Set Up Your First Waiver

This guide builds your first waiver in four phases, and the order matters. You build your legal content first (your terms and conditions, acknowledgements, and any safety videos) as reusable template items under Waivers > Terms & Custom Steps. Then you create the waiver itself, fill in its settings, build the form by dropping in the terms you already made, and publish it to your trips. Terms come first because a waiver exists to get customers to agree to your terms, and because your saved terms only appear as options during form building after you have created them. Building them first means no jumping back and forth.

WaveRez does not write, provide, or review any legal content for you. Every word of your terms is your responsibility, and you should have a licensed attorney in your state review your waiver before you publish it.

Have these things ready so you can build the whole waiver in one sitting:

In this phase you create your terms and conditions (and any acknowledgements or videos) as saved template items. A template item is a reusable block you build once here and can then add to any waiver. You build these first so that when you get to building your form later, your terms are already sitting there waiting to be added.

Step 1 — Open the Terms & Custom Steps page. In the left menu, click Waivers. The menu expands. Click Terms & Custom Steps. The Terms & Custom Steps page opens. This is where all your reusable legal content lives.

Step 2 — Find the two buttons at the top of the page. At the top of the Terms & Custom Steps page there are two buttons. The first is ADD LEGAL CONTENT, which is a dropdown. When you click it, three choices drop down: Terms and Conditions, Acknowledgements, and Video Acknowledgement. The second button is the green Add Custom Step, which is for collecting plain information that is not legal content, like a question or a phone number.

Here is the one thing to understand about all four of these buttons: every button opens the exact same window, called Form Step Configuration. The only difference is which Field type is already filled in for you when the window opens. ADD LEGAL CONTENT > Terms and Conditions opens the window with the field type already set to Terms and Conditions. Add Custom Step opens the same window with the field type blank so you can choose any type yourself. Once you understand that they are all the same window, the rest is easy.

A Terms and Conditions item shows the customer a block of your legal text and a single checkbox they must tick to agree before they can move forward. This is the most common and most important item you will build. Use it for your liability release, your rental agreement, your lease terms, or any text a customer must agree to.

Step 1 — Open a new Terms and Conditions item. Click the ADD LEGAL CONTENT dropdown, then click Terms and Conditions. The Form Step Configuration window opens with the Field type already set to Terms and Conditions.

Step 2 — Type a Step title. The Step title is the heading the customer sees at the top of this step. Click in the Step title box and type a clear name, for example: Liability Release.

Step 3 — Leave the Step description blank for now. The Step description box is optional secondary text shown under the title. You can leave it empty.

Step 4 — Type an internal Label. The Label box is an internal name for this field. Customers do not see the Label. Type something that tells you what this item is, for example: Liability Release.

Step 5 — Type your terms into the Terms content box. The Terms content box is a text editor with buttons for bold, italic, underline, bullet lists, links, and images across the top. Click inside the box and type or paste your terms. As an example of the kind of operational text that goes here: "I am renting watercraft from Sunset Watersports and I agree to operate it according to all posted rules and staff instructions." Whatever formatting you apply in this box is exactly what the customer sees.

[Screenshot placeholder: Form Step Configuration window for a Terms and Conditions item, showing Step title, Field type set to Terms and Conditions, Label, the Terms content rich text editor, Checkbox label, Error text, the Required toggle, and the Display in details / PDF dropdown. Alt text: "Form Step Configuration window for a Terms and Conditions field showing the terms content editor and the display dropdown set to Do not show."]

Step 6 — Set the Checkbox label. The Checkbox label is the line of text next to the box the customer ticks. It comes pre-filled as "I have read and agree to the terms." Change it if you want different wording, for example: "I have read and agree to the liability release."

Step 7 — Leave the Error text as-is or change it. The Error text is the message a customer sees if they try to continue without ticking the box. It comes pre-filled as "Please accept the terms to continue." You can leave it.

Step 8 — Leave the Required toggle on. The Required toggle is the small switch next to the word Required. It is already turned on for terms. Leaving it on means the customer must tick the box before they can continue. Leave it on.

Step 9 — Set the Display in details / PDF dropdown. The Display in details / PDF dropdown controls where this item shows up after a customer signs: on the on-screen waiver view your staff sees ("details"), on the printed or saved PDF copy, both, or neither. For a new legal content item this dropdown comes set to Do not show, which means it will not appear on either. If you want your team to be able to see that the customer agreed to this item, click the dropdown and choose Show in details and PDF.

Step 10 — Click Create step. Click the blue Create step button at the bottom right. The window closes and your new Terms and Conditions item now appears in the list on the Terms & Custom Steps page, ready to use in any waiver.

A Multiple Acknowledgements item shows the customer a list of separate statements, where each statement has its own checkbox. The customer must tick every box to continue. Use this when you want customers to confirm several specific things one at a time instead of agreeing to one block of text.

Step 1 — Open a new Acknowledgements item. Click the ADD LEGAL CONTENT dropdown, then click Acknowledgements. The Form Step Configuration window opens with the Field type already set to Multiple Acknowledgements.

Step 2 — Type a Step title. Click in the Step title box and type a heading, for example: Safety Confirmations.

Step 3 — Type your first statement. In the Acknowledgements section near the bottom, there is one statement already showing with a Label box. Click in that Label box and type your first statement, for example: "I have watched the full safety briefing."

Step 4 — Add more statements. Click the blue Add acknowledgement button on the right of the Acknowledgements section. A new blank statement appears below the first. Type your next statement, for example: "I confirm all members of my party can swim." Repeat for each statement you need. Each statement has its own up and down arrows for reordering and a trash icon to delete it.

Step 5 — Leave Required on and set the Display dropdown. The Required toggle is on, which means the customer must tick every statement to continue. Leave it on. The Display in details / PDF dropdown comes set to Do not show. Change it to Show in details and PDF if you want your team to see which statements the customer ticked.

Step 6 — Click Create step. Click the blue Create step button at the bottom right. Your Acknowledgements item now appears in the list, ready to use.

A Video Acknowledgement item shows the customer a video and makes them confirm they watched it before they can continue. Use it for safety briefings or equipment orientation videos.

Step 1 — Open a new Video Acknowledgement item. Click the ADD LEGAL CONTENT dropdown, then click Video Acknowledgement. The Form Step Configuration window opens with the Field type already set to Video Acknowledgement.

Step 2 — Type a Step title. Click in the Step title box and type a heading, for example: Jet Ski Safety Video.

Step 3 — Choose the Provider. The Provider dropdown is where you pick which site hosts your video. It comes set to YouTube. If your video is on YouTube, leave it. If not, click the dropdown and choose your video's site.

Step 4 — Enter the Video ID. The Video ID box needs the unique ID code for your video, not the whole web address. There is a small help icon (a circle with a question mark) next to the box. Hover your mouse over it to see exactly what to paste for your chosen site.

Step 5 — Leave the Manual button label and Completion mode as-is. The Manual button label is the text on the button the customer taps to confirm they watched, pre-filled as "I have watched the video." The Completion mode dropdown is pre-set to Ended or manual, which lets the step finish either when the video ends or when the customer taps that button. Leave both unless you have a reason to change them.

Step 6 — Decide on Auto advance. The Auto advance after video acknowledgement checkbox, when ticked, sends the customer straight to the next step after they confirm the video. Leave it unticked if you want them to tap Continue themselves.

Step 7 — Set the Display dropdown and click Create step. The Display in details / PDF dropdown comes set to Do not show. Change it to Show in details and PDF if you want your team to see that the customer acknowledged the video. Then click the blue Create step button.

Use the green Add Custom Step button when you want to collect plain information that is not legal content, like a question or extra contact detail.

Step 1 — Open a new custom step. Click the green Add Custom Step button. The Form Step Configuration window opens, but this time the Field type is blank.

Step 2 — Choose a Field type. Click the Field type dropdown. A list appears with every available type: Text, Email, Phone, ZIP Code, Date, Select, Radio Buttons, Checkbox, Info, Terms and Conditions, Multiple Acknowledgements, Video Acknowledgement, and Upload. Click the one you want. For example, choose Radio Buttons to make a multiple-choice question.

Step 3 — Fill in the field and set the Display dropdown. The boxes change depending on the type you picked. As an example, for a "How did you hear about us?" question using Radio Buttons, you would type the question in the Label box and add choices like "Google," "Friend," and "Drove by." The Display in details / PDF dropdown comes set to Do not show; change it to Show in details and PDF if you want the answer visible to your team.

Step 4 — Click Create step. Click the blue Create step button. Your custom field now appears in the list, ready to use.

Now that your terms exist, you create the waiver itself and fill in its basic settings.

Step 1 — Open the Waivers list. In the left menu, click Waivers, then click Waivers. The Waivers list opens.

Step 2 — Click Create. Click the Create button. A small New Waiver window appears with one box: Waiver name.

Step 3 — Type a Waiver name and click Save. The Waiver name is the internal name you and your team see in the list. Customers never see it. Type a name using a version number from the start, for example: Pontoon Waiver V1. The Waiver name cannot be changed after you create it, so choose carefully now. Click Save. WaveRez creates the waiver as a draft and opens its Settings tab.

Step 4 — Fill in the Title. The Title box on the Settings tab is the heading customers see at the very top of the waiver page. It usually pre-fills with your business name. Change it if you want different wording.

Step 5 — Add your Email and Phone (optional). The Email and Phone boxes become Email Us and Call us buttons at the top of the customer's waiver page. If you leave one blank, that button simply does not appear.

Step 6 — Enter your Address. The Address box is required before you can publish. The address shows at the bottom of the customer's waiver page.

Step 7 — Upload your logo. Click Change logo and choose your image file. Use a logo with a solid (not see-through) background. A see-through background will show up as a black box on the waiver page.

Step 8 — Set Kid age and Driver birth date, then move on. These two boxes in the Advanced section are for your internal use only and do not change anything the customer sees or signs. Kid age helps WaveRez count how many youth life jackets a booking needs; type a normal cutoff age like 12. Driver birth date just sets the color of a little steering-wheel icon next to drivers on your order screen. Both are required to publish, so put in reasonable values and keep going. You do not need to overthink either one.

Click the Form tab at the top of the waiver editor. The form-building screen has two side-by-side panels.

The left panel is a menu of available pieces. It lists WaveRez's built-in fields (grouped as Personal info, Driver, Emergency, and Minors) and, importantly, all the terms and items you built in Phase 1. Each has a checkbox. Ticking a box adds that piece to your form; unticking removes it.

The right panel is your actual waiver, shown in the order customers will see it. Each step on the right has three icons: an eye (preview this step), a gear (open and edit this step), and a trash can (remove this step). Each step also has a dotted handle on its left edge that you drag to move it up or down.

Step 1 — Add your terms to the form. In the left panel, find the terms items you built in Phase 1 (they appear by the names you gave them). Click the checkbox next to each one you want. Each checked item drops to the bottom of the right panel.

Step 2 — Put your terms in the right order. On the right panel, click and hold the dotted handle on the left edge of a step and drag it up or down to where you want it. Because you built each term as its own item in Phase 1, you can now arrange them in exactly the order you want customers to read them.

Step 3 — Remove built-in fields you do not need. To remove a field, either untick its box in the left panel or click the trash icon on its step in the right panel. To add it back later, re-tick its box; it returns to the bottom of the right panel, ready to drag into place.

Step 4 — Edit any step. Click the gear icon on a step in the right panel. The Form Step Configuration window opens, the same window from Phase 1. Here you can change that step's title, labels, and settings.

Step 5 — Preview as you go. Click the eye icon on any step to see exactly what the customer will see, with desktop and mobile views. Use this often.

If you allow minors, the built-in scaffold includes the minor questions. These are not three separate top-level steps you manage individually. The minor questions are: "Are you responsible for any minors?", "How many minors are you responsible for?", and the repeating Minor details loop that collects each child's information. The loop repeats itself once for every minor on the booking. To add your own state-specific guardian language for minors, you open the Minor details loop with its gear icon and add a Terms and Conditions or Acknowledgements field inside it, so it repeats for each child.

Step 1 — Save your draft as you go. Click Save at the top right at any time. A saved draft is not visible to customers and stays editable until you publish.

Step 1 — Do a final full preview. Click Preview at the top right of the waiver editor. The full customer-facing waiver opens. Click through every step from start to finish and confirm it looks right.

Step 2 — Assign your trips. Go back to the Settings tab. In the Trips section, click the Select trips dropdown and tick the trips this waiver should cover. WaveRez only checks for conflicts with other waivers when you publish, not now.

Step 3 — Save and Publish. Click the small dropdown arrow next to the Save button and choose Save and Publish. A confirmation window warns that the form cannot be changed after publishing. Click Publish.

Step 4 — Resolve any trip conflict. If any trip you picked is already attached to another waiver (a Wherewolf waiver or another WaveRez waiver), a "Trip already uses a waiver" window appears. Click Publish and overwrite trips to move those trips to your new waiver. New bookings on those trips will now receive your new waiver.

Step 5 — Confirm it worked. Open an existing order on one of your assigned trips. The Signed in Guests section should now show your new waiver's link. New customers booking these trips will receive the waiver in their email and SMS.

Once a waiver is published, its form structure (the steps, fields, conditional logic, terms content, and settings) is locked for good to protect the integrity of every signature. The only thing you can still change is the list of trips it covers. To change anything else, you create a new copy of the waiver and publish it as a replacement. See "Edit, Update, or Replace a Published Waiver" for the full process.