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Glossary

DisputesUpdated Sep 23, 2026

What Is a Jury Trial Waiver in a Contract?

A jury trial waiver is a clause in which the parties give up the right to have a dispute under the contract decided by a jury, so a court case would be heard by a judge alone. It may be printed in capital letters so that it stands out from the rest of the boilerplate.

Analyze my contract — freeFull mechanics: What Are the Most Common Risky Contract Clauses? (2026)

Why it matters

It changes how a dispute would be heard, not whether you can bring one. It sits among the boilerplate at the end, where it is easy to sign without noticing.

How common is it?

In the LexGLUE version of LEDGAR, a research set of 80,000 contract provisions from SEC filings, each labelled with one of 100 common provision types, 1,025 (1.28%) are labelled "Waiver Of Jury Trials". That is a share of provisions, not of contracts. It is the 23rd most common of the 100 provision types in this set.

These are provisions from contracts that public companies filed with the SEC — a reference point, not a rule for your contract.

Source: LEDGAR (Tuggener et al., 2020), LexGLUE version (Chalkidis et al., 2022), CC BY 4.0. Counts are ours.

What to watch for

  • A waiver that binds you but not the other side.
  • A waiver paired with a distant venue or a short deadline to bring claims.
  • Wording that reaches disputes beyond the contract itself.

A realistic example

A small supplier signs a distribution agreement without noticing a capitalized jury waiver. When a payment dispute reaches court, the case is heard by a judge alone.

What to ask for

  1. A mutual waiver, if one is included at all.
  2. A scope limited to disputes arising from this contract.

Related terms: arbitration clause · venue clause · governing law

Related guide: Most common risky contract clauses

See how the jury trial waiver reads in your contract — 👉 Analyze your contract free — your first analysis is free, no card, no deadline to use it.

Not legal advice. This is an educational definition of a common contract term. Details vary by jurisdiction — this page explains common U.S. usage. For high-stakes agreements, have a lawyer review the final version.