Are Online Waivers Legal in Arizona?

In Arizona, a signed waiver usually won't end a lawsuit early. The state constitution says the defense of assumption of risk is always for the jury, and the Arizona Supreme Court has held that includes the kind in a signed waiver. Arizona does allow releases of negligence, though, and a waiver remains a defense the jury can find bars the claim. Several Arizona statutes also give effect to a signed release, covering horseback riding, closed-course motor sports, ski areas and Grand Canyon river trips. And the agreement records the risks, rules and health information that matter if anything goes wrong. This guide covers each of these for Arizona raceways, climbing gyms, trail rides, tours, trampoline parks and events, and how Arizona treats injury releases.

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

What a Signed Waiver Does in Arizona

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Arizona?

Yes. Arizona's electronic transactions law is in A.R.S. 44-7001 and following. Section 44-7007 says a record or signature can't be denied legal effect and enforceability solely because it is electronic, and that an electronic signature satisfies any law that requires a signature. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.) says the same for transactions in interstate commerce. A waiver signed on a phone, computer or tablet counts as signed, with the same weight as paper.

What a Signed Waiver Does for Arizona Businesses

It's a Defense the Jury Can Accept

In Benjamin v. Gear Roller Hockey Equipment, Inc., 198 Ariz. 462 (App. 2000), the Court of Appeals said that, absent a public policy to the contrary, "Arizona allows parties to agree in advance that one party shall not be liable to the other for negligence," and it upheld a release that expressly covered injuries "caused or alleged to be caused in whole or in part by the negligence of the releasee." Five years later, in Phelps v. Firebird Raceway, Inc., 210 Ariz. 403 (2005), the Arizona Supreme Court held that the jury, not the judge, decides whether a waiver's express assumption of risk bars the claim. The court said the business is entitled to have the jury instructed on the enforceability of contracts, with the final decision left to the jury.

So in Arizona, a signed waiver is evidence a jury weighs: what the guest was told, what they agreed to, and that they chose to take part anyway. How much it matters depends on the facts and on the jury.

It Qualifies You for Arizona's Equine Protection

Under A.R.S. 12-553, an equine owner or agent isn't liable for injury to a person it allows to take control of a horse if four conditions are met: the person has taken control of the horse; the person, "or the parent or legal guardian of the person if the person is under eighteen years of age," signed a release before taking control; the tack was properly installed (or the rider used their own); and the rider was assigned a suitable horse based on a reasonable reading of what they said about their skills, health and experience. The statute defines a "release" as a signed document acknowledging the inherent risks of equine activities, accepting responsibility for one's own safety, and releasing the owner except for gross negligence or willful, wanton or intentional acts.

In Lindsay v. Cave Creek Outfitters, L.L.C., 207 Ariz. 487 (App. 2003), decided before Phelps, the Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment for a trail-ride outfitter that met all four conditions; the rider had only glanced at the release, and the court said the statute doesn't require that riders be given time to read it. In a 2021 unpublished decision, Gruver v. Wild Western Horseback Adventures, the court again described 12-553 as releasing ordinary negligence claims when its conditions are met, but reversed summary judgment because the form the riders signed didn't release the owner's negligence at all. It preserved claims for the owner's negligence, so it wasn't a "release" under the statute.

It Fits Arizona's Other Release Statutes

• Closed-course motor sports (A.R.S. 12-556). A facility isn't liable to a "nongeneral spectator" (someone allowed into designated areas closed to general spectators) who signed a motor sport liability release form and was hurt in that area, unless the injury results from intentional misconduct or gross negligence. The form must be in at least eight-point type.
• Ski areas (A.R.S. 5-706). If the operator proves the skier signed a valid release, "the ski area operator's liability shall be determined by the terms of the release."
• Grand Canyon river trips (A.R.S. 12-558.04). A person may voluntarily release a commercial river outfitter from liability for injury on a river trip in Grand Canyon National Park, with exceptions for gross negligence, willful or intentional acts, and hazards the outfitter knew or should have known about and didn't disclose.

We found no Arizona Supreme Court decision on how these statutes interact with the constitutional jury rule. It's a good question for your attorney.

It Records the Guest's Own Responsibilities

Arizona uses comparative fault. Under A.R.S. 12-2505, a claimant's damages are reduced in proportion to their own fault, and the jury decides the defenses of contributory negligence and assumption of risk. Your agreement is where guests accept your rules: age and height limits, required gear, following staff instructions, no alcohol. If a guest ignores them, the signed rules are evidence of what they agreed to do.

It Collects Medical Information and Consent

A signed form is where you collect health conditions, allergies, riding or driving experience, emergency contacts, consent to emergency treatment and photo consent, before anyone takes part. For horseback riding, what riders say about their skills and health is part of how you assign a suitable horse under 12-553.

How Arizona Treats Injury Releases

Two rules work together. First, Arizona courts look on releases of negligence with disfavor and "construe the limiting language of a release strictly against the party relying upon it" (Benjamin). In an earlier case discussed in Benjamin, Sirek v. Fairfield Snowbowl, a rental agreement that didn't clearly and explicitly cover the business's own negligence was read as not applying to negligence claims.

Second, Article 18, Section 5 of the Arizona Constitution says: "The defense of contributory negligence or of assumption of risk shall, in all cases whatsoever, be a question of fact and shall, at all times, be left to the jury." In Phelps, a professional driver hurt in a crash had signed a release and waiver before the race, and the trial court dismissed his case on summary judgment. A divided Arizona Supreme Court reversed, holding that the provision covers express contractual assumption of risk. The jury "is free to find in favor of the plaintiff" even where a court would otherwise find the risk was assumed. In practice, a business should expect a contested waiver defense to go to trial.

The jury rule is about defenses that bar recovery entirely. In 1800 Ocotillo, LLC v. WLB Group, Inc., 219 Ariz. 200 (2008), a commercial surveying dispute, the Arizona Supreme Court held that a clause that only capped damages was not assumption of risk and didn't have to go to a jury. That case didn't involve personal injury.

The release statutes above all exclude gross negligence and willful, wanton or intentional conduct, and we found no Arizona appellate decision enforcing a release of gross negligence. On minors, the equine statute expressly accepts a parent's signature, but we found no Arizona statute of general application or appellate decision on whether a parent can waive a child's claims for other activities. A parent's signature still records consent, the risks the parent was told about, and medical and emergency details.

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 statutes and cases above, these are points worth raising when preparing an Arizona agreement:

• Plain language that the release covers the business's own negligence. The courts in Benjamin and Sirek turned on whether it did.
• For horseback riding, the elements of a "release" under 12-553. The form in Gruver failed because it preserved claims for the owner's negligence.
• Statutory formats where they apply, such as eight-point type for motor sport release forms.
• A plain description of the activity's specific risks and your rules, with the guest acknowledging each, since a jury will be weighing what the guest knew.
• Whether a damages cap or other terms make sense for your business in light of 1800 Ocotillo.
• A clear record of who signed, when, and which version of the form they saw.

How WaiverFile Helps Arizona 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 agreement text you and your attorney prepared, and use the editor's formatting options (bold, capitals, font size) to lay it out the way it was written. The wording and format are up to you.
• A checkbox or initials where you want them. Add initial boxes inside the agreement text and required checkboxes for the risks, rules and clauses you choose, so each one has its own acknowledgment.
• A record of what was signed. Each signed form stores the signature, the answers, and the date and time, plus the IP address and device for online signing. Add a photo of each signer or their ID if you like.
• Experience and medical questions. Required questions capture riding experience, health conditions and emergency contacts before guests arrive. HIPAA features add extra protection for health information.
• Families on one form. A parent adds each child by name and date of birth, and minors are flagged at check-in.
• Sign anywhere. Guests sign ahead by email, text, QR code or your website, or on a tablet at the door, and the Venue app works offline. Waivers are built into online booking, so you see each guest's status at check-in.
• Records you can produce. Search any waiver in seconds, or download them in bulk as a ZIP file for any date range.

Start with one of our free waiver templates, adapt it for Arizona with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• A.R.S. 44-7007 (Arizona Electronic Transactions Act, electronic signatures)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• Arizona Constitution, Article 18, Section 5
• A.R.S. 12-2505 (comparative negligence)
• Phelps v. Firebird Raceway, Inc., 210 Ariz. 403, 111 P.3d 1003 (2005)
• Benjamin v. Gear Roller Hockey Equipment, Inc., 198 Ariz. 462, 11 P.3d 421 (App. 2000)
• 1800 Ocotillo, LLC v. WLB Group, Inc., 219 Ariz. 200, 196 P.3d 222 (2008)
• A.R.S. 12-553 (equine owners and facilities)
• Lindsay v. Cave Creek Outfitters, L.L.C., 207 Ariz. 487, 88 P.3d 557 (App. 2003)
• Gruver v. Wild Western Horseback Adventures LLC, No. 1 CA-CV 20-0566 (Ariz. App. Aug. 17, 2021) (memorandum decision)
• A.R.S. 12-556 (closed-course motor sport facilities)
• A.R.S. 5-706 (ski areas, release of liability)
• A.R.S. 12-558.04 (commercial river outfitters, Grand Canyon)

Published November 4, 2026