mandatory
man·da·to·ry / ˈmandəˌtôrē/ • adj. required by law or rules; compulsory: wearing helmets was made mandatory for cyclists. ∎ of or conveying a command: he did not want the guidelines to be mandatory.• n. (pl. -ries) variant spelling of mandatary.DERIVATIVES: man·da·to·ri·ly / -ˌtôrəlē/ adv.
Mandatory
MANDATORY
Peremptory; obligatory; required; that which must be subscribed to or obeyed.
Mandatory statutes are those that require, as opposed to permit, a particular course of action. Their language is characterized by such directive terms as "shall" as opposed to "may." A mandatory provision is one that must be observed, whereas a directory provision is optional.
An example of a mandatory provision is a law that provides that an election judge must endorse his or her initials on a ballot.