Are Online Waivers Legal in Michigan?

Michigan courts generally enforce a release an adult signs fairly and knowingly, including releases signed on a tablet, and Michigan's equine law lets riders and stables agree to waivers that go further than most states allow. This guide is for Michigan trampoline parks, gymnastics gyms, golf courses, stables, ski hills, fitness studios and event organizers. It covers electronic signatures, how Michigan courts treat releases, why parent-signed releases work differently here, and the activity laws that matter.

This guide is general information about Michigan 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 Michigan at a Glance

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Michigan?

Yes. Michigan adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in 2000 (Public Act 305 of 2000). MCL 450.837 says a record or signature shall not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form, and an electronic signature satisfies a law that requires a signature. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.) adds the same rule for interstate commerce. Michigan courts have enforced tablet-signed waivers, as the 2025 case below shows.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in Michigan?

Generally, yes, for adults. In Paterek v. 6600 Ltd., 186 Mich. App. 445 (1990), a softball player hurt his knee on a poorly maintained field. He had signed a team roster that said he assumed all risks and released the park from claims for injuries on its premises. The Court of Appeals enforced it. "To be valid, a release must be fairly and knowingly made," and it is not fairly made if the signer was dazed, in shock or under the influence of drugs, if the nature of the document was misrepresented, or if there was other fraudulent or overreaching conduct.

Recent cases follow the same approach:

• A tablet waiver at a gymnastics gym. In Stavropoulos v. Flipspot Gymnastics & Cheer, LLC (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 24, 2025, unpublished), a father hurt in a parent-tot class argued he thought the tablet form was a sign-in sheet. The court disagreed and affirmed dismissal. The waiver was clearly labeled "Waiver of Liability," said "Please Read Carefully," required a checkbox confirming he had read it, and could not be submitted with required fields left blank.
• A golf course release. In Burchard v. Treetops Acquisition Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2024, unpublished), a release of golf cart risks signed before play was held valid.

Gross Negligence and Willful Misconduct

In Lamp v. Reynolds, 249 Mich. App. 591 (2002), the Court of Appeals said it is well established that, "although a party may contract against liability for harm caused by his ordinary negligence, a party may not insulate himself against liability for gross negligence or wilful and wanton misconduct." Injured customers often plead gross negligence for this reason.

Horseback riding is the notable exception. The Equine Activity Liability Act says two people "may agree in writing to a waiver of liability beyond the provisions of this act and such waiver shall be valid and binding by its terms" (MCL 691.1664(2)). In Britten v. Circle H Stables, Inc., 348 Mich. App. 208 (2023), a published decision, the Court of Appeals held that "a waiver under MCL 691.1664(2) may include a waiver of liability for an act or omission that constitutes a willful or wanton disregard," because the Legislature set aside the common-law rule when it amended the act in 2015, and ordered judgment for the stable on the rider's claims. The Court of Appeals cited Britten again in a published 2025 equine decision.

Waivers for Minors in Michigan

In Woodman v. Kera LLC, 486 Mich. 228, 785 N.W.2d 1 (2010), a father signed a waiver before his five-year-old's birthday party at an indoor inflatable play center. The boy broke his leg. A majority of the Michigan Supreme Court agreed that the parent's pre-injury waiver was unenforceable under longstanding Michigan common law, because absent special circumstances a parent has no authority to bind a child by contract, and the court declined to change that rule. Some justices dissented, arguing that parents should be able to waive claims for recreational activities.

The justices also split on parental indemnity: the lead opinion suggested a parent's separate agreement to indemnify the business might be treated differently, while a concurring justice expressly rejected the idea that the rule can be "circumvented by a parental indemnity agreement." We found no later appellate decision settling that question.

For families, the signed form still does real work: the parent's release of claims for their own injuries (as in Stavropoulos, where the father's own release barred his claim after he was hurt in a parent-tot class), the parent's consent and agreement to your rules, and medical and emergency information.

More Than a Release

A signed Michigan agreement also helps in ways specific to the state's activity laws:

• Equine waivers and the warning notice. Under MCL 691.1664(2), a written waiver signed by a rider is binding by its terms, and Britten held it can reach willful or wanton conduct. MCL 691.1666 separately requires every written contract for equine services, instruction or rental to include the statutory warning in clearly readable print.
• Trampoline rules. The Trampoline Court Safety Act lists trampoliner duties, including following posted rules and not taking part with certain medical conditions. A signed rules acknowledgment and health questions are a record of what each jumper was told and asked.
• A record of the warnings. A form that lists the activity's risks and your rules, with the guest's acknowledgment, is evidence of what they were told. How much it matters depends on the facts.
• Medical information and consent. Health conditions, emergency contacts, consent to treatment and photo consent, collected before the activity.

Michigan Activity Laws

• Equine Activity Liability Act (MCL 691.1661 et seq.). Limits liability for inherent risks of equine activities. Equine professionals must post signs in letters at least one inch high, and every written contract for professional services, instruction or rental of a horse or tack must include, in clearly readable print, this warning: "WARNING - Under the Michigan equine activity liability act, an equine professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in an equine activity resulting from an inherent risk of the equine activity." (MCL 691.1666).
• Trampoline Court Safety Act (MCL 691.1731 et seq., 2014). A trampoliner accepts the dangers that inhere in trampolining, insofar as they are obvious and necessary, such as collisions and falls. Operators must post the duties of trampoliners and operators in conspicuous places and follow ASTM F2970-13.
• Ski Area Safety Act (MCL 408.321 et seq.). Each skier "accepts the dangers that inhere in that sport insofar as the dangers are obvious and necessary" (MCL 408.342).

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 above, these are points worth raising when preparing a Michigan agreement:

• A form that can't be mistaken for something else. The Stavropoulos court pointed to the waiver's title, its "Please Read Carefully" line, a required "have read" checkbox and required fields.
• How staff present it. Under Paterek, a release whose nature was misrepresented to the signer is not "fairly made."
• Scope that matches the activity. Courts read the release language against what actually happened.
• Each adult signing for themselves. After Woodman, how your family form should handle the parent's own release and the child's participation.
• Equine waivers. What a waiver under MCL 691.1664(2) should cover, and the MCL 691.1666 warning.

How WaiverFile Helps Michigan 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. Required questions must be answered before a form can be submitted.
• 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 signs for themselves and 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 Michigan with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• MCL 450.837 (Michigan Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, legal recognition)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• Paterek v. 6600 Ltd., 186 Mich. App. 445, 465 N.W.2d 342 (1990)
• Stavropoulos v. Flipspot Gymnastics & Cheer, LLC, No. 369891 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 24, 2025) (unpublished)
• Burchard v. Treetops Acquisition Co. (Mich. Ct. App. Mar. 14, 2024) (unpublished)
• Lamp v. Reynolds, 249 Mich. App. 591, 645 N.W.2d 311 (2002)
• Britten v. Circle H Stables, Inc., 348 Mich. App. 208 (2023)
• Goch v. Edison Institute (Mich. Ct. App. Oct. 17, 2025) (published; equine act, carriage passengers)
• Woodman v. Kera LLC, 486 Mich. 228, 785 N.W.2d 1 (2010)
• MCL 691.1664 (equine waivers) and MCL 691.1666 (equine warning notice)
• MCL 691.1736 (Trampoline Court Safety Act, accepted dangers)
• MCL 408.342 (Ski Area Safety Act, skier duties and accepted dangers)

Published November 4, 2026