It is normal to request permission from individuals before going ahead to do certain things – picture yourself asking for a friend’s consent before sharing in his or her lunch. In formal situations, however, you need to do this through the use of an authorization form.

Typically, an authorization form shows that all the parties involved have come to a contractual agreement and it permits the other party to go ahead with his or her intentions. It can also serve as a legal tender in any court of law. More likely than not, you will be required to fill out an authorization form at different instances or to provide this type of form before proceeding with certain activities. This is why it is necessary to understand what an authorization form is, what it entails, features, the implications of filling it out, as well as how to create one.

What is an Authorization Form? 

An authorization form is a document that is duly endorsed by an individual or organisation which grants permission to another individual or organisation to proceed with certain actions. It is often used to grant permission to carry out a specific action for a fixed period of time. 

In many instances, it serves as a legal permit that validates the action being taken by such an individual or organisation.

There are different types of authorization forms including disclosure authorization forms, credit card authorization forms and medical authorization forms. 

Types of Authorization

Approval of permission requests from individuals and organisations can be done through verbal authorization, a  letter or via an authorization form. Unlike verbal authorization that may not be recorded, authorization letters and authorization forms are written and binding on all parties involved in the agreement. 

There are typically 3 parties involved in the authorization process – the person who holds the rights originally, the person with whom the first party is conducting a business matter with and the third party who is a person selected to act as a proxy.

• Verbal Authorization

A verbal authorization is a type of authorization that is granted through ordinary words of mouth. This type of authorization is hardly documented and it is often used in informal situations that involve parties who have an existing personal relationship. 

Verbal authorizations are common but they are hardly legally binding and they may not be recognised as a legal tender in the court of law. Hence, it is advised that you always get an authorization letter or form as a follow-up to a verbal authorization. 

• Authorization Letter:

An authorization letter is a document that grants permission to its recipient to carry out certain actions and it is usually written as a follow-up to a permission request. For example, you may write a letter to your organisation, authorizing another person to act on your behalf (proxy). 

Typically, an authorization letter is a written consent that allows a third party to act on your behalf; especially if you are unavailable or unable to act. This letter is recognised as a legal tender and in case of any dispute, it can serve as evidence in a court of law.

• Authorization Form

An authorization form is a document that grants permission to an individual or organisation to proceed with certain actions. Just like the authorisation letter, this form can serve as evidence in a court of law in the case of any eventualities. 

Here are 9 Authorization Form Templates to use

• Proxy Form

The Formplus proxy form template allows you to collect legal authorization from members of your company or shareholders who wish to allow another individual to act on their behalf. This form serves as a legal tender that empowers the proxy to make decisions that are binding on the other individual. 

This form has different fields that allow you to collect a variety of information including digital signatures and bio-data from both parties. You can use the Formplus proxy form template or edit it to suit your needs in the form builder. 

• Parental Consent Form

Use this parental consent form to collect written approval from parents with regards to their children engaging in certain activities such as field trips or sports. This form template serves as a formal authorization from the parent or guardian and it helps to prevent any legal implications that can arise in the future. 

The Formplus parental consent form can be used in different sectors including the health and educational sectors. You can easily embed the form in your organization’s website as an iframe or web pop-up and you can also send your form link as email invitations to the parents. 

• Interview Consent Form

This interview consent form will help you collect written consent from research subjects before going ahead to conduct interviews as part of your qualitative data-gathering method. It is especially useful in cases. It is especially useful in interviews where research subjects would need to reveal sensitive information. 

The Formplus interview consent form can serve as a legal tender that authorises the researcher to make use of the information gathered during the interview process. It contains form fields that request important information from both parties including details of the research and interview guidelines. 

• Music Release Form

With the Formplus music release form, individuals and corporate organisations can formally request your permission before making use of your songs for adverts, movies or even personal use. This music release form template enables you to grant copyright permissions and effectively protect your intellectual property. 

With the multiple sharing options, you can easily share your form link with individuals and organisations requesting copyright permissions. You can also embed the form in your website or share it to your social media pages through the direct sharing buttons. 

• Field Trip Permission Slip 

With this field trip permission slip, you can now collect written consents from parents and guardians before embarking on a field trip or excursion with your pupils. This serves as a formal backing that can protect your school or organisation and prevent any rancour in future. 

This Formplus field trip permission slip contains a variety of information including the details of the field trip, bio-data of the pupil in question and the digital signatures of the school and parent (s) or guardian(s). You can also edit this template in the form builder when you sign up on Formplus. 

• Copyright Permission Form

With this copyright permission form, you can reduce cases of intellectual property theft by requiring individuals to formally request permission before making use of your copyright-protected property. The Formplus copyright permission form template also allows you to effectively manage and process intellectual property permission requests. 

You can edit this form template in the Formplus form builder to suit your peculiar needs. You can also embed it in your organization’s website or share it to your social media pages using the direct social media sharing buttons. 

• Travel Consent Form

The Formplus travel consent form enables you to collect written permission from parents or guardians when embarking on a journey with their child(ren). This form template would help you obtain easy passage at border checkpoints as it highlights the important information that may be required by law enforcement agents. 

This travel consent form template can be used by schools, churches, travel agencies or other organisations that may organise a travel excursion for children. You can edit it to include more form fields in the Formplus form builder. 

• Photography Consent Form

Use this photography consent form to grant approval to individuals and organisations who wish to make use of your pictures for different legitimate reasons. This form template will help to prevent any disagreement that can ensure from the unauthorized use of an individual’s photographs. 

This form can be used by photographers, modelling agencies and image rights firms and it serves as a legal authorization document that grants image usage rights on request. This form template collects bio-data and the signatures of all parties involved in the contract. 

You can access the photography consent template here. 

• Online Consent Form Template

The Formplus online consent form can be used to obtain written consents from individuals in a variety of contexts. The primary purpose of this form template is to allow you to collect formal approval from your clients on a range of personal matters. 

You can use this online consent form template or edit it to suit your organisation’s needs in the Formplus form builder. This form can be used in hospitals or skills to obtain permission from individuals before embarking on an activity. 

Why Use Online Forms to Get Authorization?

• Simpler and Faster

Online authorization forms are simpler and faster to use than physical forms. For example, with Formplus, you can create your online authorization form in minutes by simply dragging and dropping form fields in the form builder.

You can also choose from a range of authorization form templates that are already available on the data-gathering platform. Online authorization forms are also easier to administer because you can share them with respondents from the comfort of your electronic device. 

• Avoid Impersonation

There are several security measures provided by data-gathering platforms that help you avoid impersonation when it comes to your online authorization form. For example, Formplus allows you to track submissions in your authorization form and prevent multiple submissions with  email invitation. 

• Collect Necessary Data

With online authorization forms, you can collect the most relevant data from all parties involved in the agreement. Data-gathering platforms like Formplus allows you to create smart and concise forms with conditional logic and form lookup. 

• Manage Information

You can better manage information when you make use of online authorization forms. For example, Formplus offers Google sheets integration that allows you to directly organise form responses in Google sheets by automatically updating your spreadsheet with your form data. 

• Teams and Collaboration

Formplus allows you to add your team members to a shared account and work on your online authorization form together. This makes it easier for you to process form responses and approve authorization requests while managing your form more effectively. 

As the administrator of the shared account, you can assign roles to specific team members and you can also grant or limit access to your form, folders and form data. Formplus has an audit trail that allows you to track any modifications made to your authorization form by your team members. 

• Private Forms

You can set restrict access to your online authorization form by activating the privacy option in the Formplus builder. This allows you to control who can view and make submissions in your authorization form. 

AUTHORIZATION LETTER SAMPLE

46/8 Warm Apartments,

Middle Lane Street,

Milan.

6th of February, 2020.

The Head Teacher,

River View Estate School,

633 South Eastern Square,

Milan. 

Dear Miss Alaine,

Permission Letter for Class Field Trip

I, Reuben Richardson, hereby authorize my son, Reuben Richardson who is in the 12th grade, to participate in the school’s field trip slated for 16th of March, 2020. 

Having received information about the school’s 1-day field trip to the Milan Games Reserve, I am convinced that it will offer an awesome learning experience for my son. From his early years, Reuben has had a keen interest in field trips, excursions and camping. As such, I am in full support of his participation in this extra-curricular activity. 

Do not hesitate to inform me if you have any questions. 

Yours sincerely, 

Reuben Richardson.

Uses of an Authorization Form/Letter

• Intellectual Property Protection

An authorization form helps to protect you from intellectual property theft as it allows you to legally grant or deny copyright permission requests for your intellectual property. This means that you can go ahead to seek redress in a court of law in the case of a breach of contract. 

• Legal Tender

An authorization form is a legally recognised document that reflects an agreement between dual or multiple parties. Because all terms of the agreement are duly spelt out and endorsed by all the parties involved, this document can serve as evidence in court. 

• Consent

This document allows you to formally consent to certain activities by granting another party the right to undertake certain actions for a specific period of time. As highlighted above, there are many situations that may require you to grant permissions to an individual or organisation to carry out a specific activity. 

• Protection

An authorization form protects all parties involved in the agreement because it formally spells out all the terms of the agreement including the responsibilities of both parties, the duration of the agreement and any other expectations. 

Conclusion 

When it comes to granting permissions to third parties, it is important for such an arrangement to be duly documented and endorsed by all the parties involved. This can be easily achieved with the use of an authorization form or authorization letter. 

An authorization form clearly spells out the terms and conditions for consensual agreement between individuals and/or organisations. It is a legal tender that can help you avoid any disagreements in future and it also protects you from any intellectual property theft. 

You can create an online authorization form using data-collection tools like Formplus. Formplus allows you to easily create your form by dragging and dropping desired fields in the form builder and you can also share your authorization form with concerned parties. 

With the multiple users option, conditional logic and Google sheets integration features, you can easily manage your form and form responses. You can sign up to  Formplus to access the form builder and start creating your online authorization form.