Are Online Waivers Legal in Louisiana?

Louisiana treats waivers differently from most states. Its Civil Code doesn't let a business release itself in advance from liability for injuries, so in Louisiana a waiver isn't a way to rule out injury claims. A signed participant agreement still does important work for Louisiana tours, rentals, riding stables, parks, gyms and events: it records the risks and rules each guest agreed to, it's part of how farm animal and agritourism businesses qualify for the state's inherent-risk protections, and it can include an arbitration clause, which Louisiana courts presume is enforceable. This guide covers each of these, how Louisiana's rule on injury releases works, and how to get the most from the agreement your guests sign.

This guide is general information about Louisiana 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 Louisiana

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Louisiana?

Yes. Louisiana adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in 2001. La. R.S. 9:2607 says a record or signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form, and that if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies it. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.) says the same for transactions in interstate commerce. A form signed on a phone, computer or tablet counts as signed, and it carries the same weight as the paper version.

What a Signed Waiver Does for Louisiana Businesses

It Records What Each Guest Was Told

In Murray v. Ramada Inns, Inc., 521 So. 2d 1123 (La. 1988), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that a person's knowing choice to face a risk is weighed under Louisiana's comparative fault system, where each side's share of fault affects what is owed. That makes the record of what a guest knew worth having. A signed form that describes the activity's risks and your safety rules, with the guest's acknowledgment of each, is evidence of what they were told and agreed to before they took part. How much it matters in a given case depends on the facts.

It Unlocks Louisiana's Inherent-Risk Protections

For some Louisiana businesses, the signed agreement is part of the legal protection itself. Two statutes give immunity for the inherent risks of an activity, and both depend on written notice:

• Farm animal activities (La. R.S. 9:2795.1). Sponsors and professionals are not liable for injuries resulting from the inherent risks of farm animal activities (horses, cattle, goats and more), with exceptions such as faulty tack, failing to make reasonable efforts to assess a rider's ability, known latent dangers, and willful or wanton conduct. To claim the immunity, you must post the statutory warning or give it in writing before the activity, and every written contract for instruction or rental must contain the warning in clearly readable print. A written warning must be in boldfaced capital letters no smaller than 12-point type. Without the warning, the immunity isn't available.
• Agritourism (La. R.S. 9:2795.5). An agritourism professional is not liable for injuries resulting exclusively from the inherent risks of agritourism activities, if it posts the statutory warning signs at the entrance and at the activity site. Written contracts for services, instruction or equipment rental must also contain the warning. The activity must be part of a plan of operation approved by the LSU AgCenter extension service.

For farm animal activities, an agreement that includes the warning in the required format can serve as both the written warning and the contract notice, with a signed copy for every participant. Agritourism also requires the posted signs, whatever your agreement says.

It Binds Guests to Your Rules and Equipment Terms

Your agreement is where guests accept the rules that keep everyone safe: age and height limits, required gear, following staff instructions, no alcohol. It's also where they can agree to take responsibility for equipment they damage or lose. Louisiana's restriction in article 2004 is aimed at physical injury and at intentional or gross fault; its text doesn't address agreements like these, or limits on liability for ordinary negligence that causes only property loss.

It Can Send Disputes to Arbitration

Louisiana courts take arbitration agreements seriously. In Aguillard v. Auction Management Corp., 908 So. 2d 1 (La. 2005), the Louisiana Supreme Court adopted a strong presumption in favor of enforcing them and enforced one in a standard-form contract. The same court showed what can undo one in Duhon v. Activelaf, LLC (La. Oct. 19, 2016), a case about a trampoline park's kiosk waiver. The court refused to enforce that arbitration clause because:

• it sat in the middle of a long paragraph about other topics, while other sections had their own paragraphs;
• guests checked boxes next to other paragraphs, but there was no checkbox next to the arbitration language;
• only the guest had to arbitrate, and the agreement added a $5,000 penalty for suing.

The lesson the court drew was about consent: the guest has to be able to see the clause and agree to it, and it has to be fair to both sides.

It Collects Medical Information and Consent

A signed form is where you collect health conditions, allergies, emergency contacts, consent to emergency treatment, pickup authorization and photo consent, before anyone takes part. For families, the parent's form is the record that a parent or guardian approved the child's participation and agreed to your rules.

How Louisiana Treats Injury Releases

Louisiana is a civil-law state, and article 2004 of its Civil Code sets two rules:

• "Any clause is null that, in advance, excludes or limits the liability of one party for intentional or gross fault that causes damage to the other party."
• "Any clause is null that, in advance, excludes or limits the liability of one party for causing physical injury to the other party."

The leading case is Ramirez v. Fair Grounds Corp., 575 So. 2d 811 (La. 1991). A racehorse trainer signed a stall application releasing the Fair Grounds from liability for injuries caused by the premises "or any act or negligence," with a hold-harmless clause. After he fell from a loft without a handrail, the Louisiana Supreme Court held both clauses null under article 2004. Because the article bars the clause itself, careful wording doesn't change the result, and the article makes no exception for a parent signing for a child. That's why Louisiana agreements focus on inherent-risk notices, risk acknowledgments, rules, arbitration and the information you need, rather than a release of injury claims.

It also means a waiver template written for another state isn't a good fit as is. It's worth having a Louisiana attorney adapt your agreement.

What Makes a Louisiana Waiver Work Harder

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 with your attorney when preparing a Louisiana agreement:

• For farm animal and agritourism activities, the exact statutory warning, in the required format, inside the agreement each participant signs.
• A plain description of the activity's specific risks and your rules, with the guest acknowledging each one.
• Key terms, like arbitration or equipment responsibility, in their own paragraph with their own checkbox or initials. The court in Duhon faulted the agreement for not doing this.
• Honest answers about experience and ability, since the farm animal statute expects you to make reasonable efforts to assess a participant's ability.
• A clear record of who signed, when, and which version of the form they saw.

How WaiverFile Helps Louisiana 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 rules, risks 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 at rural sites. 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 Louisiana with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• La. R.S. 9:2607 (Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, legal recognition of electronic signatures)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• La. R.S. 9:2795.1 (farm animal activities, required warning)
• La. R.S. 9:2795.5 (agritourism, required warning)
• Murray v. Ramada Inns, Inc., 521 So. 2d 1123 (La. 1988)
• Tulane Law Review, "Aguillard v. Auction Management Corp.: Louisiana Adopts a Presumption Favoring the Enforcement of Arbitration Agreements" (908 So. 2d 1, La. 2005)
• Duhon v. Activelaf, LLC d/b/a Sky Zone Lafayette, No. 2016-CC-0818 (La. Oct. 19, 2016)
• Louisiana Civil Code art. 2004 (clauses excluding or limiting liability)
• Ramirez v. Fair Grounds Corp., 575 So. 2d 811 (La. 1991)

Published December 11, 2020 · Updated November 4, 2026