Get a liability waiver signed online

What a waiver does, and what it cannot do

A liability waiver, or release, asks a participant to accept the risks of an activity and give up the right to sue for injuries those risks cause. Gyms, climbing walls, trampoline parks, tour operators, equipment hire firms and event organisers use them.

A waiver is not a force field. Its real value is often as evidence that the participant was told about the risks, which supports an 'assumption of risk' defence even where the release itself fails.

Where waivers fail

This is general information, not legal advice. Have a lawyer in your state or country write the waiver; that matters far more than how it is signed.

• UK: section 2(1) of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 says a business cannot exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence. Section 65 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says the same for consumer contracts. A UK waiver cannot do what many people assume it does.
• US: rules vary by state. Most states enforce clear releases of ordinary negligence for recreational activities, but not of gross negligence or intentional harm. Louisiana and Virginia largely refuse to enforce pre-injury releases of personal injury claims.
• Minors: many US states will not enforce a parent's waiver of a child's own injury claims, though some do, particularly for non-profit or community activities.
• Unclear drafting: courts read waivers strictly against the business. Releases buried in small print, or that never mention negligence, often fail.

Writing a waiver people will actually read

Use a clear heading such as 'Release of liability: please read'. List the specific risks of your activity: falls, equipment failure, collisions, weather. Ask for initials beside the assumption of risk paragraph and the release paragraph, so the participant cannot later say they never saw them.

Add health questions and emergency contacts if relevant, and a statement that the participant is over 18 or that a guardian is signing.

Signing before arrival

The best time to sign is before the participant arrives, when they have time to read. Send the waiver by email when the booking is made and set an expiry date for the day of the activity. Signing on a tablet at a busy front desk produces weaker evidence that anyone read anything.

Sign PDF sends each waiver to one named person by email. If you have walk-in customers in large numbers, a kiosk waiver product or a web form tool will suit you better; we have no public form link or kiosk mode.

How to send a waiver with Sign PDF

Upload the waiver, and Sign PDF places signature, date and printed name boxes. Use the assistant for 'participant initials beside paragraphs 3 and 4' and 'add a parent signature for minors'. Existing checkboxes in a PDF form are kept.

The participant confirms a code from their email and signs on their phone. The certificate of completion records when they opened the document and when they signed, which helps show they had the chance to read it. The sealed PDF cannot be altered without the seal breaking.