The property owner's duty of care toward a licensee is which of the following compared to an invitee?

• A. Less than toward an invitee
• B. More than toward an invitee
• C. Exactly the same as toward an invitee
• D. Nonexistent toward licensees

Answer: (A)

Understanding premises liability starts with the different visitor statuses. An invitee is someone invited onto the property for a business purpose or as a member of the public; the owner must exercise the highest duty of care toward invitees—keep the premises reasonably safe, inspect for hazards, and warn of known dangers that invitees wouldn’t discover on their own.

A licensee, by contrast, is a guest on the property for non-business purposes, with the owner’s permission. The owner’s duty to a licensee is lower: avoid creating dangerous conditions, warn about known dangers that the licensee might not notice, and not be required to inspect for hazards the licensee could discover themselves. Because of this reduced obligation, the duty toward a licensee is less than the duty toward an invitee.

That’s why the correct answer indicates a lesser duty toward licensees. The other options don’t fit because the owner does have a duty to licensees, just not as strong as for invitees, and the duty is not nonexistent or equal to that owed to invitees.