# Temporarily out of service (TOS)

> Temporarily out of service (TOS) means the deliberate cessation of a system's operation lasting a predetermined period

**Term:** Temporarily out of service (TOS)  
**Last updated:** 2026-07-29

## Definition

## What Temporarily out of service (TOS) Means in a Contract

Temporarily out of service (TOS) describes a deliberate, planned cessation of a system's, service's, or asset's normal operation for a set or estimated period. Unlike an accidental failure or an emergency shutdown, TOS is typically anticipated, scheduled, and communicated in advance under the terms of the agreement. It is a status label used to signal that the provider or operator has intentionally paused functionality, usually for a legitimate operational reason such as maintenance, testing, upgrades, or safety inspections.

The concept matters because contracts often distinguish between outages that count against a provider's performance obligations and those that do not. When a system is properly designated as temporarily out of service under agreed procedures, the downtime is frequently excluded from service credits, penalties, or breach determinations, provided the party followed the correct notice and process requirements set out in the contract.

This term commonly appears alongside related concepts such as scheduled maintenance windows, force majeure, and business continuity provisions, and it interacts closely with any <a href=.

## Context

### Relevant circumstances

- When a system, asset or facility is deliberately taken offline for a set period
- If service-level obligations need carve-outs for planned downtime
- Where contractual notice or remediation steps apply during a TOS window

### Relevant sectors

- Legal Services
- Business Services
- Commercial Contracts

## Relevant contract types

- [Certificate of Service](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/certificate-of-service)
- [Service Agreement](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/service-agreement)
- [Service Contract](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/service-contract)

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