Are Online Waivers Legal in Mississippi?

Mississippi courts don't favor releases of a business's own negligence. They read them strictly against the business and have refused to enforce generic, pre-printed ones. But Mississippi doesn't ban releases: its Supreme Court has said that, with some exceptions, they are enforceable, though only if the intent is expressed in "clear and unmistakable language." A signed agreement also does other work for Mississippi gyms, outfitters, camps, dive shops, shooting ranges, stables, farms and events: it's part of how equine, livestock and agritourism businesses qualify for the state's inherent-risk protections, it records the rules each guest agreed to follow, and it collects the health and emergency information you need. This guide covers each of these and how Mississippi courts treat injury releases.

This guide is general information about Mississippi 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 Mississippi

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Mississippi?

Yes. Mississippi adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. Miss. Code 75-12-13 says a record or signature "may not be denied legal effect or enforceability 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 waiver signed on a phone, computer or tablet counts as signed, with the same weight as paper.

What a Signed Waiver Does for Mississippi Businesses

A Clear Release Can Still Be Enforced

In Turnbough v. Ladner, 754 So. 2d 467 (Miss. 1999), the Mississippi Supreme Court said the law "does not look with favor" on contracts that excuse a party from its own negligence, but "with some exceptions, they are enforceable." They are upheld only if the parties' intent "is expressed in clear and unmistakable language," and limits on liability "will not be enforced unless the limitation is fairly and honestly negotiated and understandingly entered into." A release that names the activity, its specific hazards and the kind of negligence being released, in plain words the signer can follow, is closer to what the court described than a one-paragraph form. Even so, Mississippi courts read these agreements strictly, so how much protection a release gives depends on its wording and the facts.

It Unlocks Mississippi's Inherent-Risk Protections

For some Mississippi businesses, the signed agreement is part of the legal protection itself:

• Equine and livestock activities (Miss. Code 95-11-7). Sponsors and professionals must post signs with the statutory warning, in black letters at least one inch tall, in a clearly visible location on or near stables, corrals or arenas. Every written contract they enter into for professional services, instruction or the rental of equipment or tack must contain the warning "in clearly readable print." Failing to comply prevents them from invoking the statute's immunity.
• Agritourism (Miss. Code 69-53-3 and 69-53-5). An agritourism professional isn't liable for injury or death resulting from the inherent risks of agritourism activities, if it posts the warning sign as required (at the entrance to the agritourism location, in black letters at least one inch tall). Written contracts for professional services, instruction or equipment rental must contain the warning in clearly readable print, and failing to comply prevents the business from invoking the immunity. Agritourism activities are those conducted at a location registered by the professional, who must register annually with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (69-53-1 and 69-53-7; parts of the chapter were amended in 2025). The statute also says nothing in it negates assumption of risk as an affirmative defense.

An agreement that includes the warning gives you a signed copy for every participant. The posted signs are required too, whatever your agreement says.

It Records Your Rules and the Guest's Own Responsibilities

Mississippi uses comparative negligence. Under Miss. Code 11-7-15, an injured person's own negligence doesn't bar recovery, but "damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person injured." Your agreement is where guests accept your rules: age and height limits, required gear, following instructors, no alcohol. If a guest ignores them, the signed rules are evidence of what they agreed to do. How much it matters depends on the facts.

It Records Who Signed

In Colyer v. First United Methodist Church of New Albany, 214 So. 3d 1084 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016), the outcome turned partly on who signed. A 17-year-old's own release was held "not legally binding because of his age," and neither his release nor the consent forms signed by his grandmother bound his mother, who hadn't signed anything. A clear record of each signer and their relationship to a child is worth having.

It Collects Medical Information and Consent

A signed form is where you collect health conditions, allergies, experience and certifications, 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 Mississippi Treats Injury Releases

The leading case is Turnbough. A student in a scuba certification course suffered decompression sickness and sued his instructor. He had signed a pre-printed release. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed summary judgment for the instructor. Because the form wasn't negotiated and contained a broad waiver of negligence, the court construed it strictly against the instructor, and it held the release didn't cover the kind of negligence alleged: knowing that scuba has inherent risks didn't mean the student agreed to waive claims for an instructor's failure to follow basic safety standards.

The court applied the same reasoning in Ghane v. Mid-South Institute of Self Defense Shooting, Inc., 137 So. 3d 212 (Miss. 2014), a wrongful death case at a shooting training facility. It upheld the denial of summary judgment on the release, which it called "a preprinted, general release," because it was "not reasonable" to read it as releasing the defendants from following "even basic safety standards" in the design of a ballistic wall. We didn't find a Mississippi appellate decision enforcing a recreational release against an injury claim; in both Turnbough and Ghane, the court found the release too general for the negligence alleged.

We found no Mississippi appellate decision allowing a release to cover gross negligence, recklessness or intentional harm, and the equine and agritourism statutes leave operators liable for willful or wanton disregard for safety and intentional injury. On minors, no Mississippi appellate court has decided whether a parent can release a child's own injury claims before an injury. Colyer held only that the minor's own release wasn't binding. A concurring opinion there also noted that the forms didn't mention the recreational risks (swimming, climbing rocks on the beach) involved in the death.

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 a Mississippi agreement:

• Language that says plainly the signer is releasing the business's own negligence. Turnbough required "clear and unmistakable language."
• A description of the activity and its specific hazards. The courts in Turnbough and Ghane faulted general, pre-printed forms that didn't reach the negligence alleged, and the Colyer concurrence noted the forms didn't mention the risks involved.
• Showing the agreement was "understandingly entered into": time to read it, and separate acknowledgments for key terms.
• For equine, livestock and agritourism activities, the exact statutory warning in your written contracts, alongside the required signs.
• Who signs for minors, given Colyer and the open question on parent signatures.
• A clear record of who signed, when, and which version of the form they saw.

How WaiverFile Helps Mississippi 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.
• Time to read. Guests can sign before they arrive from their own phone or computer, by email, text, QR code or your website, instead of at a busy counter. A tablet at the door works too, and the Venue app works offline.
• 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 certifications, health conditions and emergency contacts before guests arrive. HIPAA features add extra protection for health information.
• Families on one form. A parent or guardian adds each child by name and date of birth, and minors are flagged at check-in. 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 Mississippi with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• Miss. Code 75-12-13 (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, legal recognition of electronic signatures)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• Turnbough v. Ladner, 754 So. 2d 467 (Miss. 1999)
• Ghane v. Mid-South Institute of Self Defense Shooting, Inc., 137 So. 3d 212 (Miss. 2014)
• Colyer v. First United Methodist Church of New Albany, 214 So. 3d 1084 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016)
• Miss. Code 11-7-15 (comparative negligence)
• Miss. Code 95-11-7 (equine and livestock warning signs and contracts)
• Miss. Code 69-53-5 (agritourism warning notice)
• House Bill 1295 (2025), amending Miss. Code 69-53-1 and 69-53-5 (agritourism)

Published November 4, 2026