Can a minor sign a contract?

The short answer

• Voidable, not void. A contract signed by a minor usually stands until the minor chooses to disaffirm it, which they can do before turning 18 or within a reasonable time after.
• The adult is bound. The other party can't cancel just because they dealt with a minor.
• Necessities are different. Minors are generally responsible for things like food, clothing, shelter and medical care they contracted for.
• Parents sign for children. A parent's signature binds the parent. Whether it can waive the child's own claims, as in an activity waiver, depends on the state.

Who counts as a minor

In most states, adulthood for contracts starts at 18, but the rule is set by each state's statute and there are variations.

Voidable contracts and disaffirmance

The rule protects young people from their own inexperience. A minor who signs a contract can walk away from it, which lawyers call disaffirming, usually by telling the other party or returning what they received. Washington's statute sets out the general idea in one sentence:

Two consequences follow. First, a person who turns 18 and keeps using what they bought, or keeps paying, may lose the right to disaffirm: they've treated the contract as their own. Second, disaffirming usually means giving back what's left, but not necessarily its full value. A business that sells a teenager a used car on credit can end up with the car back, worn, and no right to the remaining payments. How much the minor must make up varies by state.

When the minor lied about their age

Some states limit the right to disaffirm when the minor misled the other side. Washington bars it where, because of the minor's own misrepresentation about their age, or because they were engaged in business as an adult, the other party had good reason to believe they could contract (RCW 26.28.040). Not every state has a rule like that, so checking age is better than relying on it.

Necessities

Contracts for necessaries, the basics of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and sometimes education, are the main exception. The idea is that a minor living on their own still needs to be able to buy what they need, and sellers need to be able to sell it to them. In many states the minor owes the reasonable value of necessaries actually supplied, which may be less than the contract price. Whether something counts depends on the minor's situation: a winter coat probably does, a second gaming console doesn't.

Does a parent's signature fix it?

• For payment, mostly yes. A parent who signs as a party or guarantor is bound by their own signature, as an adult. If the teenager disaffirms, you can still look to the parent who promised to pay.
• For the minor's own obligations, not entirely. A parent's signature doesn't generally turn a minor into an adult for contract purposes. The minor's right to disaffirm their part may survive it.
• Use a guardian, not just any adult. Grandparents, siblings and family friends usually can't sign for a child unless they're the legal guardian.

Waivers and releases for minors

Camps, gyms, trampoline parks and sports programs all ask parents to sign waivers, and this is where states differ most. Florida has a statute on it. A child's natural guardians, normally the parents, may waive in advance the child's claims against a commercial activity provider, but only for injuries from the activity's inherent risks, and only if the waiver contains a statutory notice in uppercase type at least 5 points larger than the rest of the text (Fla. Stat. § 744.301(3)).

A waiver that complies is presumed valid, though the presumption can be rebutted. Many states have no statute, and their courts don't all agree on whether a parent can give up a child's injury claims in advance, especially against a business. Have a lawyer in your state review any waiver you rely on. The summer camp waiver and sports team waiver templates are starting points, not a substitute for that review.

Minors and e-signatures

Signing electronically doesn't change any of this. ESIGN validates electronic signatures and records but expressly leaves other rights and obligations alone, apart from requirements that contracts be written or signed on paper (15 U.S.C. § 7001(b)(1)). A minor's e-signature is as voidable as their ink one, and a parent's e-signature is as binding as their ink one.

No e-signature app can tell you a signer's age from their signature. Ask for it. In SignMaster, add a Parent or guardian role to your template with a date of birth field for the child, send it to the family or share it as a public signing link, and let either parent sign by putting both in a signer group. The steps are in how to get a parent's signature for a minor.