How to collect signatures at an event without a clipboard line
A fun run, a trade show demo, a volunteer day, a kids' camp check-in: anywhere a crowd has to sign something before they start, the clipboard is the bottleneck. Moving signing onto people's own phones and a couple of tablets turns a twenty-minute line into a two-minute one, and leaves you with a searchable record instead of a box of paper. Here's how to plan it.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 3 min read
Before the day
- 1
Turn the form into a template
Upload your waiver, release or sign-up form with New template on the Templates page and place the attendee's fields: Name, Email, Phone, any checkboxes, and Signature with Date signed. Mark the essentials Required.
- 2
Turn on a public link
On the template's page, click Public link, choose the role attendees sign as, and click Turn on link. Every person who opens it gets their own copy, filed as its own envelope.
- 3
Set the limits
Under Checks and limits, add an End date so the link closes after the event and a Most responses cap if places are limited. Under After signing, you can send people to a web page, such as the event schedule.
- 4
Print the QR code
Click QR code to download it and put it on table signs, the registration email and the wristband table. Test it from a few feet away on a couple of different phones before you print a hundred copies.
- 5
Send the link ahead
Paste the link into the confirmation email so most people sign the night before. The line on the day is then only the people who didn't.
At the check-in table
- Phones first. Most people will scan the QR code and sign on their own phone while they wait.
- Tablets for everyone else. Open the public link on two or three tablets. Each attendee types their own name and email and signs; the next person starts fresh.
- Decide on the email code. Confirm email with a code is on by default and ties each signature to a real inbox. At a busy table where people don't have their phones out, switching it off keeps the line moving.
- Plan for the signal. Signing needs a connection, so check the venue's Wi-Fi or mobile coverage at the table itself, and keep a few paper copies for emergencies.
- Charge everything. Tablets running all morning at full brightness need a power strip.
Lock a tablet to the form
On an iPad, turn on Guided Access under Settings › Accessibility, open the link in Safari, and triple-click the top or Home button to start it. Attendees can sign but can't wander off into your email.
During and after
The public link page lists every response as it arrives, finished or still in progress, so staff can confirm someone has signed before handing over a bib or badge. Each attendee gets their signed copy by email, and you keep the PDF with its certificate of completion. Need to pause sign-ups during a break? Switch off Taking responses and turn it back on later.
Afterwards, the template's Responses tab on paid plans puts every attendee's answers into one table, with phone numbers and emergency contacts side by side, ready to download as a CSV for your check-in list or follow-up email.
Each response is an envelope. Free includes 3 a month, which suits a small meetup; Solo, Crew and Company have no envelope limit, so a thousand attendees cost the same as ten.
Questions? Answers.
Do attendees need to download an app?
No. The QR code opens the form in their phone's browser. They enter their name and email, sign, and get their copy by email.
Can several people sign on the same tablet?
Yes. With the public link open on the tablet, each person starts their own copy with their own name and email, one after another.
What if the Wi-Fi goes down?
Signing needs a connection, so keep a phone hotspot as a backup and a small stack of paper forms. Scan the paper ones afterwards and file them with the rest.
Can I stop the link once the event is full?
Yes. Set Most responses to your capacity and the link closes itself when it's reached, or switch off Taking responses by hand.