Are Online Waivers Legal in North Carolina?

North Carolina courts generally enforce a clear release of negligence, and federal courts in North Carolina cases have enforced releases for jet ski rentals and go-kart racing. For equine and agritourism businesses, a signed agreement is also part of the legal protection itself: state law requires the statutory warning in every written contract. This guide is for North Carolina watersports rentals, climbing and trampoline parks, gyms, camps, stables, farms and agritourism venues, and event organizers. It covers e-signatures, how courts treat releases, where they have refused to enforce them, and what is known about parents signing for children.

This guide is general information about North Carolina 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 North Carolina at a Glance

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in North Carolina?

Yes. North Carolina's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act is in Article 40 of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes. G.S. 66-317 says "a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form," and a contract can't be denied effect "solely because an electronic record was used in its formation." The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001) adds the same rule for interstate transactions. A waiver signed on a phone, computer or tablet counts as signed.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in North Carolina?

The starting point is Hall v. Sinclair Refining Co., 242 N.C. 707 (1955). The North Carolina Supreme Court said contracts exempting a party from its own negligence "are not favored by the law, and are strictly construed against those relying thereon," but they can be enforced. A party cannot use one "in the performance of a duty of public service, or where a public duty is owed, or public interest is involved," and courts consider whether one side had such unequal bargaining power that the other "must either accept what is offered or forego the advantages."

The Court of Appeals restated the rule in Fortson v. McClellan, 131 N.C. App. 635 (1998): an exculpatory contract "will be enforced unless it violates a statute, is gained through inequality of bargaining power, or is contrary to a substantial public interest."

Where Courts Have Enforced Releases

Federal courts in North Carolina cases have enforced releases for jet ski rentals (Waggoner v. Nags Head Water Sports, 4th Cir. 1998) and go-kart racing (Bertotti v. Charlotte Motor Speedway, W.D.N.C. 1995). The court in Strawbridge (below) described those as industries that "do not serve the public interest in a way that would make exculpatory clauses unenforceable."

Where Courts Have Refused

• Regulated safety training. In Fortson, a motorcycle safety course release was not enforced. The court said "a party cannot protect himself by contracting against liability for negligence in the performance of a duty of public service," and pointed to the heavy regulation of motorcycle use and the vulnerability of trainees.
• Ski areas. In Strawbridge v. Sugar Mountain Resort, 320 F. Supp. 2d 425 (W.D.N.C. 2004), a federal court refused to enforce lift-ticket release language. It found that enforcement would undercut the Ski Safety Act's duty on operators "not to engage willfully or negligently in conduct that contributes to injury" (G.S. 99C-2(c)(7)), and that skiing is "sufficiently regulated and tied to the public interest to make exculpatory clauses improper."

Which side of the line an activity falls on depends on the statutes and regulations that apply to it.

Willful or Wanton Conduct

The decisions we reviewed deal with ordinary negligence, and we did not find an appellate decision squarely deciding whether a release can cover gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct. North Carolina's own equine and agritourism statutes don't protect "willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant."

Waivers for Minors in North Carolina

We found no North Carolina appellate decision on whether a parent can sign away a child's injury claims before an injury. The closest decision is federal. In Kelly v. United States, 809 F. Supp. 2d 429 (E.D.N.C. 2011), a 15-year-old fell on an obstacle course during a Navy Junior ROTC orientation visit at Camp Lejeune. Both she and her mother had signed a release. The court held the girl's own signature invalid because minors lack capacity to contract, but let the defense based on the mother's release go forward. It predicted that "the North Carolina Supreme Court would similarly uphold a preinjury release executed by a parent on behalf of a minor child in this context," describing the visit as one of the "commonplace child oriented community or school supported activities." It also read the release's wording as reaching the parents' own claims.

That prediction came on a pretrial motion, does not bind state courts, and was limited to a school-sponsored, non-commercial activity. Whether North Carolina courts would enforce a parent's waiver for a commercial business is an open question.

North Carolina Activity Laws

• Equine activities (G.S. 99E-1 to -3). Equine professionals and sponsors must post warning signs in a clearly visible location on or near stables, corrals or arenas, in black letters at least three-quarters of an inch high, and every written contract for professional services, instruction, or rental of equipment, tack or a horse must include the statutory warning in clearly readable print. Failing to comply "shall prevent" the business from invoking the statute's immunity. The immunity doesn't cover faulty tack the business knew or should have known about, failing to make reasonable efforts to assess a rider's ability, or willful or wanton conduct (G.S. 99E-2).
• Agritourism (G.S. 99E-30 to 99E-32). Agritourism professionals must post the warning at the entrance and at the activity site, in the same letter size, and every written contract must contain it in clearly readable print. Failure to comply prevents the business from invoking the statute's immunity. The immunity doesn't cover willful or wanton conduct or failing to disclose known dangerous conditions.
• Ski Safety Act (G.S. Chapter 99C). Sets duties for ski operators and skiers, and as Strawbridge shows, it has been read to limit lift-ticket releases.

More Than a Release

A signed North Carolina agreement does more than release claims:

• Statutory warnings that keep immunity available. For stables and agritourism venues, the warning in every written contract is one of the requirements for the statute's protection, along with posted signs. A signed agreement with the warning gives you a record that each participant received it.
• A record of the risks. A signed description of your activity's risks and rules, with an acknowledgment of each, is evidence of what each guest was told. How much it matters depends on the facts.
• Rider ability. The equine statute keeps you responsible for reasonable efforts to assess a rider's ability, so honest answers about experience are worth collecting.
• Medical information and consent. Health conditions, emergency contacts, parent permission and photo consent, collected before the activity.

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 with a North Carolina attorney:

• Clear wording that the release covers the business's own negligence, since releases are strictly construed against the business.
• Whether your activity is heavily regulated or tied to a public duty, the issue in Fortson and Strawbridge.
• For equine and agritourism businesses, the exact statutory warning, word for word, in every written contract.
• How the agreement handles minors, given that Kelly is a federal prediction limited to a school-sponsored setting.
• A clear record of who signed, in what capacity, and when.

How WaiverFile Helps North Carolina 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, including any statutory warning, and use the editor's formatting options (bold, capitals, font size) to lay it out as written.
• Acknowledgments where you want them. Initial boxes inside the agreement text and required checkboxes for the warnings, rules and clauses you choose.
• 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.
• Experience and medical questions. Required questions collect riding experience, health conditions and emergency contacts. HIPAA features add extra protection for health information.
• Sign anywhere. Guests sign ahead by email, text, QR code or your website, or on a tablet on-site, and the Venue app works offline at farms and rural sites. Waivers are built into online booking, with each guest's status at check-in.
• A record of each signature. 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. 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, review it with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• North Carolina G.S. 66-317 (UETA, electronic records and signatures)
• Federal ESIGN Act, 15 U.S.C. 7001
• Hall v. Sinclair Refining Co., 242 N.C. 707 (1955)
• Fortson v. McClellan, 131 N.C. App. 635 (1998)
• Strawbridge v. Sugar Mountain Resort, Inc., 320 F. Supp. 2d 425 (W.D.N.C. 2004)
• Kelly v. United States, 809 F. Supp. 2d 429 (E.D.N.C. 2011)
• North Carolina G.S. Chapter 99E, Article 1 (equine activity liability)
• North Carolina G.S. Chapter 99E, Article 4 (agritourism activity liability)

Published November 4, 2026