To clear your student for sports at a TAPPS member school, you need to complete the TAPPS physical form every year: a medical history sheet the family fills out at home, plus a preparticipation physical evaluation a healthcare provider completes during a clinical visit. Both are free PDFs on the TAPPS website, and the physical is valid for one year from the date the provider signs it.
Download Both PDFs From TAPPS
Go to the official TAPPS forms page at tapps.biz/forms/ and pull two separate documents: the TAPPS Annual Medical History Form and the TAPPS Preparticipation Physical Evaluation. TAPPS updates these periodically, so always download the current version rather than reusing last year’s copy.1TAPPS. Forms
The same page hosts other documents your school may require alongside the physical, including the Parent/Student Acknowledgment of Rules, which has to be checked off in the school’s TAPPS Management System (TMS) profile before your student competes.
Filling Out the Medical History at Home
The medical history form is the family’s job, and it should be finished before the doctor’s appointment so the provider can review it during the exam. Start with the basics: student’s full name, grade (9 through 12), gender, age, date of birth, home address, and contact phone. The form doesn’t ask for a school name; the school attaches that on its end.2Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. TAPPS Annual Medical History Form
From there, you’ll work through roughly 30 yes-or-no health questions. The cardiac section is the longest. It asks whether the student has ever passed out during or after exercise, had chest pain while active, experienced racing or skipped heartbeats, or been diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or a heart murmur. A separate block covers family history: any biological relative who died of heart problems or sudden unexplained death before age 50, or who was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, long QT syndrome, or Marfan syndrome.
Other questions cover prior hospitalizations, surgeries, concussions, seizures, vision problems, asthma, allergies (pollen, food, medication, insects), sickle cell trait, skin conditions, and current medications. There’s also a question about protective equipment the student uses, like a knee brace or prescription goggles.
Answer every question. Blanks are the fastest way to get the form bounced back. Any “yes” needs a brief explanation in the notes area, and both the student and a parent or guardian have to sign and date the form. The signature block carries a warning that false or incomplete answers can bar the student from participation and trigger additional TAPPS penalties, so disclose everything, including conditions that feel minor or resolved.
What Happens at the Doctor’s Appointment
Bring the completed medical history to the visit. The provider reviews it, then works through the preparticipation evaluation, marking each item normal or abnormal, writing in findings, and initialing the row.
The medical portion covers vitals (height, weight, body fat percentage, resting pulse, and seated brachial blood pressure); general appearance; eyes, ears, nose, and throat as a single line; lymph nodes; the heart (auscultation in both supine and standing positions plus a check of lower extremity pulses, with three rows devoted to cardiac screening); lungs and abdomen; skin, for contact-sport infection risks; Marfan stigmata such as unusually long fingers, a sunken chest, joint hypermobility, or scoliosis; and genitalia for male students. A musculoskeletal exam then walks through the neck, back, shoulders, arms, elbows, forearms, wrists, hands, hips, thighs, knees, lower legs, ankles, and feet.3Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. TAPPS Preparticipation Physical Evaluation
At the bottom of the form, the provider marks one of three clearance outcomes:
- Cleared for all participation, with no restrictions on TAPPS-sanctioned sports.
- Cleared after completing rehabilitation or further examination, with the provider specifying what’s needed.
- Not cleared, with the reason stated and the restriction (certain sports or all sports) noted.
Before you leave, double-check that the provider has filled in their name, address, signature, and the date of examination. A missing signature or date is the single most common reason forms get rejected at the school.
Turning the Forms In
TAPPS requires that current, completed forms be kept on file with the school. Submission method varies: some schools take hard copies at the athletic office or trainer’s desk; others use compliance software and ask you to upload scans or photos. Either way, every page needs to be legible, so a blurry phone photo or illegible handwriting will stall things. Keep your own copies in case the school needs a replacement.
Most schools also need the Parent/Student Acknowledgment of Rules checked off in TMS and, depending on the school, a signed Steroid Use Agreement in which both student and parent confirm the student will not use illegal anabolic steroids.4Awty International School. TAPPS Steroid Use Agreement Form Transfer students have extra paperwork — a Student Transfer Form and a Previous Athletic Participation Form — that must go to TAPPS for approval before competition.1TAPPS. Forms
When to Schedule, and How Long It Lasts
The physical is valid for one year from the date the provider signs it, not from the date you turn it in to the school. Both the physical and the medical history must be renewed annually.3Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. TAPPS Preparticipation Physical Evaluation
A single physical covers every sport your student plays during that year as long as it hasn’t expired. Time the appointment well and one visit handles the whole calendar. A physical signed in May, for example, carries a student through fall football, winter basketball, and spring track without a return trip.
Students entering high school need a physical on file before their first day of athletic participation. Returning athletes should book the appointment during the summer so the paperwork is in before preseason conditioning starts. Waiting until the first week of practice is risky: if any history question triggers a follow-up exam, the student sits out until that extra evaluation is finished.
What Happens if the Form Is Missing or Falsified
A student who competes without a valid physical on file is an ineligible player under TAPPS rules. The minimum penalty is forfeiture of every contest in which the ineligible student played, and sanctions can reach the team and the school as well.5Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. TAPPS Student Acknowledgement of Rules
Falsifying the medical history carries its own risk. The certification language warns that untruthful or incomplete responses can bar the student from participation at the member school, with additional penalties at TAPPS’s discretion.2Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. TAPPS Annual Medical History Form The medical stakes outrun the administrative ones: concealing a cardiac history or a prior concussion to pass the physical puts the student at real risk on the field.
One boundary worth knowing: if a student is diagnosed with a concussion mid-season, the preparticipation physical does not cover return to play. TAPPS maintains a separate Return to Play form that must be submitted before the student goes back to practice or competition.1TAPPS. Forms