Virginia is one of the few states where a signed release won't stop a personal injury negligence claim: the Supreme Court of Virginia treats an advance release of liability for negligence causing personal injury as void. A signed participant agreement still does real work for Virginia gyms, parks, tours, stables, farms and events. It records the specific risks each guest was told about, which matters because Virginia treats assumption of risk as a complete defense. It's the waiver Virginia's equine statute recognizes, including one signed by a parent. It carries the notice agritourism operators must put in their contracts, and it is where you address property damage, which Virginia treats differently from injury. This guide covers each of these, how Virginia's rule on injury releases works, and how to get the most from the agreement your guests sign.
This guide is general information about Virginia 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 Virginia
| Electronic signatures | Valid under the Virginia Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Va. Code 59.1-485) and the federal ESIGN Act. |
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| Proof the guest knew the risks | Assumption of a known risk is a complete bar to recovery in Virginia, judged by what the person actually understood (Thurmond, Va. 2003). A signed description of specific risks is evidence of what they were told. |
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| Equine activities | A participant, or a parent or guardian, who knowingly signed a waiver or agreed to assume the intrinsic dangers of equine activities can't sue the sponsor or professional, with exceptions (Va. Code 3.2-6202, 3.2-6203). |
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| Agritourism | Immunity for inherent risks, but only if you post the statutory warning signs and include the notice in your written contracts (Va. Code 3.2-6402). |
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| Property damage | Virginia's rule against advance releases is aimed at personal injury. The Supreme Court of Virginia has upheld advance releases of liability for property damage (as described in Hiett). |
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| Rules, medical information and consent | Rules acknowledgments, health conditions, emergency contacts, parent consent and photo consent, collected before the activity. |
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| Releasing injury claims | Not available outside the equine statute. A pre-injury release of liability for negligence causing personal injury is void as against public policy (Hiett v. Lake Barcroft, Va. 1992). |
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Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Virginia?
Yes. Virginia's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act is in Chapter 42.1 of Title 59.1. Section 59.1-485 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 Virginia Businesses
It Records What Each Guest Was Told
Virginia still recognizes assumption of risk as a complete defense. In Thurmond v. Prince William Professional Baseball Club, Inc., 265 Va. 59 (2003), the Supreme Court of Virginia said that "a person's voluntary assumption of the risk of injury from a known danger operates as a complete bar to recovery for a defendant's alleged negligence in causing that injury." The test is subjective: whether this particular person "fully understood the nature and extent of a known danger and voluntarily exposed herself to that danger." In Thurmond, the court noted the stadium's warning signs and the risk language on the back of the ticket, and held that an experienced fan assumed the risk of a foul ball. A signed form that describes your activity's specific risks, with the guest's acknowledgment of each, is evidence of what they were told. How much it matters in a given case depends on the facts, because the question is what the person actually understood.
It Is the Waiver the Equine Statute Recognizes
For stables, trail rides, lessons and horse shows, Virginia's equine law gives a signed waiver a role that it doesn't have elsewhere in the state. Under Va. Code 3.2-6202, sponsors and professionals aren't liable for injuries resulting from the intrinsic dangers of equine activities, and no participant "or parent or guardian of a participant who has knowingly executed a waiver of his rights to sue or agrees to assume all risks or intrinsic dangers of equine activities" may sue the sponsor or professional for an injury to a participant. The statute says:
- the waiver "shall give notice to the participant of the intrinsic dangers of equine activities";
- it "may be executed at a location other than that of the equine activity," so it can be signed ahead of time;
- it stays valid unless expressly revoked in writing; and
- for a minor, a waiver signed by a representative the parent or guardian designated in writing counts as signed by the parent.
The exceptions are in Va. Code 3.2-6203: intentionally injuring the participant, knowingly providing faulty equipment or tack that caused the injury, and negligence that caused the injury "unless such participant, parent or guardian has expressly assumed the risk causing the injury in accordance with subsection B of ยง 3.2-6202." We didn't find a Virginia appellate case applying that last clause, so how far it reaches is a question for your attorney.
It Carries the Agritourism Notice
Virginia's agritourism law gives farms and agritourism operators immunity for injuries resulting from the inherent risks of agritourism activities, but Va. Code 3.2-6402 requires two things. You must post signs with the statutory "WARNING" or "ATTENTION" notice at the entrance and at the activity site, in black letters at least one inch high. And every written contract for professional services, instruction or equipment rental must contain the notice "in clearly readable print." Without both, the immunity isn't available. An agreement that contains the notice is the contract half; the signs are required whatever your agreement says.
It Can Address Property Damage
The line Virginia draws is between personal injury and property damage. In Hiett, the Supreme Court of Virginia explained that its decisions since 1890 "have been limited to upholding the right to contract for the release of liability for property damage, as well as indemnification from liability to third parties for such damage." Those cases involved agreements between businesses and a condominium's bylaws rather than recreation customers, so ask your attorney how they apply to your agreement. The agreement is the natural place to address damage to a guest's own gear and responsibility for equipment they rent or borrow.
It Collects Rules, Medical Information and Consent
Your agreement is where guests accept your rules (age and weight limits, required gear, following staff instructions) and where you collect health conditions, emergency contacts, consent to first aid and photo consent before anyone takes part. None of these depend on a release clause. For families, the parent's form is the record that a parent or guardian approved the child's participation.
How Virginia Treats Injury Releases
The leading case is Hiett v. Lake Barcroft Community Ass'n, 244 Va. 191 (1992). A triathlete was paralyzed after diving into the lake at the start of the swim. He had signed an entry form releasing the organizers from "any and all injuries suffered by me in said event." The Supreme Court of Virginia framed the issue as "whether a pre-injury release from liability for negligence is void as being against public policy," and held that the release Hiett signed was void. The court relied on Johnson's Adm'x v. Richmond and Danville R.R. Co., 86 Va. 975 (1890), which said that putting the other party "at the mercy of its own misconduct" through such a release "can never be lawfully done," and that "Public policy forbids it, and contracts against public policy are void."
Because the rule is about the release itself, careful wording doesn't change the result. Hiett makes no exception for a parent signing for a child, while the equine statute expressly recognizes a parent's waiver for equine activities. That's why Virginia agreements focus on risk acknowledgments, statutory notices, rules and the information you need, and why a waiver template written for another state isn't a good fit as is. It's worth having a Virginia attorney adapt your agreement.
What Makes a Virginia 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 Virginia agreement:
- A plain description of the specific risks of your activity, since Thurmond asks what the person actually understood.
- For equine activities, notice of the intrinsic dangers of equine activities, as 3.2-6202 requires, and how to handle the express assumption of risk mentioned in 3.2-6203.
- For agritourism, the exact statutory notice in every written contract for services, instruction or rentals.
- Separate terms for property damage and equipment responsibility, which Virginia treats differently from personal injury.
- A clear record of who signed, when, and which version of the form they saw.
How WaiverFile Helps Virginia 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 riding experience, 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 farms and trailheads. 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 Virginia with your attorney, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.
Sources and Further Reading
General information, not legal advice. WaiverFile is not a law firm, and this article is not legal advice. Laws change and courts decide each case on its own facts, so have a local attorney review your waiver.
Published November 4, 2026