Your child's field trip permission slip, filled in and signed tonight

What a field trip permission slip asks you for

Most slips follow the same pattern: a short letter about the trip at the top, then a reply section with your child's name, grade and teacher, a yes or no to the trip, and a parent or guardian signature with the date. Write your child's name as it appears on the class list, so a reply that gets separated from the letter still reaches the right folder.

The emergency contact line is for a phone someone will answer while the group is out, which may not be your usual number. The allergy and medication lines matter more than they look: name the allergen and what happens, and say whether your child carries an inhaler or an auto-injector. If the trip comes with a separate medical or consent form, the guide "Field trip consent forms: what to fill in", linked below, goes through that form line by line.

Two more boxes come up often. A chaperone or volunteer box asks whether you can come along; tick it only if you can really take the day, because teachers plan the number of adults around the answers. A fee line shows what the trip costs and how to pay. Payment goes the way the school asks, such as cash in an envelope or the district's payment portal; this site only handles the slip.

Tear-off reply slips in a PDF

Many slips still end with a dotted line and the words "detach and return the bottom portion". In a PDF there is nothing to tear. Fill in and sign the reply part, then send the whole page back unless the teacher has asked for the bottom half only. Whoever sorts the replies sees at once which trip yours belongs to, and nothing gets cropped off by mistake.

Keep the file you downloaded. The top half usually holds what you'll want the night before: departure and return times, what to pack, whether to send a lunch and whom to call. If the class collects replies on paper only, print the signed page and cut along the line.

Two signature lines

Some slips have a line for each parent or guardian. Unless the slip says both must sign, one signature is usually enough; when both are wanted, each person adds their own. On one phone or laptop that's simple: the first parent signs, hands the device over, and the second draws a signature on the other line before you download.

Parents in two homes can pass the file along instead. The first parent downloads the signed slip and sends it on; the second opens it in any PDF app, including this one, and adds a signature. Downloading from this site needs a subscription, and a subscriber can sign in by email on another phone or laptop. Each adult signs only their own name. The guide "Who can sign a permission slip?" covers separated parents, step-parents and grandparents.

Overnight, out-of-state and border trips

Longer trips bring longer paperwork. Expect a medical release or emergency treatment authorization, a code of conduct, rooming and pickup details, and often a payment schedule. Read the whole packet before you sign, and put night-time medication or medical devices in writing. If the packet wants initials on every page, place them once and copy them to the rest.

Crossing a border adds documents. For U.S. citizen children under 19 coming back from Canada or Mexico by land or sea with a school group, religious group, cultural organization or sports team, U.S. Customs and Border Protection accepts an original or a copy of the birth certificate, as long as the group carries a letter on its letterhead listing each child's address, phone number, date and place of birth and at least one parent's name, plus the supervising adult's signed statement that they have parental consent for every child. Copy your child's details onto the trip form exactly as they appear on those documents.

A travel consent letter is a separate thing. USA.gov advises one when a child goes abroad without both parents, and prefers it in English and notarized. An ordinary school slip doesn't need a notary, and this site can't notarize anything; the guide "Does a permission slip need a notary?" explains when a notary does come into it.

Spanish and bilingual slips; clubs, camps and daycare

A slip in Spanish, or in English and Spanish side by side, works the same way: fill in the reply part, sign it and send it back. The answers you type can include accents and ñ. If you would understand a slip better in another language, ask the school for a translation. The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice say schools must give parents with limited English information in a language they understand, and they list requests for permission to take part in school activities among the things this covers.

Daycare outings, scout trips, sports tournaments and summer camps send the same kind of form, often as a PDF by email, and they sign the same way here. Camps sometimes add a health form with a part for a doctor. The doctor completes and signs that part; you sign yours.

Sources

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Know before you go, U.S. citizen children traveling in groups
• USA.gov: International travel documents for children
• U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice: fact sheet for limited English proficient parents (2015)
• 15 U.S.C. § 7001 (ESIGN Act), general rule of validity
• Apple Support: Fill out forms, sign documents, and create signatures on iPhone
• Apple Support: How to scan documents on your iPhone or iPad
• Google Drive Help: Scan documents with Google Drive (Android)