Short version: It depends on your state's high school association. Ohio wants a notarized form from the student and a parent; Virginia's and Oklahoma's forms carry a parent's signature. New York's rule has no report.
When the athlete is under 18, the reporting step often lands on the kitchen table. The question for you as a parent is what part of it is yours. Six states show how far apart the answers are.
Who gets the report, and by when, is on the state pages of our high school map. This post is about the other half: the signature, the copy of the contract, and whose name is on the form.
Where a parent signs a notarized form: Ohio
Ohio's bylaw is short. A student with a deal "shall disclose each agreement to the OHSAA within 14 days after entering into said agreement." The report goes to the state association itself, not to the school.
The OHSAA's reporting page spells out the paperwork. "The student AND a parent must complete the Affirmation page and have the document notarized by a legal notary." Notarized means signed in front of a notary, who confirms who signed it.
That affirmation is uploaded with a full copy of the deal. So in Ohio, the association sees the contract, not a summary of it. The bylaw says "each agreement" and sets no dollar floor.
Missing the 14 days has a cost written into the same bylaw. A late or missing report can mean ineligibility for "up to 20 percent of the sport season," plus other penalties under Bylaw 11.
In Ohio, a parent's signature goes in front of a notary before the deal is reported.
Where a parent signs the school's form: Virginia and Oklahoma
Virginia's handbook gives 72 hours. Policy 28B-2-4 says students "must notify the Principal or Athletic Director in writing" within 72 hours of entering any type of deal.
The VHSL's notification form is how that's done. It has a line for the student's signature and a line for a parent's.
It asks for the company paying, or the agent, plus the date the deal was signed and how long it runs.
The form also has the family certify something. No one from the school, a booster club, a coach, alumni or a collective "solicited, arranged, or negotiated" the deal. The form makes one exception: a parent or guardian who did.
Oklahoma's 2026-27 policy has a floor. A student paid $200 or more must hand a completed disclosure form to school administration within 14 days. Local districts may set stricter rules.
The OSSAA form asks for the parent's name and cell number. The student and a parent each sign under one line: "All information in this disclosure is true, accurate, and complete."
The form also asks for proof the deal was signed, and any contracts.
Where either of you can send it: Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's PIAA gives 72 hours too, and lets either of you do it. "A student, or the student's parents/guardians must notify the Principal or Athletic Director" after entering any type of deal.
The by-law names no form, so the school's own process fills that in. Under Section 4, a violation of the amateur rule, deals included, makes a student ineligible from the date of the violation.
Where a parent is part of the deal itself: North Carolina
North Carolina's rule comes from the State Board of Education, and it goes further than a signature on a report. If the student is under 18, "the student's parent or legal guardian shall be a party to the NIL agreement."
A party means a person bound by the contract, not only a witness to it. The same rule has the parent take the NFHS's course on these deals before it's signed, and hand the school the certificate.
The paperwork comes in two rounds. A complete, unredacted copy of the proposed deal goes to school administrators at least 10 business days before signing. The signed copy follows within five business days after. Unredacted means nothing blacked out.
Where the rule names no report: New York
New York's state association rule gives endorsements two short lines. A student may do one with no school, team, Section or NYSPHSAA affiliation, out of uniform and without the school's marks. The rule has no reporting step.
A school or district can still set its own policy. College sports have reporting rules of their own, set out on our page on reporting a deal. The state pages on our map say which document each answer came from.
When an agent is involved: one federal signature
Federal law adds a signature that isn't about the brand deal at all. An agent recruiting a student athlete gives a written disclosure, with a bold warning about eligibility, before an agency contract is signed.
If the athlete is under 18, the law says that disclosure is signed by "such student athlete's parent or legal guardian."
The law's "student athlete" includes anyone who "may be eligible in the future" to play a college sport, which can reach high school.
What Leave does with this
If your athlete is 13 to 17, you create the Leave account and you're their Teammate until 18. You see the contracts and the dates, and the reporting window counts down from the day the deal was signed.
Leave doesn't file a report for anyone, and it doesn't sign anything. It reads the contract back in plain words, so the parent whose name goes on the form has read what's above it.
Leave takes 0 percent of anything your athlete signs. You and your athlete decide what to sign.
Questions people ask
Does a parent have to sign when a high school athlete reports a deal?
In some states, yes. Ohio's affirmation is signed by the student and a parent and notarized. Virginia's and Oklahoma's forms have a line for a parent's signature. In Pennsylvania either the student or a parent can send the notice. New York's rule has no report at all.
Does the school or association get a copy of the contract itself?
In some states. Ohio asks for a full copy of the agreement with the affirmation. Oklahoma asks for proof the deal was signed and any contracts. North Carolina wants a complete copy of the proposed deal 10 business days before signing, and the signed copy within five business days after.
Is a parent part of the deal itself, or only the report?
In North Carolina, both. Its rule says a parent or legal guardian of a student under 18 is a party to the agreement, and also takes the NFHS course on these deals before it's signed. Federal law adds one more signature when an agent is involved.
Be your own agent. Leave.