Actual notice is a law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 term, used most frequently in civil procedure

Civil procedure

Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...

. It is notice (usually to a defendant in a civil proceeding) delivered in such a way as to give legally sufficient assurance that actual knowledge of the matter has been conveyed to the recipient. Personal service, that is, physically handing something to an individual, is usually considered the least-disputable method of giving actual notice.

Actual notice may be contrasted with constructive notice

Constructive notice

Constructive notice also known as the Doctrine of Constructive Notice is a legal fiction used in the law of both common law and civil law systems to signify that a person or entity is legally presumed to have knowledge of something, even if they have no actual knowledge of it.-Intellectual...

, which is a way of giving notice that may not immediately bring the matter to the attention of the individual that is intended to receive the notice. Constructive notice includes, among other methods, service on an agent or family member, service by posting (on the front door), and service by publication (as in a newspaper).