Liability waiver template.
A plain-language waiver and assumption-of-risk form you can fill in and send before a client's first session. Add your business, the client and what they are taking part in, then print it or save it as a PDF for signing. Free and no sign-up. It is written to be understood by the person signing it, which is the part that makes a waiver worth anything.
Be specific. A waiver covers what it describes, so "strength training performed independently at a gym" is worth more than "coaching".
what the client is signing
Describe the activity to see the summary your client will read.
This page and the form it produces are a starter template and general information, not legal advice. Waiver law differs sharply by country and by US state, and some jurisdictions limit or refuse to enforce them. Have a qualified adviser where you operate review this before you rely on it.
after the print
If a document like this goes out to every client, the rebuilding is the part worth retiring: in Coachway, forms, programs and meal plans live in the client app - sent, filled in and stored per client, no printer involved.
see inside CoachwayWhat a liability waiver does, and what it does not.
A liability waiver, sometimes called an assumption-of-risk form or a release, records that a client was told exercise carries a real risk of injury, understood it, and chose to take part anyway. That record is the point. If a question ever arises, the useful thing is not the sentence saying the client releases you from everything; it is the evidence that they were informed, that they confirmed they were fit to take part, and that they agreed to stop and seek advice if something went wrong.
What it does not do is make you immune. Waivers are read narrowly by courts, they only cover the activity they actually describe, and most legal systems will not let anyone sign away liability for negligence, or for death and personal injury caused by it. Several US states and a number of countries restrict them further. So the honest way to use one is as a layer: a waiver alongside a PAR-Q health screen, an informed consent form, a written coaching contract and proper insurance. Any one of those on its own is thin.
Five things that make a waiver worth signing.
A waiver that says everything in dense legal language protects you less than a short one the client genuinely read. These five do most of the work. The generator above produces all of them, and the full document is set out further down so you can read it before you send it.
1. the actual activity
Name what the client is doing and where. A waiver covers the activity it describes and not much beyond it, so strength training performed independently at a gym is a stronger line than coaching.
2. the risk, stated plainly
Say that exercise can cause injury, including serious injury, and that the client understands this. Vague wording about "possible discomfort" undercuts the whole document.
3. a health declaration
The client confirms they are fit to take part, that they have disclosed conditions, injuries and medication, and that they will tell you when that changes. This is what ties the waiver to your screening.
4. the limits of coaching
State that coaching is not medical care and that you do not diagnose, treat or prescribe. It protects the client as much as you, and it is the sentence that keeps everyone inside scope.
5. permission to stop
Make it explicit that the client may stop at any time, and should, if something hurts or feels wrong. A client who believes they must push through is a risk to themselves and to you.
and one to get right
The release clause. Keep the carve-out that nothing excludes liability which cannot lawfully be excluded. Removing it does not give you more protection, it just makes the clause easier to strike out entirely.
From blank form to a signed record.
Fill in the fields above, print the sheet or save it as a PDF, and send it before the first session rather than after it. A waiver signed once training has already started is worth noticeably less, because the client had already begun taking the risk it describes.
Send it together with the health screen. The two documents lean on each other: the waiver records that the client accepted the risk, and the PAR-Q records that you checked whether it was safe for them to start. If a readiness answer raises a flag, deal with that first and do not let a signed waiver stand in for the conversation. For how the three intake documents differ and what each is for, we cover the full set in the guide to waivers, PAR-Q and informed consent.
Then keep it somewhere you could actually find it in three years. In Coachway you can build these as required intake forms the client completes in their app before they are marked active, so the signed answers sit in the client record rather than in a chat thread, and nobody starts training without having been screened.
Frequently asked questions.
Does a liability waiver actually protect a coach?
Partly, and less than most coaches assume. As general information and not legal advice: a signed waiver shows the client was told about the risks and chose to take part anyway, which is genuinely useful evidence. What it does not do is make you immune from claims. Many countries and US states limit how far a waiver can go, and most will not let anyone sign away liability for negligence or for death and personal injury caused by it. Treat a waiver as one layer alongside insurance, a written contract and proper health screening, never as a replacement for any of them.
What is the difference between a waiver, a PAR-Q and informed consent?
They answer three different questions. A liability waiver asks whether the client accepts the risk of taking part. A PAR-Q health screen asks whether it is safe for this particular person to start at all. Informed consent asks whether the client understands what the coaching involves and what its limits are, including that a coach does not diagnose, treat or prescribe. Most coaches collect all three at intake, because a signed waiver from someone who was never screened is a weak document.
Is a digital or printed waiver valid?
A document filled in on this page and printed or saved as a PDF carries the same wording as a paper one. What matters is that the client genuinely read it, completed it honestly and signed it, and that you keep the dated record somewhere you can find it later. Some insurers ask for a wet-ink signature or insist on their own document, and rules on electronic signatures differ by country. Check what your insurer and certifying body require and follow that rather than assuming.
Do I need a waiver if I coach online and never meet the client?
Coaching remotely tends to make screening and documentation matter more, not less, because you are not in the room to spot poor technique or a client who looks unwell. You cannot supervise a lift through a screen. That is the argument for having a written record that the client was told about the risks, confirmed they were fit to take part and agreed to stop and seek advice if something felt wrong. Whether a waiver is required where you operate is a question for a local adviser.
Can I use the same waiver for every client?
For the same kind of coaching, yes, and one reviewed document you reuse is safer than writing a fresh one each time. Change only the details that genuinely differ: the client, the date and the description of what they are taking part in. If you add something structurally different, for example in-person sessions alongside online coaching, or work with under-18s where a parent or guardian must sign, have the wording looked at again rather than stretching the original.
Where should signed waivers be stored?
Somewhere private, access-controlled and still findable years from now, because that is when it would matter. A signed PDF in the client record in your coaching platform or on a locked drive is fine; a shared inbox, an open drive link or a phone camera roll is not. The document carries the client name, contact details and health-related statements, which makes it personal data in most of Europe and beyond, so keep it only as long as you have a reason to.
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