Legal Definitions - acting officer

An acting officer is a person who temporarily performs the duties of an office but has no claim of title to the office. This term is often used in public affairs to refer to a person holding public office under a national, state, or local government, and authorized by that government to exercise some specific function.

For example, when the current CEO of a corporation is on leave, the board of directors may appoint an acting CEO to manage the daily operations of the corporation until the current CEO returns. In this case, the acting CEO is performing the duties of the CEO but does not hold the title of CEO.

Another example is when a judge is unable to preside over a case, an acting judge may be appointed to temporarily perform the duties of the judge. In this case, the acting judge is performing the duties of a judge but does not hold the title of judge.