A valid contract requires six essential elements in order to be legally binding: offer, acceptance, consideration, intention, capacity and legality. An offer is an expressed promise by one party that another party can accept, while acceptance is the voluntary assent to an agreement, offered by the other party. Consideration is what each of the parties receive under the agreement—essentially, each side must receive something of value from the deal. Intention is a mutual understanding that the contract is meant to create a legal responsibility; both parties must have this intent for the agreement to be valid. Capacity refers to all parties involved having the legal ability to understand and enter into the contract, while legality ensures that the terms of the agreement are not contrary to any laws or regulations. Without these six essential elements, a contract cannot be judged as valid under law.