Are Online Waivers Legal in New York?

New York law voids a release of the operator's own negligence when a pool, gym or place of amusement or recreation charges a fee for using its facilities (General Obligations Law 5-326), and a parent's release doesn't bind a child. Outside that statute, New York courts have enforced clearly written releases: for paid lessons and courses, races on public roads and other settings the statute doesn't reach. And in every setting, a signed agreement records the risks each guest acknowledged, which matters under New York's assumption of risk doctrine. This guide covers where releases work in New York, what a signed agreement does everywhere else, and how New York treats injury releases.

This guide is general information about New York 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 New York

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in New York?

Yes. New York has its own law instead of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act: the Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA), in Article 3 of the State Technology Law. ESRA defines an electronic signature as "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with an electronic record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record" (section 302), and says its use "shall have the same validity and effect as the use of a signature affixed by hand" (section 304). The exceptions in section 307 cover things like wills and negotiable instruments, not activity waivers. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.) says the same for interstate transactions. 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 New York Businesses

It Can Release Claims Where GOL 5-326 Doesn't Apply

Section 5-326 turns on its own words: an owner or operator of a "pool, gymnasium, place of amusement or recreation, or similar establishment" that receives "a fee or other compensation for the use of such facilities." Courts look at what the fee paid for and what kind of place it is, and they have enforced releases outside those words:

• Instruction. In Lemoine v. Cornell University, 2 A.D.3d 1017 (3d Dept. 2003), a student hurt in a rock climbing course had "paid tuition, not a fee, for lessons," and the climbing wall's recreational use was "ancillary to its primary educational purpose." The court held 5-326 inapplicable and dismissed the case based on the release and a signed safety contract. Courts have since applied the same reasoning to riding lessons (Jones v. Smoke Tree Farm, 161 A.D.3d 1590 (4th Dept. 2018)), and in Anthony v. Firehock, 225 A.D.3d 655 (2d Dept. 2024), a riding student's release was enforced.
• Events on public property. In Brookner v. New York Roadrunners Club, 51 A.D.3d 841 (2d Dept. 2008), the marathon entry fee "was for his participation in the marathon," not admission, and "the public roadway in Brooklyn where the plaintiff alleges he was injured is not a 'place of amusement or recreation.'" The court enforced the release of ordinary negligence.

These decisions turn on facts. Lemoine noted other cases where instruction was only "ancillary" to a recreational facility and 5-326 still voided the release, so it's worth reviewing how your business fits with a New York attorney. Where a release can apply, it still has to clearly cover the business's own negligence (Gross v. Sweet, below).

It Records the Risks Guests Acknowledged

New York keeps primary assumption of risk for sports and recreation. In Katleski v. Cazenovia Golf Club, Inc., 44 N.Y.3d 212 (2025), the Court of Appeals restated the rule: "[a] person who chooses to participate in a sport or recreational activity consents to certain risks that are inherent in and arise out of the nature of the sport generally and flow from such participation," and it barred a golfer's claim for being hit by a mishit ball. The doctrine doesn't cover risks that are "concealed or unreasonably enhanced," and in the companion case decided with Katleski, the court held it doesn't apply to someone who wasn't taking part in the activity when hurt (a golfer in a golf cart collision in the parking lot, before she began to play).

Courts ask whether the participant was aware of the risks, appreciated them and voluntarily accepted them, and awareness is "assessed against the background of the skill and experience of the particular plaintiff" (Jones). A signed form that describes the activity's inherent risks in plain language is evidence of what the guest was told. In Anthony, the court noted that the release was "clear in reciting that the plaintiff was aware of and assumed the risks." How much a signed form matters depends on the facts: in Lee v. Brooklyn Boulders, the release was void under 5-326 and the gym's motion was denied because a gap in the mats raised a question of concealed risk.

It Binds Guests to Your Rules

Your agreement is where guests accept the rules that keep everyone safe: age and height limits, required gear, staying within marked areas and following staff instructions. In Lemoine, the student had also signed a "Contract to Follow Lindseth Climbing Wall Safety Policies," including a promise not to climb above the bouldering line without safety equipment, and the court relied on her "signature and initials on these documents."

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 New York Treats Injury Releases

General Obligations Law 5-326 covers any agreement "in or in connection with, or collateral to, any contract, membership application, ticket of admission or similar writing" between the owner or operator of a fee-charging pool, gym, place of amusement or recreation, or similar establishment and the user of its facilities. A clause exempting the owner from liability for its own negligence or its employees' negligence "shall be deemed to be void as against public policy and wholly unenforceable." Courts apply it to ordinary recreation businesses: in Lee v. Brooklyn Boulders, LLC, 156 A.D.3d 689 (2d Dept. 2017), a climbing gym's release was "void under General Obligations Law § 5-326 because the defendant's facility is recreational in nature."

Where the statute doesn't apply, the leading case is Gross v. Sweet, 49 N.Y.2d 102 (1979), a parachute school case. The Court of Appeals said the law "frowns upon" these agreements and subjects them to "close judicial scrutiny." The word "negligence" isn't required, but "words conveying a similar import must appear," and a release shouldn't "compel resort to a magnifying glass and lexicon." Agreements that "purport to grant exemption for liability for willful or grossly negligent acts" have been "viewed as wholly void."

For children, Alexander v. Kendall Central School District, 221 A.D.2d 898 (4th Dept. 1995), a youth wrestling case, held that "a minor is not bound by a release executed by his parent." A waiver template written for another state isn't a good fit as is, so it's worth having a New York attorney adapt your agreement.

What Makes a New York 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 New York agreement:

• Whether 5-326 applies to your business, given what your fee pays for (tuition, race entry or facility use) and what kind of place you operate.
• Where a release can apply, language that clearly covers your own negligence, as Gross v. Sweet requires.
• A plain description of your activity's specific inherent risks. In Lemoine, the release named the risk of falling from the wall onto the floor, which is how the student was hurt.
• Questions about experience and ability, since courts weigh awareness against the participant's skill and experience.
• Rules in their own acknowledgments, with a clear record of who signed, when, and which version of the form they saw.

How WaiverFile Helps New York 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.
• 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 experience level, 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. 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 New York with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• New York State Technology Law 302 (ESRA definitions)
• New York State Technology Law 304 (ESRA, use of electronic signatures)
• New York State Technology Law 307 (ESRA exceptions)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• Lemoine v. Cornell University, 2 A.D.3d 1017 (3d Dept. 2003)
• Jones v. Smoke Tree Farm, 161 A.D.3d 1590 (4th Dept. 2018)
• Anthony v. Firehock, 225 A.D.3d 655 (2d Dept. 2024)
• Brookner v. New York Roadrunners Club, 51 A.D.3d 841 (2d Dept. 2008)
• Katleski v. Cazenovia Golf Club, Inc., 44 N.Y.3d 212 (2025)
• New York General Obligations Law 5-326 (pools, gyms, places of recreation)
• Lee v. Brooklyn Boulders, LLC, 156 A.D.3d 689 (2d Dept. 2017)
• Gross v. Sweet, 49 N.Y.2d 102 (1979)
• Alexander v. Kendall Central School District, 221 A.D.2d 898 (4th Dept. 1995)

Published November 4, 2026