A kayak rental, a climbing wall, a pottery class, a photo shoot: some businesses ask every customer to read a form and sign it before they start. Paper forms pile up, and finding one from last spring means a box in the back. This guide walks through what a waiver form usually has, then how to hand customers an iPad to sign it with Front Desk Cat, our front desk app for iPhone and iPad.
First, the plain part. A signed waiver is a record that someone agreed to your form, not advice about the law. Front Desk Cat doesn't write the wording of your form for you. Have your own form checked by someone qualified where you are.
What goes on a waiver form
- A clear title, so a printed page says what it was for.
- Your form text: what the activity is and what you're asking people to agree to. This is the part to have checked.
- The person's full name and the date.
- A line saying they read it.
- A signature.
Ask only what you need. Rules about keeping people's details differ from place to place, so check yours.
Open Waivers and add your form
Front Desk Cat runs several front desk jobs. The first time you open it, it asks What are you running today? Tap Waivers ("Guests read your form and sign with a finger. Each one gets a signed PDF."). The app opens straight into Waivers next time. To switch jobs, tap the grid button at the top left (Front desk jobs).
Your form sits at the top of the screen. A new one starts as Release form, with the line "Write your form here. Each guest reads it, adds their name and date, ticks that they have read it and signs." That's a placeholder, not wording to use.
Tap Edit. Under Title, give it a name, such as Kayak rental release. Under Form text, type or paste your own wording. Tap Save.
Hand the iPad to your customer
Tap Start signing. The guest screen fills the iPad, with your title and form text in large type. It doesn't show anyone else's name. The customer:
- Reads the form.
- Types their name under Your full name.
- Checks the Date (it starts on today).
- Taps I have read this.
- Signs with a finger in the box that says Sign here. Clear wipes it so they can try again.
- Taps Done.
Done only works once there's a name, the tick and a signature. Then a Thank you screen shows for a moment, and a blank form is ready for the next person. A group can pass the iPad along without you touching it.
Leaving the guest screen
The guest screen can't be swiped away. To get back to your records, tap Close at the top. The iPad asks for your Face ID, Touch ID or passcode ("Confirm it's you before leaving the guest screen."). If that fails or is cancelled, the guest screen stays.
One thing to know: if the iPad has no passcode set, there's nothing to check against, so Close lets you straight out. Set a passcode on the iPad if you want the check.
Find, share or print a signed waiver
Back on the Waivers screen, everyone who signed is listed under Signed records, newest first, with the date. Tap a name to see their PDF: your logo if you've added one, the form's title and text as it was when they signed, their name, the date, "I have read this form.", their signature, and a footer line with the date and time it was signed in Front Desk Cat. Each record keeps its own copy of the text, so editing your form later doesn't change what earlier people signed.
Tap the share button to send the PDF, save it to Files, or print it from the share sheet. The file is named after the signer.
Signed the wrong form? Swipe left on a record and tap Delete. For a few seconds you can tap Undo.
More than one activity?
With Pro, tap Forms at the top right to keep a form for each activity and switch between them. Without Pro, the New form button is marked Pro. Deleting a form keeps every record signed on it.
Running a sign-in sheet at the same desk? See how to make a sign-in sheet. Need to sign a PDF someone sent you instead? See how to sign a PDF on iPhone.
What it costs
Waivers is free: your form, any number of signers, the guest screen with its lock, and a signed PDF for each one. There's no watermark, no ads, no sign-up, no account and no subscription. Front Desk Cat Pro, a one-time purchase, adds four extras to Waivers: Several forms, a CSV of waiver signers (name, date, form and when it was signed), Search waivers, and Your logo on the PDF. More on the Front Desk Cat page.
Signed records are kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share or print them. There's no account. Front Desk Cat keeps a signed PDF record of each person who agrees to your form. It isn't legal advice, and it doesn't check who anyone is.
Quick answers
Can customers sign a waiver on an iPad with a finger?
Yes. In Front Desk Cat's Waivers, tap Start signing and hand over the iPad. They read, type their name, tick I have read this, sign with a finger and tap Done.
Is a waiver signed on an iPad legally binding?
Front Desk Cat can't tell you that. It keeps a record that someone agreed to your form, not advice about the law. Ask someone qualified where you are about your form.
Can a customer see other people's waivers?
The guest screen shows only your form and their own entry. Leaving it asks for your Face ID, Touch ID or passcode, if the iPad has a passcode set.
Do I need an account?
No account. Signed records stay on the iPad unless you share or print them.
Try Front Desk Cat
Try Front Desk Cat: free, no watermark, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/front-desk-cat