An obligation can be legal or moral. There are also obligations in other normative realms: obligations of etiquette, social obligations, the "obligation" to spell words correctly, imposed by norms of standard spelling, etc.

In terms of politics, obligations are requirements that it is necessary to fulfil. These are generally in the form of legal obligations, which incur a penalty for lack of fulfilment, although certain people are obligated to carry out certain actions for other reasons as well, which can be due to tradition or social reasons. Obligations vary from person to person, for example, a monarch will generally have far more obligations than a regular adult citizen, who themselves will have more obligations than a child. Obligations are generally granted in return for an increase in an individual’s rights or power.

Common legal obligations for citizens include the need to participate as a juror if called upon and pay taxes, which is granted in return for the right to participate in the electoral process and the financial and physical protection by the state. Another example is the obligation to participate in a census every ten years, which, like many legal obligations, often carries a heavy fine if not completed.

The obligations for heads of state such as politicians and monarchs are generally much more prolific. One example of this is the queen’s numerous obligations in comparison to other citizens.