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Consent forms are essential for some businesses, particularly in healthcare, finance, law, and technology. Business owners and managers must select and implement the right kind of consent form. Otherwise, it may not serve its intended legal purpose.
Below, we’ve outlined everything you need to know about consent forms with tips and tricks along the way:
What is a Consent Form?
Consent forms, sometimes called release forms, are legal documents that serve as written permission to send or receive information among participating parties. They often inform them of associated use risks and release the provider from associated claims. Upon signing, a consent form acts as an authorization and waiver .
Here is an article that defines consent.
Purpose of a Consent Form
The purpose of a consent form is to inform clients, patients, or subjects of what information you’re obtaining, what rights they’re waiving, and other pertinent details. They ensure that the lines of communication remain open among the parties and afford people the right to be informed.
Types of Consent
Consent takes many forms. Several factors determine the type of consent you’ll use, including the relevant industry, medium, legal situation, and more. You’ll want to review different kinds of consent available to help you make a decision.
Below, we’ve outlined the six most common consent types that you should know:
Type 1. Active Consent
Active consent is when consumers “actively” agree to a specific statement and similar to explicit consent. For example, clicking “I agree” on a website or signing a contract are forms of active consent.
Type 2. Explicit Consent
Explicit consent is when you offer customers the opportunity to authorize use, risk, or disclosure. For example, global privacy regulations require explicit consent when an organization processes a consumer’s data. These laws require clear and documented disclosure of company practices and how customers can opt out.
Type 3. Implied Consent
Implied consent is when participation automatically grants permission in some cases. For example, most states impose an implied consent law for accepting a driver’s license. The implied consent in this situation is that you’re willing to provide a breath sample to police for reasonable DWI/DUI investigations.
Type 4. Informed Consent
Informed consent is when you inform the individual of all possible outcomes and consequences of granting their permission. For informed consent to remain valid, the signatory must:
- Be competent
- Authorize voluntarily
- Be fully informed about use and risks
- Be at least age 18
Type 5. Opt-Out Consent
Opt-out consent is when customers can refuse or rescind permission at any time. For example, you can offer an opt-out consent form so that clients can reject cookies on your website. Consent formally occurs if the consumer continues to use it without their declining it.
Type 6. Passive Consent
Passive consent is a type of implied consent in which the consumer automatically gives their authorization unless otherwise stated. You can’t use passive consent if you’re working toward privacy regulation compliance. However, you could use passive consent clauses if use doesn’t significantly affect the customer.
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What’s Included in a Consent Form?
Consent forms can be complicated or straightforward, depending upon the situation. However, they generally contain some form of acknowledgment, authorization, and release of claims. Since you’re often asking customers to waive their rights in specific situations, it’s essential that you speak with an attorney to ensure that their civil rights remain intact.
Here are the six elements that are included in a consent form:
- Release Clause : Your consent form should offer a release clause that the customer acknowledges. They release you from risks associated with the use of your product or service.
- Limitation of Liability Clause : The release of liability should clearly state that customers won’t sue you for provider negligence. Ensure that you include the protection from legal liability in your disclaimers to achieve enforceability.
- Proper Formatting : Your consent form should include headers, readable fonts, and use clear language. Ensure that it’s suitable for a general audience.
- Legality : Work with a legal professional to review your consent forms. They can tell you if the document violates public policy or contract law in some manner.
- Precision : If you ask people to waive their rights, you must create a specific list of what they’re waiving while complying with the law. Otherwise, you could be violating their rights or not offering enough information in your consent forms.
- Signature and date lines : The final component of a consent form is active consent when necessary. Active consent can come in the form of a signature and dateline or as simple as a button that says, “I Accept. You can skip this step if you’re using some form of implied consent.”
A consent form doesn’t release you from acts of gross negligence. There are still benchmarks and standards to uphold. Consent forms only protect you from reasonable risks, or your liability insurance company may not cover you otherwise.
Examples of Consent Forms
Many legal situations require the use of a consent form. In the abstract sense, it’s challenging to understand how they work, especially if this is the first time that you’re drafting one.
In this section, we’ve offered three examples of consent forms in a hypothetical situation:
Example 1. DUI Testing
The example below shows how governments utilize consent forms:
- Shavonne lives in the State of California
- She just moved there and wants to get a driver’s license
- The State of California will issue her a driver’s license under implied consent laws
- By accepting and driving on public roadways, Shavonne agrees to reasonable DUI checks
- If she refuses to provide a breath sample during a DUI check in the future, she automatically loses her driver’s license for a specific period
Image via Pexels by Ksenia
Example 2. Website Cookies
The example below involves an online store that sells to consumers in locations with consumer privacy laws:
- Dress Fiction is an online women’s clothing store
- They sell and ship to customers worldwide
- Part of their website relies on cookies to function properly
- Dress Fiction creates an active cookies consent form on their website
- They further comply with opt-out consent measures
- If customers don’t agree to the terms, then certain website features won’t work or remain accessible
Read about Cookies Policies .
Example 3. Personal Health Information
The example below involves a healthcare tech company:
- HeartRite Rx offers an application that monitors a patient’s heart rate, manages prescriptions, provides personalized recommendations to customers, and transmits data to physicians.
- HeartRite Rx signs new customers up through a form on the splash page of their app
- Customers must offer their explicit and active consent before using the service
- HeartRite Rx places a consent form in their customer onboarding process
- If the customer doesn’t offer their consent, they can’t use some or all application features
Who Uses Consent Forms?
Businesses use consent forms. They use them to authorize the permission of a specific action. Some industries, such as healthcare, tech, and finance, require companies to collect consent through consent forms at certain times.
If you need to create a consent form for your business, hire contract lawyers. They have an in-depth knowledge of the law and can apply it to your unique situation. A legal professional ensures that you walk away with the perfect consent form from the first draft to the contract signing.
Post a project in ContractsCounsel’s marketplace to receive flat fee bids from vetted lawyers. All lawyers are peer reviewed by our customers for you to explore before hiring.
Meet some of our Consent Form Lawyers
Tim E.
Tim advises small businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups on a wide range of legal matters. He has experience with company formation and restructuring, capital and equity planning, tax planning and tax controversy, contract drafting, and employment law issues. His clients range from side gig sole proprietors to companies recognized by Inc. magazine.
Jane C.
Skilled in the details of complex corporate transactions, I have 15 years experience working with entrepreneurs and businesses to plan and grow for the future. Clients trust me because of the practical guided advice I provide. No deal is too small or complex for me to handle.
Ryenne S.
My name is Ryenne Shaw and I help business owners build businesses that operate as assets instead of liabilities, increase in value over time and build wealth. My areas of expertise include corporate formation and business structure, contract law, employment/labor law, business risk and compliance and intellectual property. I also serve as outside general counsel to several businesses across various industries nationally. I spent most of my early legal career assisting C.E.O.s, General Counsel, and in-house legal counsel of both large and smaller corporations in minimizing liability, protecting business assets and maximizing profits. While working with many of these entities, I realized that smaller entities are often underserved. I saw that smaller business owners weren’t receiving the same level of legal support larger corporations relied upon to grow and sustain. I knew this was a major contributor to the ceiling that most small businesses hit before they’ve even scratched the surface of their potential. And I knew at that moment that all of this lack of knowledge and support was creating a huge wealth gap. After over ten years of legal experience, I started my law firm to provide the legal support small to mid-sized business owners and entrepreneurs need to grow and protect their brands, businesses, and assets. I have a passion for helping small to mid-sized businesses and startups grow into wealth-building assets by leveraging the same legal strategies large corporations have used for years to create real wealth. I enjoy connecting with my clients, learning about their visions and identifying ways to protect and maximize the reach, value and impact of their businesses. I am a strong legal writer with extensive litigation experience, including both federal and state (and administratively), which brings another element to every contract I prepare and the overall counsel and value I provide. Some of my recent projects include: - Negotiating & Drafting Commercial Lease Agreements - Drafting Trademark Licensing Agreements - Drafting Ambassador and Influencer Agreements - Drafting Collaboration Agreements - Drafting Service Agreements for service-providers, coaches and consultants - Drafting Master Service Agreements and SOWs - Drafting Terms of Service and Privacy Policies - Preparing policies and procedures for businesses in highly regulated industries - Drafting Employee Handbooks, Standard Operations and Procedures (SOPs) manuals, employment agreements - Creating Employer-employee infrastructure to ensure business compliance with employment and labor laws - Drafting Independent Contractor Agreements and Non-Disclosure/Non-Competition/Non-Solicitation Agreements - Conducting Federal Trademark Searches and filing trademark applications - Preparing Trademark Opinion Letters after conducting appropriate legal research - Drafting Letters of Opinion for Small Business Loans - Drafting and Responding to Cease and Desist Letters I service clients throughout the United States across a broad range of industries.
Kimbrelly K.
Attorney Kegler has been licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina since 1998. Over the years, she has worked in firms that focused on small business financing, initial startup formation, to starting several businesses of her own with bootstrap financing to venture capital funding. As a Certified Dream Manager, she couples the skills of listening to understand the big picture to get to solutions that not only fit today's needs but also the long term needs of her entrepreneurial clients.
Christina S.
I am an attorney who has been practicing for over a decade, experienced in multiple areas of law, both from a litigation and more procedural side. The great thing about my practice is that it has trained me to deal with so many different types of problems and to find solutions in a variety of legal scenarios that are almost never similar.
Karl D. S.
Karl D. Shehu, has a multidisciplinary practice encompassing small business law, estate and legacy planning, real estate law, and litigation. Attorney Shehu has assisted families, physicians, professionals, and people of faith provide for their loved ones by crafting individualized estate and legacy plans. Protecting families and safeguarding families is his passion. Attorney Shehu routinely represents lenders, buyers, sellers, and businesses in real estate transactions, researching and resolving title defects, escrowing funds, and drafting lending documents. To date, Attorney Shehu has closed a real estate deal in every town in Connecticut. As a litigator, Attorney Shehu has proven willing to engage in contentious court battles to obtain results for his clients. While practicing at DLA Piper, LLP, in Boston, Attorney Shehu represented the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies in multidistrict litigations filed throughout the United States. He has been a passionate advocate for immigrants and the seriously injured, frequently advising against lowball settlement offers. He is willing to try every case to verdict, and he meticulously prepares every case for trial. Attorney Shehu began his legal career as a consumer lawyer, utilizing fee-shifting statutes to force unscrupulous businesses to pay the legal fees of aggrieved consumers. For example, in Access Therapies v. Mendoza, 1:13-cv-01317 (S.D. Ind. 2014), Attorney Shehu utilized unique interpretations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Truth-in-Lending Act, and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to obtain a favorable result for his immigrant client. Attorney Shehu is a Waterbury, Connecticut native. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel grammar school, The Loomis Chaffee School, and Chase Collegiate School before earning degrees from Boston College, the University of Oxford’s Said Business School in England, and Pepperdine University School of Law. At Oxford, Karl was voted president of his class. Outside of his law practice, Attorney Shehu has worked to improve the world around him by participating in numerous charitable endeavors. He is a former candidate for the Connecticut Senate and a parishioner of St. Patrick Parish and Oratory in Waterbury. In addition, Attorney Shehu has written extensively on the Twenty-fifth Amendment and law firm retention by multinational firms.
November 2, 2022
Maigan W.
Maigan is a registered nurse and attorney with tech law experience, specifically in Web3, including NFTs. Maigan acted as general counsel for a NFT platform for two years and speaks and understands smart contracts. As a registered nurse, Maigan is in a unique position to understand health law issues and graduated with a concentration in health law distinction. Maigan is happy to help you create a business entity, draft and negotiate contracts and agreements, apply for trademarks, draft terms of service and privacy notices, draft terms of sale for NFT drops, draft web3 licenses, and act as a consultant for other attorneys looking for someone who understands web3 and NFTs. Maigan speaks conversational Spanish.
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Window tint consent contract
Location: Texas
Turnaround: Less than a week
Service: Drafting
Doc Type: Consent Agreement
Number of Bids: 7
Bid Range: $300 - $1,250
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