invitee

An invitee is a person who has been invited to enter a place or participate in an event. In general usage, invitees have express or implicit permission to be present at a location or, in the case of events, to attend.

In many common-law jurisdictions, the term conveys a specific legal meaning in tort law. An invitee is someone who enters land for purposes connected with the owner's interests or for a public purpose. The owner owes invitees a higher duty of care than to licensees or trespassers, including ensuring the premises are reasonably safe and warning of or remedying hazards that are known or should be discovered through reasonable inspection.

Within that framework, there are two main subcategories: public invitees and business (or invitee) invitees. A public invitee is a member of the general public who enters for a purpose intended to benefit the public or the owner's business (for example, a customer in a store or a library patron). A business invitee is one entering for business purposes related to the owner's interests (for example, a prospective customer, vendor, or contractor). In both cases, the duty generally includes expectable steps such as monitoring the premises for hazards, repairing dangerous conditions, or providing adequate warnings.

By contrast, a licensee is someone invited for their own purposes with whom the owner has a lesser duty, typically to warn of known hazards. A trespasser has no permission to be on the property, and the owner's duties are limited accordingly.

The term derives from the verb invite, with the suffix -ee indicating a person who receives the action.