Are Online Waivers Legal in Texas?

Texas has a lot of trampoline parks, gyms, ranches, tour operators and event venues, and plenty of owners have been told a waiver is "just a piece of paper." Texas courts do enforce releases, and the Texas Supreme Court has spelled out the drafting rules a release has to meet. This guide covers e-signatures, the Texas "fair notice" rules, gross negligence, minors, the activity statutes worth knowing, and what else a signed agreement does for you.

This guide is general information about Texas 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 Texas at a Glance

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Texas?

Yes. Texas adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in Chapter 322 of the Business and Commerce Code. Section 322.007 says a record or signature "may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form," and that an electronic signature satisfies a law requiring a signature. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001) adds the same rule for interstate commerce. A waiver signed online or on a tablet is a signed waiver. The real question in Texas is whether the wording passes the fair notice tests below.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in Texas?

Yes, when they meet Texas standards. In Dresser Industries, Inc. v. Page Petroleum, Inc., 853 S.W.2d 505 (Tex. 1993), the Texas Supreme Court held that "the fair notice requirements of conspicuousness and the express negligence doctrine apply to both indemnity agreements and to releases." Both requirements must be met, and whether they are met is a question of law for the judge.

The Express Negligence Doctrine

A party that wants to be released from the consequences of its own negligence must "express that intent in specific terms within the four corners of the contract." Dresser took this rule from Ethyl Corp. v. Daniel Construction Co., 725 S.W.2d 705. In practice, Texas courts look for the release to say plainly, in its own words, that it covers claims caused by the released party's own negligence.

Conspicuousness

Dresser adopted the standard that a term is conspicuous "when it is so written that a reasonable person against whom it is to operate ought to have noticed it." Examples the court gave include capitalized headings, contrasting type or color, and very short documents. The releases in Dresser failed because they sat on the back of work orders in ordinary paragraphs with no special formatting. The court also recognized an exception: the fair notice requirements don't apply when the business shows the signer actually knew about the release.

A trampoline park case shows a release that passed. In Quiroz v. Jumpstreet8, Inc. (Tex. App. Dallas 2018, No. 05-17-00948-CV), an adult was seriously injured at a trampoline facility. The court enforced the release: it specifically named negligence and gross negligence claims, and the assumption of risk paragraph listing those claims was boxed, in all capital letters, directly above the signature line.

Gross Negligence, Recklessness and Intentional Harm

This is unsettled in Texas. The Quiroz court noted that the Texas Supreme Court has not ruled on whether a pre-injury release of gross negligence is against public policy, and that appellate courts have reached different results. Quiroz let a release that expressly named gross negligence bar that claim. Earlier, in Van Voris v. Team Chop Shop, LLC (Tex. App. Dallas 2013, No. 05-11-01370-CV), the same court let a mixed martial arts gym's release bar the ordinary negligence claims but held that a pre-injury release of gross negligence is against public policy. Intentional harm is a separate category, and a release can't be counted on to cover it. Because the answer can depend on the court, this is a point to discuss with a Texas attorney.

Waivers for Minors in Texas

In Munoz v. II Jaz Inc., 863 S.W.2d 207 (Tex. App. Houston [14th Dist.] 1993), a nine-year-old was hurt on an amusement ride after a release had been signed on her behalf. The court held that the Family Code provision giving parents power to make legal decisions for their children "does not give parents the power to waive a child's cause of action for personal injuries," because that would be "against the public policy to protect minor children." The court handled the parents' own claims separately, asking whether the person who signed had authority to bind the parents.

The Texas Supreme Court has not ruled on this question. Federal courts applying Texas law have predicted Texas courts would follow Munoz, as discussed by Texas A&M AgriLife's agricultural law program.

The main exception is statutory. Under the Texas Agritourism Act, the required agreement may be signed "by the agritourism participant or, if the agritourism participant is a minor, the agritourism participant's parent, managing conservator, or guardian" (CPRC 75A.004).

Texas Activity Laws

• Agritourism (CPRC ch. 75A). An agritourism entity can limit liability for injuries from agritourism activities either by posting the statutory warning sign (75A.003) or by getting a signed agreement and warning statement (75A.002, 75A.004). The agreement must be signed before participation, be in a separate document from other agreements (other warnings or consent forms excepted), be printed in at least 10-point bold type, and contain the exact "AGREEMENT AND WARNING" text in the statute. The protection doesn't cover negligence evidencing a disregard for safety, known dangerous conditions, failure to train employees, or intentional harm.
• Farm animals, including horses (CPRC ch. 87). Section 87.005 requires farm animal professionals and farm owners or lessees to post a warning sign with set wording and to include the same warning in written contracts with participants.

More Than a Release

A signed agreement does other work for Texas businesses:

• Evidence the signer knew. Dresser excuses the fair notice requirements when the business shows the signer actually knew about the release. A record of each acknowledgment is evidence on that point; how much it matters depends on the facts.
• Agritourism protection. A signed agreement in the statutory form is one of the two ways to qualify under Chapter 75A, and a parent can sign it for a child.
• Farm animal contract warning. Chapter 87 requires its warning in written contracts with participants, and a signed agreement is a natural place for it.
• A record of your warnings and rules. A form that lists the activity's risks and your rules, with each one acknowledged, is evidence of what guests were told.
• Medical information and consent. Health conditions, emergency contacts, consent to treatment and photo consent, collected before anyone takes part.

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. Because the Texas rules are technical, these are points worth raising:

• Negligence named in plain words. The express negligence doctrine looks for language that the signer releases the business from claims caused by the business's own negligence.
• Formatting that stands out. Dresser pointed to capitalized headings and contrasting type, and the court in Quiroz pointed to boxed, all-caps text right above the signature line.
• Gross negligence. Given the conflicting decisions, how the agreement addresses it is worth discussing.
• Agritourism format. Chapter 75A sets the exact text, type size and separate-document rule for its agreement.

How WaiverFile Helps Texas 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 paragraphs, risks and rules you choose, so each one has its own acknowledgment.
• Separate forms for separate purposes. Unlimited forms let a stand-alone agreement, such as an agritourism agreement, be its own document.
• 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 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, in multiple languages, 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, send guests an email copy, or download signed waivers in bulk as a ZIP file for any date range.

Start with one of our free waiver templates, adapt it for Texas with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 322.007 (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• Dresser Industries, Inc. v. Page Petroleum, Inc., 853 S.W.2d 505 (Tex. 1993)
• Quiroz v. Jumpstreet8, Inc., No. 05-17-00948-CV (Tex. App. Dallas 2018), case summary at Recreation-Law.com
• Van Voris v. Team Chop Shop, LLC, No. 05-11-01370-CV (Tex. App. Dallas June 7, 2013)
• Munoz v. II Jaz Inc., 863 S.W.2d 207 (Tex. App. Houston [14th Dist.] 1993)
• Texas A&M AgriLife: Will Texas Courts Enforce Liability Waivers Signed on Behalf of Minor Children?
• Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 75A.002 (agritourism limited liability)
• Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 75A.003 (agritourism warning sign)
• Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 75A.004 (agritourism agreement and warning)
• Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 87.005 (farm animal activity warning notice)

Published November 4, 2026