should check whether a commencement date was separately proclaimed, as was common in nineteenth-century English and American practice for acts passed in one session but deferred in effect.
The term also appears in equity practice, where commencement of a suit in equity had its own procedural markers distinct from actions at law — a distinction that collapses under merged civil procedure but resurfaces in historical materials.
Historical Dictionary Support
Rapalje & Lawrence define commencement of an action as the point at which original process issues — consistent with the writ-based common law model that prevailed at the time of the dictionary's publication in 1883. The entry is spare but accurate for its era. What it does not address — because it could not — is the transformation wrought by code pleading, which was already underway in many American states by the time of publication, and which would ultimately shift the operative moment of commencement from service to filing in most American jurisdictions.
Historical dictionaries generally treat commencement as a procedural term and give less attention to its role in property law (commencement of estates and future interests) or its transactional significance. Researchers should not rely on historical dictionary entries alone for property or contract contexts; treatise sources on estates and on contract drafting will be more instructive there.
Jurisdictional Note
In federal court, commencement is defined by Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: a civil action is commenced by filing a complaint. Many state courts follow this rule, but a significant minority — and most historical American jurisdictions — treated commencement as occurring upon issuance or service of process. Researchers analyzing limitations questions in state court, particularly pre-twentieth-century cases, must confirm the jurisdiction's operative rule before characterizing when an action commenced.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia — Civil Procedure (commencement of actions, original process, filing requirements); Limitations of Actions (accrual distinguished from commencement, tolling and filing rules).