Get permission slips signed online

What a permission slip is for

A permission slip records that a parent or guardian knows about an activity outside normal school routine and agrees to their child taking part: a museum trip, an overnight residential, a sports fixture, a swimming lesson. It also gathers the information staff need on the day.

It is not usually a contract, and in most places it does not stop the school being liable if staff are negligent. Its job is informed consent and good records.

What to include

A good slip fits on one page, and every field on it is used by someone on the day.

• Date, times, destination and transport.
• What the activity involves, and any higher-risk elements such as water or climbing.
• Cost, if any, and how to pay.
• Supervision ratio and the trip leader's name.
• Consent to emergency medical treatment if a parent cannot be reached.
• Medical conditions, allergies and medication the child will carry.
• Emergency contact numbers for the day.
• Photo consent, if photos will be taken and shared.

Do schools accept e-signed permission slips?

Most do. In England, the Department for Education's guidance on educational visits leaves consent arrangements to schools, and many already use electronic consent through their parent apps. US districts set their own policies, and many accept electronic signatures for routine trips. Some ask for a wet signature for overnight or overseas trips, so check before switching.

This is general information, not legal advice. Where the slip also contains a liability waiver, the limits on waivers covered on our liability waiver page apply.

Why it helps busy parents and staff

Paper slips get lost in bags, and chasing them takes a teacher's time in the week before the trip. With an email link, parents sign on their phone in a minute, and the teacher can see who has signed and send reminders to those who have not.

The signed copy includes the medical notes and emergency contacts the parent entered, so the trip leader can download the set before leaving.

Where Sign PDF fits, and where it does not

Sign PDF sends each slip to one named parent by email; there is no bulk send or class-wide link. For a class of 30 that means 30 sends, and each send counts as a document. The Full plan at $10 a month has unlimited documents and lets you save the slip as a template, so it is practical for a single teacher or a small school.

A whole district handling thousands of slips a term will be better served by a school communications platform with consent forms built in.

Sending a slip with Sign PDF

Upload the slip as Word or PDF, or photograph a printed one. Sign PDF places the parent signature and date boxes, and keeps any fields already in a PDF form. Ask the assistant to 'add a checkbox for emergency medical treatment' or 'add a text box for allergies'.

Parents confirm a code from their email and sign in the browser. The completed PDF has a certificate with the time they signed.