Are Online Waivers Legal in Alaska?

Alaska businesses run some of the most adventurous activities in the country: rafting, glacier tours, climbing, flightseeing, mushing and backcountry skiing. This guide explains how Alaska law treats electronic signatures, what the Alaska Supreme Court has looked for in the liability waivers it enforced, and Alaska's statute on parents signing for their children.

This guide is general information about Alaska law, with links to the statutes and cases, so you and your attorney can look into anything that applies to your business.

Waiver Law in Alaska at a Glance

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Alaska?

Yes. Alaska's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (AS 09.80) provides in AS 09.80.040 that a record or signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic, and that an electronic signature satisfies a law requiring a signature. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001) adds the same protection for interstate transactions. That matters in Alaska in particular, since the parental waiver statute requires the waiver to be "in writing" and "signed by the child's parent." Under UETA, an electronic record and signature satisfy those requirements.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in Alaska?

Yes, and the Alaska Supreme Court has been clear about why. In Donahue v. Ledgends, Inc. (Alaska 2014), it said recreational releases of negligence are not void as against public policy, explaining that holding otherwise "would impose unreasonable burdens on businesses whose patrons want to engage in high-risk physical activities." It enforced a climbing gym's release against a climber injured in a fall. In Langlois v. Nova River Runners (Alaska 2018), an unpublished decision, the court applied the same standards and enforced a rafting company's release in a drowning case, noting the release clearly and repeatedly disclosed the risk of drowning.

Alaska is also one of the stricter states on wording. The standard comes from Kissick v. Schmierer (Alaska 1991): ambiguities are resolved against the business, and "to be enforced the intent to release a party from liability for future negligence must be conspicuously and unequivocally expressed." Releases failed this test in Kissick (a covenant not to sue signed before a plane flight), in Moore v. Hartley Motors (Alaska 2001, an ATV safety class), and in Ledgends, Inc. v. Kerr (Alaska 2004, the same climbing gym later involved in Donahue).

In Donahue, the court gathered the characteristics of a valid release from its earlier cases:

1. The risk being waived must be specifically and clearly set forth (for example death, bodily injury and property damage).
2. A waiver of negligence must be specifically set forth using the word "negligence."
3. These points must be brought home to the signer in clear, emphasized language, using simple words and capital letters.
4. The release must not violate public policy.
5. If the release covers negligence unrelated to the inherent risks of the activity, it must suggest an intent to do so.
6. The release must not represent or insinuate standards of safety or maintenance.

The last point is the one that has caught businesses. In Kerr, the gym's release promised to try to keep the facility safe while also disclaiming liability, and the court read that inconsistency against the gym. In Moore, a release of the inherent risks of ATV riding carried an implied assumption that the course itself was not unreasonably dangerous, so it did not bar a claim about a hidden rock. The court also found in Moore that an optional ATV class was not an essential service, so the release did not violate public policy.

Gross Negligence, Recklessness and Intentional Harm

The parental waiver statute expressly says a parent may not waive a child's claim for reckless or intentional misconduct. For adults, we did not find an Alaska Supreme Court decision squarely deciding whether a release can cover gross negligence or recklessness, so a business shouldn't count on a waiver to reach that kind of conduct.

Waivers for Minors in Alaska

Alaska is one of the few states with a statute on this. Under AS 09.65.292, a parent may, on behalf of the parent's child, release or waive the child's prospective claim for negligence against the provider of a sports or recreational activity. The statute sets these conditions:

• the activities the waiver applies to are clearly and conspicuously set out in the written waiver,
• the waiver is otherwise valid (so the Kissick and Donahue standards still apply), and
• the waiver is in writing and signed by the child's parent.

"Parent" is defined broadly and includes a guardian, a person with a valid power of attorney concerning the child, and certain adult relatives the child lives with. The statute uses the definitions of "provider" and "sports or recreational activity" from AS 09.65.290, which lists activities such as mountain climbing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, fishing, mushing and off-road vehicle use, among others. A few things are carved out, including skiing at ski areas covered by the Alaska Ski Safety Act. A parent may not waive claims for reckless or intentional misconduct.

Alaska Activity Laws

• Sports and recreational activities (AS 09.65.290). A participant assumes the inherent risks of the activity. The statute does not apply to claims based on the provider's own negligence, and it says nothing in it conflicts with or makes ineffective a liability release agreement between a participant and a provider. The inherent-risk statute and a release work together.
• Alaska Ski Safety Act (AS 05.45). Sets duties for ski area operators and skiers, including required signs for tramways. Ski area skiing is handled under this act rather than the general recreation statute.

More Than a Release

A signed agreement does other work for Alaska businesses too:

• A record of the inherent risks. Under AS 09.65.290, participants assume the inherent risks of the activity. A form that describes those risks, with the guest's acknowledgment, is evidence of what they were told. How much it matters depends on the facts.
• The parent's written waiver. AS 09.65.292 only works through a written waiver signed by the parent that clearly sets out the activities, so the parent's form is the document the statute relies on.
• Experience, rules and medical information. The form is where guests confirm their experience, accept your rules, and give health conditions and emergency contacts, which matter on remote trips far from help.

Points to Raise With Your Attorney

WaiverFile doesn't draft waivers, and the wording of your agreement is a job for you and your attorney. Based on the cases and statutes above, these are points worth raising:

• The word "negligence." Donahue lists it among the characteristics of a valid release.
• Emphasis. The court looked for clear, emphasized language, simple words and capital letters.
• Specific risks. The releases enforced in Donahue and Langlois described the very way the plaintiff was hurt: a fall, and drowning.
• Safety promises. The court in Kerr faulted a release that also promised to keep the facility safe.
• For minors, a clear list of activities and a parent's signature, as AS 09.65.292 requires.

How WaiverFile Helps Alaska Businesses

Once your agreement is written, WaiverFile makes it easy for every guest to sign it and keeps a complete, easy-to-find record of each one:

• Your agreement, laid out your way. Add the text you and your attorney prepared and use the editor's formatting options (bold, capitals, font size) to lay it out as written.
• Acknowledgments where you want them. Add initial boxes inside the agreement text and required checkboxes for the risks, rules and clauses you choose.
• Parents and children on one form. A parent or guardian signs for themselves and their children, adding each child by name and date of birth. Minors are flagged at check-in.
• A record of each signing. Every signed waiver stores the signature, the answers, and the date and time, plus the IP address and device for online signing.
• Experience and medical questions. Required questions capture experience, health conditions and emergency contacts. HIPAA features add extra protection for health information.
• Works where the signal doesn't. Guests can sign before they arrive from their own phone or computer, or on a tablet on-site. The Venue app works offline at remote lodges, docks and trailheads, and waivers are built into online booking.
• Records you can produce. Search any waiver in seconds, email signers a copy, offer forms in multiple languages, or download waivers in bulk as a ZIP file for any date range.

Browse our free waiver templates, review one with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• AS 09.80.040 (Alaska Uniform Electronic Transactions Act)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• AS 09.65.292 (parental waiver of child's negligence claim)
• AS 09.65.290 (sports and recreational activities; inherent risks)
• Kissick v. Schmierer, 816 P.2d 188 (Alaska 1991)
• Moore v. Hartley Motors, Inc., 36 P.3d 628 (Alaska 2001)
• Ledgends, Inc. v. Kerr, 91 P.3d 960 (Alaska 2004)
• Donahue v. Ledgends, Inc., 331 P.3d 342 (Alaska 2014)
• Langlois v. Nova River Runners, Inc., No. S-16422 (Alaska Mar. 21, 2018) (memorandum opinion, not precedent)
• AS 05.45 (Alaska Ski Safety Act)

Published November 4, 2026