Are Online Waivers Legal in Ohio?

This guide is for Ohio activity businesses: gyms, trampoline parks, speedways, youth sports, camps, stables, farms and agritourism venues. It covers e-signatures, how Ohio courts treat waivers for adults and children, the other work a signed agreement does, and Ohio's activity statutes, two of which tie protection to a written waiver or a posted sign.

This guide is general information about Ohio 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 Ohio at a Glance

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Ohio?

Yes. Ohio adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in 2000, in Chapter 1306 of the Revised Code. R.C. 1306.06 says "a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form," and "if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law." The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001) adds the same rule for interstate transactions. A waiver signed on a phone or tablet counts as signed.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in Ohio?

Ohio courts generally enforce clear waivers for recreation. In Zivich v. Mentor Soccer Club, 82 Ohio St.3d 367 (1998), the Ohio Supreme Court said that for adult participants, "releases from liability for injuries caused by negligent acts arising in the context of recreational activities are enforceable."

In Bowen v. Kil-Kare, Inc., 63 Ohio St.3d 84 (1992), a stock-car racing case, the court held that a participant and the track "are free to contract" to relieve the proprietor of responsibility for its negligence, "but not for the proprietor's willful or wanton misconduct." The court reversed summary judgment in part and sent the case back, because there was a factual dispute about whether the release had been properly executed.

Courts of appeals apply these rules to gyms. In Geczi v. Lifetime Fitness, 2012-Ohio-2948 (10th Dist.), the court said "clear and unambiguous contract clauses relieving a party from liability for its own negligence are generally upheld in Ohio," while also noting that releases "will be narrowly construed" and that "to be enforceable, however, a release must be expressed in terms that are clear and unequivocal."

Gross Negligence and Intentional Harm

Bowen is clear that a release does not cover willful or wanton misconduct. In Geczi, a member was hurt on a treadmill that staff allegedly knew was malfunctioning. The release barred her negligence claim, but her willful and wanton claim still went to a jury (which found for the gym). Bowen also held that a spouse's loss of consortium claim is "a separate and distinct cause of action" that a release the spouse didn't sign can't defeat.

Waivers for Minors in Ohio

In Zivich, a seven-year-old was hurt when an unanchored soccer goal fell during practice with a volunteer-run, nonprofit youth soccer club, and a parent had signed the club's release. The Ohio Supreme Court held that "parents have the authority to bind their minor children to exculpatory agreements in favor of volunteers and sponsors of nonprofit sport activities where the cause of action sounds in negligence." It also held that "parents may release their own claims arising out of the injury to their minor children."

The holding is limited by its own terms: nonprofit sports, volunteers and sponsors, and negligence claims. The Ohio Supreme Court has not decided whether a parent's waiver binds a child's claims against a for-profit business such as a trampoline park or a paid camp. In Wolfe v. AmeriCheer, Inc., 2012-Ohio-941 (10th Dist.), a for-profit cheerleading competition case, the trial court held that a mother's signed release barred her daughter's negligence claims. The daughter didn't challenge that ruling on appeal, so the appeals court didn't decide it. Treat the for-profit question as open in Ohio.

More Than a Release

A signed Ohio agreement does more than release negligence claims:

• A record of the risks. Ohio applies primary assumption of risk to recreation: a person who voluntarily takes part assumes the activity's inherent risks and can't recover for them unless the defendant acted recklessly or intentionally (Marchetti v. Kalish, 1990, as applied in Wolfe). A signed description of those risks is evidence of what each guest was told. How much it matters depends on the facts.
• Equine protection. R.C. 2305.321 lets a participant, or a parent or guardian, sign a written waiver that lists at least each inherent risk named in the statute. For harm resulting from an inherent risk, the statute says the waiver applies notwithstanding the situations that would otherwise forfeit the base immunity.
• The parent's own claims. Under Zivich, a parent can release their own claims arising from a child's injury.
• Rules, medical information and consent. The form is where guests accept your rules and you collect health conditions, emergency contacts and parent consent before anyone takes part.

Ohio Activity Laws

• Equine activities (R.C. 2305.321). Ohio limits liability for harm resulting from the inherent risks of equine activities. Without a written waiver, that immunity is lost in listed situations, such as providing tack the business knew or should have known was faulty, failing to make reasonable efforts to assess a participant's ability, an unposted known latent danger, willful or wanton disregard for safety, or intentional harm. The written waiver described above must be signed before any harm and stays valid until revoked in writing.
• Agritourism (R.C. 901.80). Agritourism providers have immunity for injuries from inherent risks only if they post the statutory warning at the entrance and activity sites, beginning "WARNING: Under Ohio law, there is no liability for an injury to or death of a participant in an agritourism activity," in black letters at least one inch high.
• Skiing (R.C. 4169.08). Skiers accept the risk of injury from inherent skiing hazards, while ski area operators keep the duties set out in the chapter.

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 and statutes above, these are points worth raising when preparing an Ohio agreement:

• Ohio courts look for clear and unequivocal language releasing the business from its own negligence, and they read releases narrowly against the drafter.
• In Bowen, a factual dispute about whether the release was properly signed was enough to send the case back to the trial court.
• A spouse or parent who didn't sign keeps their own claims, and Zivich's rule for minors is limited to nonprofit sports, so it matters what kind of organization you are.
• For equine businesses, R.C. 2305.321 lists the inherent risks a written waiver must specify.

How WaiverFile Helps Ohio 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Medical questions. Required questions capture 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 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, review it with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• Ohio Revised Code 1306.06 (UETA, electronic records and signatures)
• Federal ESIGN Act, 15 U.S.C. 7001
• Zivich v. Mentor Soccer Club, Inc., 82 Ohio St.3d 367 (1998)
• Bowen v. Kil-Kare, Inc., 63 Ohio St.3d 84 (1992)
• Geczi v. Lifetime Fitness, 2012-Ohio-2948 (10th Dist.)
• Wolfe v. AmeriCheer, Inc., 2012-Ohio-941 (10th Dist.) (for-profit minors; primary assumption of risk)
• Ohio Revised Code 2305.321 (equine activities and written waivers)
• Ohio Revised Code 901.80 (agritourism)
• Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4169 (ski tramways, including 4169.08 assumption of risk)

Published November 4, 2026