If you run a speedway, martial arts school, equipment rental, farm attraction or adventure park in Arkansas, this guide is for you. It covers whether electronic signatures count in Arkansas, how Arkansas courts decide whether a liability waiver is enforceable, the open question for minors, and two activity laws that call for written warnings.
This guide is general information about Arkansas law, with links to the statutes and cases, so you and your attorney can look into anything that applies to your business.
The short answer. Arkansas courts have enforced clear releases for recreation and rentals, weighing what the signer knew, whether they benefited from the activity, and whether the agreement was fairly made. Electronic signatures count the same as ink. Courts there read waivers strictly, and no Arkansas appellate court has decided whether a parent can waive a child's injury claims.
Waiver Law in Arkansas at a Glance
| Electronic signatures | Valid. Arkansas UETA, Ark. Code Ann. 25-32-101 et seq. (see 25-32-107), plus federal ESIGN. |
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| Waivers of negligence | Enforced when they clearly set out the negligence released and meet the knowledge, benefit and fairness factors (Plant v. Wilbur, 2001; Jordan v. Diamond Equipment, 2005). Courts disfavor them and construe them strictly. |
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| Activity laws to know | Equine and livestock activities (Ark. Code Ann. 16-120-201 et seq., warning signs); agritourism (Title 2, Chapter 11, warning signs and a warning in written contracts). |
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| Gross negligence and intentional harm | Not squarely decided by an Arkansas appellate court in the sources we reviewed. Arkansas activity statutes exclude willful, wanton and intentional conduct. |
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| Parents signing for minors | Unsettled. No Arkansas statute of general application or appellate ruling found. |
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Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Arkansas?
Yes. Arkansas adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act at Ark. Code Ann. 25-32-101 and following. Section 25-32-107 provides that a record or signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic, and that if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies it. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001) covers interstate transactions the same way. A waiver signed on a phone or tablet counts as signed, with the same weight as the paper version.
Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in Arkansas?
They can be, though Arkansas starts from skepticism. In Plant v. Wilbur (Ark. 2001), the Arkansas Supreme Court said it "has long stated a strong disfavor for exculpatory contracts" because of the public policy of encouraging care, and that such contracts "are to be strictly construed against the party relying on them." At the same time, it has "never ruled that such contracts are invalid per se," and a contract can avoid liability for negligence if it "at least clearly set[s] out what negligent liability is to be avoided."
Plant was the court's first case involving a dangerous recreational activity. A man injured in the pit area of a speedway had signed a release. The court upheld it, taking a "total transaction" approach that looked at the circumstances as well as the words: Plant was a regular at races, had signed the same form at least a dozen times, was not forced to sign, knew the dangers, and the form put key words like "releases," "discharges" and "covenants not to sue" in bold and mentioned negligence in three places. Two justices dissented.
In Jordan v. Diamond Equipment & Supply Co. (Ark. 2005), the court applied factors from an earlier case, Finagin v. Arkansas Development Finance Authority (2003). An exculpatory clause may be enforced:
- when the party is knowledgeable of the potential liability that is released;
- when the party is benefiting from the activity that may lead to the potential liability; and
- when the contract containing the clause was fairly entered into.
Jordan upheld a clause in an equipment rental agreement, noting the customer had initialed a statement that he received safety instructions and initialed and signed lines referring him to the waiver on the back of the form.
The word "negligence" helps but has not always been required. In Trujillo v. TK Martial Arts Academy, LLC (Ark. Ct. App. 2015), the court enforced a martial arts school's release that did not use the word "negligence" because it released "all claims from injuries, including death, damages, and losses" arising from participation in the school's programs, which clearly set out the liability being avoided.
Gross Negligence and Intentional Harm
We did not find an Arkansas appellate decision squarely deciding whether a waiver can bar claims for gross negligence or willful or intentional conduct. The Arkansas equine statute itself excludes willful or wanton disregard for safety and intentional injury, and a business shouldn't count on a waiver to cover that kind of conduct.
Waivers for Minors in Arkansas
This question is open in Arkansas. We found no Arkansas statute that generally allows a parent to waive a child's future injury claims, and no Arkansas appellate decision deciding it either way. An Arkansas injury lawyer writing on the topic points out that an injury claim belongs to the child and that Arkansas courts already construe waivers strictly, which makes enforcement against a child uncertain. Many states without a statute have refused to enforce parent-signed waivers for commercial activities.
A parent's form still does useful work: it's the record that the parent was told about the risks and rules and approved the child taking part.
Arkansas Activity Laws
- Equine and livestock activities (Ark. Code Ann. 16-120-201 et seq.). Sponsors are not liable for injuries resulting from the inherent risks of equine or livestock activities, with exceptions for faulty tack, failing to assess a rider's ability, known latent dangers without posted warnings, willful or wanton disregard for safety, and intentional injury. Sponsors must post signs with the statutory "WARNING" notice in black letters at least one inch high on or near stables, corrals or arenas.
- Agritourism (Ark. Code Ann. Title 2, Chapter 11). Under 2-11-107, operators must post the statutory warning at or near the main entrance in black letters at least one inch high, post signs for specific known hazards, and include the same warning in clearly visible print in a written contract with each participant.
More Than a Release
A signed agreement does other work for Arkansas businesses too:
- A record of what the guest knew. Arkansas's test asks whether the signer was knowledgeable of the liability released. In Plant, the court counted the dozen times the plaintiff had signed the same form; in Jordan, it pointed to the customer's initialed statement that he received safety instructions. A dated record of each signing and acknowledgment is evidence of that knowledge, and how much it matters depends on the facts.
- The agritourism contract warning. Section 2-11-107 calls for the statutory warning in a written contract with each participant, so the agreement guests sign is a natural place for it. The posted signs are required too.
- Rules, equipment and medical information. The form is where guests accept your rules and rental terms, and where you collect health conditions, emergency contacts, parent consent and photo consent.
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:
- What negligence is released. Plant and Trujillo both turned on whether the release clearly set out the liability being avoided.
- Knowledge of the risk. The courts looked at past participation and safety instructions.
- Visible terms. The court in Plant noted bold release words, and in Jordan initialed acknowledgments.
- A fair, voluntary signing. No pressure to sign, for an activity the guest chose.
- Statutory warnings for equine and agritourism operators, in the exact form the statutes describe.
How WaiverFile Helps Arkansas 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.
- Initialed acknowledgments. Add initial boxes inside the agreement text and required checkboxes for the risks, rules and clauses you choose.
- A record of each signing. Each signed waiver stores the signature, the answers to your questions (including experience or safety-briefing questions), and the date and time, plus the IP address and device for online signing.
- Families 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.
- Medical questions. Required questions collect health conditions and emergency contacts. HIPAA features add extra protection for health information.
- Sign anywhere. Guests sign ahead by email, text, QR code or your website, or on a tablet on-site, and the Venue app works offline. Waivers are built into online booking, with each guest's status at check-in.
- Records you can produce. Search any waiver in seconds, email signers a copy, or download waivers in bulk as a ZIP file for any date range.
Try one of our free waiver templates, review it with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.
Sources and Further Reading
General information, not legal advice. WaiverFile is not a law firm, and this article is not legal advice. Laws change and courts decide each case on its own facts, so have a local attorney review your waiver.
Published November 4, 2026