For dive centres

Liability release and risk acknowledgement

Two documents that get mentioned in one breath do different jobs. The risk acknowledgement tells the guest what they are getting into. The liability release sets out what the centre is not answerable for. Both are worth only as much as they are provable and understood.

The difference that matters in practice

Document	Purpose
Risk acknowledgement	The guest confirms they understand the typical hazards of diving and accept them knowingly.
Liability release	The guest waives claims against the centre to the extent the applicable law allows.
House rules	The rules of your centre: boat procedures, depth limits, cancellation terms, handling of equipment.

A liability release is never a blank cheque. Intent and gross negligence cannot be signed away, and in many jurisdictions neither can personal injury. What a well-made document does deliver: it shows the guest was informed - and that is usually what a dispute turns on.

The key point

A signature under text the guest could not read helps nobody. That is why Diver ID presents these declarations in the guest's own language - from 18 - and records which wording they saw.

What matters when signing digitally

The wording is stored with it. Not "guest agreed", but the full text exactly as it appeared on screen. Change your declaration later and the old version stays attached to the old signature.
Your centre's name is in it. A release runs in favour of a specific business. When a guest moves to another centre, they sign again.
An audit record is attached. Server time rather than the guest's phone clock, device information and a checksum of the document, so later changes are detectable.
The guest keeps a copy. Almost never true on paper, and it strengthens the declaration rather than weakening it.

Minors

Under 18, a guest does not sign alone: a legal guardian has to countersign. In Diver ID, creating a minor's profile asks for up to two guardians, and every check-in document requires both signatures. On their eighteenth birthday this is retired automatically and the guest signs for themselves.

Agency forms

Many centres also need their training agency's paperwork - for a course, a speciality or a try dive. Upload such a document once as a PDF or photograph it; from then on it is presented automatically to every matching guest and secured with the same audit record as the rest of the check-in. The only requirement is that you hold the agency's rights to use those documents.

Frequently asked questions

Is a digital signature valid for diving waivers?

In most dive destinations yes - what counts is that it stays provable who signed which text and when, and that audit record is attached to every signature. The legal position in the major countries is collected on our e-signature page; in edge cases a paper original remains the safer choice.

Does a guest have to sign again on every visit?

Not on every visit. The liability release applies to your centre and stays in force; the risk acknowledgement is renewed after a couple of years and the medical questionnaire annually. At a different centre the release is always signed again, because a different name appears in it.

How does this work for children and teenagers?

Under 18, a legal guardian signs as well. The profile asks for up to two guardians when it is created, and every document requires both signatures. It ends automatically at 18.

Can we have guests sign our own house rules?

Yes. Your own rules and notices are added in your settings and become part of the check-in, with the same signature and audit record as everything else.

Try Diver ID for free

Your account takes a few minutes to set up and the first 20 guest check-ins are on us. No subscription, no base fee, no payment details required.

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