Are Online Waivers Legal in Illinois?

This guide is for Illinois trampoline parks, gyms, climbing walls, ski hills, stables, tour operators and event organizers. It covers whether online waivers are legal in Illinois, how Illinois courts treat liability releases, and why waivers for children work differently.

This guide is general information about Illinois 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 Illinois at a Glance

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Illinois?

Yes. Illinois used to be one of the few states without the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. That changed with Senate Bill 2176 (Public Act 102-0038), effective June 25, 2021, which enacted UETA and repealed the old Electronic Commerce Security Act. Under 815 ILCS 333/7, "a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form," and "if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law." The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001) adds the same protection for interstate transactions.

Illinois courts apply ordinary waiver rules to e-signed releases. In Barahona v. Snowstar Corp. (Ill. App. Ct. Sept. 19, 2025), the court affirmed summary judgment for a ski area based on an electronically signed waiver the skier accepted before renting equipment. That decision is an unpublished Rule 23 order, so it is not binding precedent, but it shows how these cases can go.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in Illinois?

Generally, yes, if they are well written. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld a horse rental release in Harris v. Walker (1988), noting that "public policy strongly favors freedom to contract." Exculpatory contracts are enforced unless enforcement would be against a settled public policy of the state, or something in the social relationship of the parties weighs against it. The same opinion warned that these clauses "are not favored and must be strictly construed against the benefitting party, particularly one who drafted the release."

Later appellate cases spell out the tests:

• Clear, explicit language. "General language is not sufficient"; the release "should be clear, explicit and unequivocal" so the signer knows the range of dangers being assumed (Cox v. US Fitness, LLC, 2013 IL App (1st) 122442).
• Foreseeable risks. "The precise occurrence that results in injury" need not have been contemplated, but the injury must "fall within the scope of possible dangers ordinarily accompanying the activity" (Cox, quoting Hamer v. City Segway Tours of Chicago, 2010).
• No major bargaining gap or public policy problem. A release can fail if there is a substantial disparity in bargaining position, if enforcement would violate public policy, or if the relationship of the parties weighs against it (Oelze v. Score Sports Venture, LLC, 2010).

In Cox, a gym member was hurt during a session with a personal trainer. Her membership release covered risks of "fitness advisory services," and the court held that instruction by a trainer was within that scope. The court also found nothing in the Physical Fitness Services Act that voids such releases.

Gross Negligence, Recklessness and Intentional Harm

Illinois courts say that "barring fraud or willful and wanton negligence," a release is valid and enforceable (Oelze). In Oelze the release barred the tennis player's negligence claim, but her separate willful and wanton count went back to the trial court. Willful and wanton conduct means intent to harm or "an utter indifference to or conscious disregard for" others' safety.

Waivers for Minors in Illinois

In Meyer v. Naperville Manner, Inc. (1994), a mother signed a release before her daughter's riding lessons, waiving claims "suffered by me or my child." The appellate court stated the general rule that "in the absence of statutory or judicial authorization, a parent cannot waive, compromise, or release a minor child's cause of action merely because of the parental relationship." Because no statute or court had approved it, the release "had no effect to bar the minor child's (future) cause of action, although it appears to be effective to bar the parent's own cause of action." We found no later Illinois statute changing that rule.

So in Illinois, plan on a parent-signed waiver not stopping a child's own negligence claim. The court's comment about the parent's own claim was not the issue it decided, so ask an Illinois attorney how your form should handle it.

More Than a Release

A signed agreement does other useful work in Illinois:

• The parent's own claims. As noted above, Meyer said a parent's waiver appears to bar the parent's own cause of action, even though it doesn't bind the child.
• Equine notice. Equine professionals must include the Equine Activity Liability Act warning in written contracts for their services, instruction or equipment rental (745 ILCS 47/25), and a signed agreement is a natural place for riders to receive it.
• A record of your warnings and rules. A signed description of your activity's risks and rules is evidence of what each guest and family was told; how much it matters depends on the facts.
• Medical information and consent. Health conditions, emergency contacts, parent consent and photo consent, collected before the activity.

Illinois Activity Laws

The Illinois Equine Activity Liability Act (745 ILCS 47) protects equine professionals from liability for inherent risks of equine activities, but it comes with paperwork. Under 745 ILCS 47/25, equine professionals must post warning signs in clearly visible locations, in black letters at least one inch high, and every written contract for professional services, instruction or equipment rental must include the statutory warning in clearly readable print. The required warning begins: "Under the Equine Activity Liability Act, each participant who engages in an equine activity expressly assumes the risks..."

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 points are worth raising:

• Clear, explicit release language. Illinois courts have said general language isn't enough.
• The dangers and services your activity involves. Cox turned on whether "fitness advisory services" covered a trainer's session.
• A clearly titled release. Oelze describes how a release can be set aside for fraud in the execution (the signer was led to believe it was a different kind of document) or fraud in the inducement.
• How the form handles children and the parent's own claims.
• The equine warning, if you offer horse activities.

How WaiverFile Helps Illinois 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 the way it was written.
• A checkbox or initials where you want them. Initial boxes inside the agreement text and required checkboxes for the risks, rules and clauses you choose.
• A record of what was signed. Each signed waiver stores the signature, the answers, and the date and time, plus the IP address and device for online signing. Add a photo of the signer or their ID if you like. Search any waiver in seconds, or download them in bulk as a ZIP file for any date range.
• Families on one form. A parent or guardian signs for themselves and adds each child by name and date of birth, and minors are flagged at check-in, so staff know who is under 18.
• Health and emergency details. Required questions collect medical information and emergency contacts. HIPAA features add extra protection for health information.
• Sign anywhere. Guests sign ahead by email, text, QR code or your website, during online booking, or on a tablet at the door. The Venue app works offline, and forms are available in multiple languages.

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

Sources and Further Reading

• 815 ILCS 333/7 (Illinois Uniform Electronic Transactions Act)
• Illinois SB 2176, Public Act 102-0038 (effective June 25, 2021)
• Illinois State Bar Association, "Sign, Sign Away" (repeal of the Electronic Commerce Security Act)
• ESIGN Act, 15 U.S.C. 7001
• Harris v. Walker, 119 Ill. 2d 542 (1988)
• Cox v. US Fitness, LLC, 2013 IL App (1st) 122442
• Oelze v. Score Sports Venture, LLC, 401 Ill. App. 3d 110 (2010)
• Meyer v. Naperville Manner, Inc., 262 Ill. App. 3d 141 (1994)
• Barahona v. Snowstar Corp., 2025 IL App (4th) 240956-U (Rule 23 order)
• 745 ILCS 47/25 (Equine Activity Liability Act, signs and contracts)

Published November 3, 2020 · Updated November 4, 2026