Volunteer waiver template for runs and events
Volunteer terms and conditions you can copy and adapt for a fun run, race or community event. Eleven short sections, written in plain English, with suggested wording for the tickbox on your sign-up form.
This is a starting point to adapt, not legal advice. Have the finished wording checked by your own adviser before you use it.
Why event volunteers need terms
A run puts volunteers on roads, in crowds and out in the weather, often before dawn. Short written terms tell them what to expect and what you expect of them, before anyone is on the course.
Volunteers know the risks
Marshals stand beside traffic. Water station crews work in the heat or the cold. Writing the risks down before the day means nobody arrives surprised.
Everyone knows who to listen to
A volunteer at a road crossing needs to know that the coordinator, police and medical staff have the final say. The terms set that out once.
Set out your age and consent rules
School groups and families volunteer together at runs. Say who can volunteer, at what age, and how you collect a parent or guardian's consent for under-18s.
Medical details reach the right people
Asking about conditions and allergies, and saying what first aid volunteers agree to, makes an emergency on the course easier to handle.
The template
Replace everything in [square brackets] with your own details, and add any risks that are particular to your event.
Volunteer Terms and Waiver
Thanks for volunteering at [Event name]. These terms are the agreement between you and [Organiser] (the "Organiser") for your time volunteering at [Event name] (the "Event"). They sit alongside the Organiser's safety briefings, event rules and [privacy notice]. By signing up for or turning up to a volunteer shift, you agree to them.
1Your shift
- Turn up on time for the shifts you've booked. If you can't make it, cancel or tell your coordinator as early as you can.
- Follow the briefing and any reasonable instruction from your coordinator, Organiser staff, police, emergency services or venue staff.
- Wear the hi-vis or kit you're given and keep it on while you're on duty.
- Take breaks, eat and drink water. Shifts can be long.
- Volunteer roles are unpaid, and you can stop volunteering at any time. Just let your coordinator know.
2Look after yourself and others
- Only volunteer if you're fit and well enough for your role. Don't volunteer if you're injured, unwell, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- Tell your coordinator about any medical condition, allergy or need that's relevant to your safety at the Event. That information is only used for safety and emergency response.
- Bring clothing and footwear that suit the weather and your role, and a torch if your role needs one.
- You're responsible for your own belongings. Unless the law says otherwise, the Organiser isn't responsible for loss or damage to them.
- Treat participants, spectators and other volunteers with respect. The Organiser can stand down any volunteer whose behaviour puts people at risk.
3Volunteers under 18
- Volunteers aged [16 or 17] can take part only with consent from a parent or legal guardian, who confirms they have authority to give it. [Say how you collect it, for example a consent form the parent or guardian fills in and returns, or a consent section of the sign-up that the parent or guardian completes.]
- An under-18 volunteer's sign-up isn't confirmed until the Organiser has that consent.
- Under-18 volunteers are given suitable roles and work alongside [a named adult / their parent or guardian].
- [Volunteers under 16 can't volunteer / can volunteer only with a parent or guardian on the same shift.]
4Safeguarding
[Event name] may have participants and volunteers under 18. Everyone at the Event is expected to put their welfare first. [Volunteers in roles with regular, unsupervised contact with under-18s must complete [your country's background check] before their shift.] Any concern is dealt with under the Organiser's safeguarding procedures and the child protection law that applies where the Event is held.
5Risks
Volunteering at [type of event] carries real risks, including trips and falls, traffic and road hazards, crowds, bad weather, heat or cold, fatigue, and the actions of participants and spectators. [Add any risks specific to your event, such as darkness, water or heights.] These can cause serious injury. Not every hazard can be removed, so take reasonable care of yourself throughout your shift.
6Waiver and release
To the fullest extent the law allows, you accept the risks that come with volunteering at the Event, and the Organiser isn't responsible for loss, damage or injury arising from risks that are part of the Event or from circumstances outside its reasonable control. Nothing in these terms limits liability where the law of [governing law] doesn't allow it to be limited.
7First aid and emergencies
If you're hurt or unwell and can't make decisions for yourself at the time, you authorise the Organiser and event medical staff to give or arrange the first aid, treatment, transport or emergency care they reasonably think you need. You remain responsible for your own medical and insurance costs unless the law says otherwise.
8Changes and cancellation
The Organiser can change or cancel shifts, roles, times or locations when it needs to for safety, legal or operational reasons, or because of bad weather or other events beyond its control. It will tell you as soon as it reasonably can.
9Your data, photos and video
The Organiser and its service providers, including [your volunteer sign-up platform], process your personal data to organise shifts, contact you about your volunteering, and keep you safe at the Event. This is done under [the privacy law that applies], as set out in the Organiser's [privacy notice – link]. Photos and video taken at the Event may show volunteers and may be used to promote the Event where the law allows. Marketing emails are only sent if you opt in.
10The legal bits
These terms are governed by the law of [governing law]. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest still applies.
11Your declaration
By ticking the box at sign-up, you confirm that you've read and understood these terms, had the chance to get independent advice, and agree to them. If you're under 18, you also need consent from a parent or legal guardian, as set out in section 3.
Suggested checkbox wording
Use this as the label of a required tickbox on your sign-up form, with a link to your finished terms. It records the volunteer's own agreement. Collect parent or guardian consent for under-18s as a separate step.
Example
How it works in PurposeTech
The terms and the tickbox are part of volunteer sign-up, so there is no separate terms form to send out. If you take volunteers under 18, plan how you'll collect a parent or guardian's consent as well.
Set it up
Each campaign has its own registration form, so each event can carry its own terms.
- 1Finish your terms, save them as a PDF and upload it to your organisation's Documents.
- 2In Design > Registration Form, add a Checkbox and turn on Required. Paste the checkbox wording into its label, then use Insert document link to link it to your PDF.
- 3For a line above the tickbox, add an Info paragraph. Its text goes in Body, under Advanced options, and takes plain text or simple HTML.
- 4For under-18s, add a question such as "Are you under 18?" and use Show when to ask for parent or guardian details only when the answer is yes.
- 5Next year, duplicate the campaign and the form comes with it.
Volunteers tick it as they sign up
Volunteers pick their shifts, then fill in their details. The tickbox sits with those details, and the sign-up form asks them to tick it before they can continue.
Their answer saved with the sign-up
The tick is saved with the volunteer's sign-up for that campaign. Admins see the volunteer's sign-up answers on the Details tab of their record, next to their shifts and notes.
Volunteer waiver FAQ
Should event volunteers agree to terms or a waiver?
Many event organisers ask volunteers to agree to terms before their first shift, so everyone knows the risks, the rules and who is in charge on the day. Whether you need one, and what it has to say, depends on your event and where it is held. Your own adviser can tell you.
Can I use this template as it is?
No. Fill in every placeholder in square brackets, add the risks that are specific to your event, and have the finished wording checked by your own adviser. The template is a starting point to adapt, not legal advice.
How do volunteers agree to the terms in PurposeTech?
Add a required Checkbox to the campaign's registration form, with a link to your finished terms in its label. The sign-up form asks volunteers to tick it before they can continue, and their answer is saved with their sign-up for that campaign.
What about volunteers under 18?
The tickbox records the volunteer's own agreement. Consent from a parent or guardian is a separate step, and the template asks you to say how you collect it. In PurposeTech you can add a question such as "Are you under 18?" and use Show when to ask for parent or guardian details only when the answer is yes. Set the age limits that suit your event.
Can different events have different terms?
Yes. Each campaign has its own registration form, so a night run and a daytime fun run can each carry their own wording. When you duplicate a campaign for next year, the form is copied with it.
Put your terms in your sign-up
Tell us about your event. Fill in the short form and we'll call within one business day to set you up.