In contracts, is there a difference between "entered into by", "entered into between" and "entered into by and between"?

Question

In contracts and agreements, there is generally a sentence at the beginning stating who the contract/agreement applies to. I have found that this sentence may be phrased in three main ways:

1. This agreement is entered into by NAME and NAME
2. This agreement is entered into between NAME and NAME
3. This agreement is entered into by and between NAME and NAME

Now I'm wondering if these are just three ways of saying the same thing, or whether there's a difference between them in terms of meaning/how they are used.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Those are just three ways of saying the same thing, there is no legal difference. One could also say:

• The parties to this agreement are NameA and NameB.
• This agreement is entered into among NameA, NameB, and Name C.
• NameA and NameB have entered into this agreement as of {date}.

All these have the same legal effect, to list the parties to the agreement, and in some cases the date of the agreement. This choice is one of style and habit, the drafter probably following a model that in turn followed an earlier model with no particular thought of why one possible form was used rather than another with the same meaning.