Are Online Waivers Legal in Vermont?

Vermont's Supreme Court has held releases void when a business opens its facility to the general public, as ski areas do, so in Vermont a release isn't a dependable way to rule out negligence claims at a public venue. Releases have held up in narrower settings, like a members-only motocross association's races, and a signed agreement does other work for Vermont ski areas, outfitters, zip-line parks, stables, camps and events: Vermont law says sports participants accept a sport's obvious and necessary dangers, a federal court upheld a zip-line park's arbitration clause even though it voided the park's release, and the agreement is the record of the risks, rules and health information each guest acknowledged. This guide covers each of these, how Vermont treats injury releases, and how to get the most from the agreement your guests sign.

This guide is general information about Vermont 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 Vermont

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Vermont?

Yes. Vermont adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in Title 9, Chapter 20. Section 276 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 et seq.) says the same for transactions in interstate commerce. 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 Vermont Businesses

It Can Release Claims Outside Public Venues

Vermont hasn't banned releases. It asks whether a release is clear and whether, in the totality of the circumstances, enforcing it would be contrary to public policy. In Provoncha v. Vermont Motocross Ass'n, 2009 VT 29, the Vermont Supreme Court enforced a race day entry form signed by an adult rider. The association, a nonprofit with about 300 members, let only current members race, and the court had "no difficulty in determining that the service VMA and Driver provide is neither of great importance to the public nor open to the public at large." The court also held the form clear enough to cover negligence without using that word, because it released claims "from any cause whatsoever." Earlier, in Douglass v. Skiing Standards, Inc., 142 Vt. 634 (1983), the court held a release signed by a professional freestyle skier clear enough to cover the ski area's negligence.

Clarity still matters: in Thompson v. Hi Tech Motor Sports, Inc., 2008 VT 15, a motorcycle dealership's release of "any claim" was held not clear enough to cover the dealer's own negligence during a test ride. Whether your business looks more like Provoncha or like a public ski area is a question to work through with a Vermont attorney.

It Records the Obvious and Necessary Risks

Under 12 V.S.A. 1037, "a person who takes part in any sport accepts as a matter of law the dangers that inhere therein insofar as they are obvious and necessary." Vermont's public policy cases are about releasing the operator's own negligence, not inherent risks. In Spencer v. Killington, the Supreme Court said it had not "required race promoters to eliminate all the hazards inherent to ski racing or otherwise face liability for any injuries that result from those inherent risks," and quoted section 1037. A signed form that describes your activity's obvious and necessary risks, with the guest's acknowledgment of each, is evidence of what they were told. How much it matters depends on the facts.

It Carries the Equine Warning

Under 12 V.S.A. 1039, no person is liable for an injury to a participant "resulting from the inherent risks of equine activities, insofar as those risks are necessary to the equine activity and obvious to the person injured." The statute sets out a warning that sponsors may post on signs and may include in written contracts for services, instruction or rentals. Posting and contract notice are optional under the statute, but an agreement that includes the warning gives each rider a signed copy of it.

It Can Send Disputes to Arbitration

In Littlejohn v. Timberquest Park at Magic, LLC, 116 F. Supp. 3d 422 (D. Vt. 2015), a federal court applying Vermont law held a zip-line and aerial park's release void under Dalury. It treated the agreement's arbitration provision separately: it struck a term requiring the "neutral" arbitrator to come from the zip-line industry, held the rest valid, and dismissed the court case without prejudice to the rider's right to demand arbitration. The court's concern with the struck term was bias, so fairness to both sides is part of the picture. Whether an arbitration clause suits your business is a question for your attorney.

It Collects Rules, Medical Information and Consent

Your agreement is where guests accept your rules (age limits, required gear, following staff instructions) and where you collect health conditions, emergency contacts, consent to emergency treatment 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.

How Vermont Treats Injury Releases

The leading case is Dalury v. S-K-I, Ltd., 164 Vt. 329 (1995). A skier hit a metal pole at Killington, and the resort relied on the release in his season pass. The Vermont Supreme Court held the release void as contrary to public policy. It looked at the totality of the circumstances and stressed that the ski area, though privately owned, invited the public onto its premises, and that the ski area alone could properly maintain and inspect them and train its employees. Letting it contract out of negligence would remove its incentive to manage those risks and shift injury costs to the public.

In Spencer v. Killington, Ltd., 167 Vt. 137 (1997), the court applied Dalury to a release required for an amateur ski race open to the public. In Littlejohn, the federal court said a business open to the public "cannot contract out of liability for negligence in the design, maintenance and operation of its business premises."

We didn't find a Vermont Supreme Court decision on whether a parent can release a child's future claims, or one squarely addressing releases of gross negligence. Given Dalury, a parent's release for a child at a public venue would face at least the same problem as an adult's. A waiver template written for another state isn't a good fit as is, so it's worth having a Vermont attorney adapt your agreement.

What Makes a Vermont 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 Vermont agreement:

• How Dalury and Provoncha apply to your business: who can take part, and who controls the premises and equipment.
• Clear release language, since Thompson found "any claim" wasn't enough while Provoncha accepted "from any cause whatsoever."
• A plain description of your activity's obvious and necessary risks, kept separate from any release of negligence.
• For equine activities, the 12 V.S.A. 1039 warning.
• Any arbitration terms in their own paragraph, fair to both sides, since Littlejohn struck a term that favored the business.
• A clear record of who signed, when, and which version of the form they saw.

How WaiverFile Helps Vermont 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 at trailheads and base lodges. 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 Vermont with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• 9 V.S.A. 276 (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, legal recognition)
• 15 U.S.C. 7001 (federal ESIGN Act)
• Provoncha v. Vermont Motocross Ass'n, 2009 VT 29 (also discusses Douglass v. Skiing Standards, 142 Vt. 634 (1983), and Thompson v. Hi Tech Motor Sports, 2008 VT 15)
• 12 V.S.A. 1037 (acceptance of inherent risks in sports)
• 12 V.S.A. 1039 (equine activities)
• Littlejohn v. Timberquest Park at Magic, LLC, 116 F. Supp. 3d 422 (D. Vt. 2015)
• Dalury v. S-K-I, Ltd., 164 Vt. 329, 670 A.2d 795 (1995)
• Spencer v. Killington, Ltd., 167 Vt. 137, 702 A.2d 35 (1997)

Published November 4, 2026