Digital Release of Liability Forms for a Better Customer Experience

Release of liability forms have become a standard practice among businesses and organizations seeking to protect themselves in the unfortunate event of a lawsuit. Whether you’re shopping for a new car, visiting an amusement park, or joining a local sports team, you’ll likely need to sign a liability waiver form before the fun begins.

What is a release of liability form?

A release of liability form, also known as a liability waiver form, is a contract signed by a person who intends to participate in an event or activity that carries some level of inherent risk. The text of the contract is intended to educate the participant about the nature of the risks involved. It also acknowledges that the signer waives any liability on the part of the organization putting on the event or activity in the event of accidental damage, injury, or other harm to the visitor.

A liability waiver is a contract that is signed by the visitor and is therefore generally considered to be legally enforceable. Under the right conditions, liability waivers help to limit the claims or damages that a visitor could pursue against a business in the future.

For example, an indoor rock climbing gym might require a signature before allowing clients to scale the walls, or an escape room might require a signature from each member of the team before locking them in for an hour.

Can a release of liability form be signed electronically?

Yes, a release of liability form is one of many common contracts that can be signed electronically. Using Docusign eSignature, you can create and send a link to your liability waiver for customers to review and sign in advance. Or visitors can sign on-site through their own devices (without even touching your public kiosk).

Contactless electronic liability waiver forms are a way to simplify the process and create safer, more efficient experiences.

Paper-based liability waivers, consent forms, or policy updates can also be costly to the business, requiring repetitive document generation, as well as a method of tracking completed waivers. This costs teams considerable time and resources to send, manage and track agreements. What’s worse: emailing a static document to customers to be printed, signed, scanned and sent back is a tedious process for customers in the digital age who expect a seamless online experience.

Can release of liability forms be signed online?  

A business that books events or experiences in advance can easily send their release of liability form for visitors to sign ahead of time. The liability waiver can be included in a booking confirmation email or accessed via the business’ website.

Offering the option to sign online in advance of the booking provides a better customer service experience than asking visitors to review a hard copy checklist of rules and risks on site. This  can be untenable, generate long lines, elicit customer frustration and potentially lose business. Electronic waivers and related online forms solve many of these manual, paper-based challenges and create a smoother review and signing process for your visitors.

Electronic forms simplify and improve the signing processes 

Electronic liability waivers, health declarations, and other electronic contracts supported by electronic signature software provide a contactless and improved online experience for the customer.

Best in class audit trails and automated workflows simplify processes and reduce risk to the business as well. The bulk send functionality in Docusign eSignature is the easiest way to send out agreements to a high volume of customers or members to complete and sign remotely. Simply import a customer loyalty or membership list, and each receives a unique, personalized copy of the waiver to sign – eliminating the need to create and send separate envelopes or emails.

Docusign customers can standardize forms by creating a reusable liability waiver template, which lets you standardize your release of liability forms and automate end-to-end data gathering with common fields and a clear click-to-sign signature box. You can also include freeform fields or add an attachment.

Create on-demand waivers with PowerForms

Docusign PowerForms are the perfect method for pre-screening clients and visitors. Customers can easily access an online self-assessment questionnaire that can be completed at any time. A custom form is generated from their answers; the customer then can sign the waiver remotely from their own personal device (PC, tablet, phone). PowerForms are the most efficient way to create on-demand, self-serve documents for signature – and capture waivers for everyone who comes into your business, whether in advance of a visit or at the door.

Capture release of liability form signatures faster with clickwrap agreements

Docusign Click makes it easy to capture customer approvals with a single click, creating a seamless customer experience while reducing business risk. Consent can be digitally captured at the door, via a virtual kiosk, or in advance online via a company’s website or apps. Click makes it easy to update the terms in a waiver at any time, manage changes, and ensure customers have accepted the latest version of those terms.

Electronic release of liability forms are more secure than paper forms

Docusign’s digital forms and eSignature solutions create a detailed audit trail, so businesses can document evidence of liability waivers or consent forms with date, time, and other critical information in the Certificate of Completion. This helps protect businesses in case of a future customer dispute (see “Are Electronic Signatures Admissible in Court”). Storage in Docusign’s secure, encrypted cloud based environment allows businesses to manage and track completed forms across multiple locations, and track compliance with company policy at each store. 

Docusign can help

Docusign is here to help as businesses navigate the digital landscape. Our solutions for electronic liability waivers make it easy to send and sign the documents you need.

Sign up for a Docusign free trial and get started creating a reusable template for your electronic release of liability form today.

This blog post is offered for general information purposes only. It does not constitute, and is not a substitute for, legal advice.