Photo and media release: know what you're allowing
Schools, sports clubs and camps ask permission before they publish photos or videos of your child. The form is short, but it decides where your child's picture and name can appear. Read the options, choose what you're comfortable with, then sign it here.
Already subscribed? Sign in
Before you tick yes
- Each use the form lists, such as newsletter, website, social media, yearbook or local press. Tick only the ones you're happy with.
- Whether your child's name appears next to photos. You can ask for first name only, or no name at all.
- Who will see the pictures: a password-protected parent app is a very different audience from a public Instagram account.
- How long permission lasts: one school year, until your child leaves, or until you withdraw it.
- Who else gets the pictures, such as local newspapers, sponsors or a district office. Each is a separate yes or no.
- On club and camp releases, words like "commercial", "advertising", "irrevocable" or "in perpetuity".
- A copy of the signed form, so you know what you agreed to.
Choose the field trip slip or other school form your child brought home as a PDF, type in the details, tick the boxes and sign as parent or guardian. It opens on your device and is never uploaded.
Loading editor...
Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by Joe Farwick, who runs this site
What a media release covers
A media release gives a school or club permission to take and use photos, video or audio of your child, for example in newsletters, the yearbook, on the website, on social media or in the local paper. Many also cover your child's name, and some cover schoolwork or art that may be displayed or published.
Most schools ask once a year, often in the back-to-school packet. Clubs, camps and sports teams usually ask at registration, and a trip or special event may come with its own photo question.
Media release versus directory information
In U.S. schools there are two separate switches, and parents often only notice one. Under FERPA, a school can designate certain details as directory information, and the federal definition includes a student's photograph. The Department of Education notes that schools often treat photos and videos of students at public events, such as games, concerts and plays, as directory information, obtain parents' consent to share them, or both.
So the media release covers what the school asks you about directly, while the directory information notice gives you a window to opt out in writing. If you want your child's picture kept out of school publications altogether, answer the release and check the directory opt-out as well.
Saying no, or yes to some things
Signing is normally optional, and saying no shouldn't affect your child taking part in class, trips or teams. If the form lists uses separately, tick only the ones you accept. If it's a single yes or no, you can write a short limit next to your signature, such as "yearbook and class newsletter only", and tell the office, or ask whether a version with options exists.
Club and camp releases deserve a slower read than school ones. Look for words like "commercial", "advertising", "irrevocable" or "in perpetuity". If you cross out a clause, initial the change and mention it to the organizer, who may accept it or want to talk it through.
When safety is the concern
Families with a custody dispute, a protection order or another reason to keep a child's location private should talk to the school directly, not only tick no on the form. Ask the office how it passes such requests on to staff and photographers, and what the directory opt-out does and doesn't cover.
Photos taken by other parents
A school's media release covers the school's own use. Photos parents take at a concert or sports day are a different matter: under FERPA, a parent's personal pictures aren't school records. In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office says data protection law doesn't apply to photos taken purely for personal or family use, but posting them on a public account can go beyond that. Many schools set their own rules for events, so check the policy if this worries you.
Changing your mind
You can usually withdraw permission by writing to the school or club. That stops new uses from then on, though printed yearbooks and posts that have already been shared are hard to take back. If you change your mind about a single photo, ask for it to be taken down from the website or social account.
Media release questions
- Do I have to sign it?
- Usually not. Ask the school what happens if you don't; in most cases your child's photo simply isn't used.
- Does it cover photos other parents take?
- No. It covers the school's own use. Pictures parents take at events are governed by the school's event rules, if it has any.
- Can I sign my child's sports club release here too?
- Yes. Any release that comes as a PDF works the same way: tick, sign, date and send it back.
- What does it cost to sign a media release here?
- The release is usually a single page, and ticking the options and placing your signature is free. Downloading the signed file is part of the subscription: €2.99 monthly or €24.99 yearly, cancellable whenever you like and running until the paid period ends.