How to Fill Out the UIL PAPF: Previous Athletic Participation Form

To fill out the UIL Previous Athletic Participation Form, a coach or administrator at your child’s new Texas high school initiates the form through the UIL Portal, and then three sections are completed in order: Section I by the parent, Section II by the previous school, and Section III by the receiving school. Once all three are done, the District Executive Committee for the new school’s athletic district reviews the form and rules on varsity eligibility.¹

The form is required for any new student in grades 9–12 before that student takes part in any high school contest, varsity or sub-varsity. If your child represented a previous school in a practice or contest in any athletic event during grades 8–12, the full form — with verification from the old school and a District Executive Committee review — must clear before varsity play.²

Who Starts the Form and How

Parents do not download or submit this form on their own. Contact the athletic director or head coach at the new school before your child’s first day of tryouts and ask them to initiate the PAPF. That staff member logs into the UIL Portal, which runs on the Aktivate platform, selects “Eligibility Forms” from the navigation menu, and clicks “Initiate PAPF/Waiver.” The system then either emails page one to the parent or lets the coach and parent complete it together in person.³

A fillable PDF is posted on the UIL athletics forms page if you want to see the questions in advance, but the official submission runs through the portal.⁴ Waiting until the season starts is the most common reason families feel blindsided by the timeline. The sooner the school initiates the form, the sooner the clock starts.

Section I: What the Parent Fills Out

Section I is yours. It asks for the student’s full legal name, date of birth, current home address, and the exact dates of enrollment at both the previous and new schools. You will also list every sport the student played or practiced at the prior school and explain the reason your family moved or why the student changed schools.

Be specific about the move. Vague answers like “better opportunities” raise flags. If you relocated for a job transfer, a home purchase, or a custody change, say so plainly. The UIL has stated publicly that accuracy on this page is critical; discrepancies in dates or an incomplete athletic history can delay or derail eligibility.⁵

Gather documentation before you begin. Useful items include a signed lease or mortgage closing documents for the new address, an employer relocation letter, custody orders if applicable, and enrollment records from the previous school showing exact start and end dates. None of these attach to the PAPF itself, but they become essential if the District Executive Committee schedules a hearing.

Section II: What the Previous School Provides

Section II goes to the athletic director or principal at your child’s former school. This is the section families have the least control over, and it is where delays most commonly happen. The previous school confirms whether the student left in good standing, verifies the sports the student participated in, and answers whether the student would have been eligible to continue playing had they stayed.

The previous school is also asked directly whether it has reason to believe the transfer was athletically motivated. An affirmative answer here does not automatically end varsity eligibility, but it virtually guarantees the District Executive Committee will schedule a full hearing rather than approve the form on paper.

Stay in polite contact with the previous school’s athletic director, especially over the summer, when responses tend to be slow. If the old school is unresponsive, the receiving school can escalate through UIL staff, but the form cannot advance until this section is done.

Section III: What the New School Confirms

The new school’s administration fills out Section III. It confirms full-time enrollment, verifies whether the student’s parents reside within the school’s attendance zone, and attests that the information across all three sections is consistent. Administrators sign off before the form moves to the District Executive Committee.

If Section III conflicts with what you reported in Section I — different enrollment dates, an address outside the attendance zone, a mismatch in the athletic history — the form gets flagged. The school should contact UIL staff to reopen the PAPF so it can be corrected and re-sent to the committee.⁶

What the DEC Does With the Form

Once all three sections are complete, the form goes to the District Executive Committee for the athletic district where the new school sits. If the form is clean — the family moved into the attendance zone for non-athletic reasons, the previous school confirms good standing, and no red flags appear — the committee can approve varsity eligibility without a hearing.

When any answer suggests the transfer might have been athletically motivated, the committee schedules a formal hearing. Section 443(e) of the UIL Constitution lists common indicators, including whether the student was recruited, whether the timing of the move aligns with athletic seasons, and whether the student had disciplinary or playing-time issues at the old school.² At a hearing, the student and parents may present testimony and evidence. Representatives from the sending and receiving schools appear as witnesses but do not vote.⁷ Plan for a wait of several weeks, depending on when the committee next meets.

Transfers That Don’t Trigger the Full Review

A student who never practiced or played on any team at a previous school still completes the questionnaire portion of page one, checking the box that indicates no prior participation. The full multi-section review kicks in only when there is an athletic history to verify.

Several other situations avoid the one-year varsity waiting period. When one of these applies, an explanation of why a waiver is not needed should be uploaded to the PAPF in the portal for the DEC chair’s review.⁶

Military families. A student whose parent receives a permanent change of station, or is released into retirement for a reason other than dishonorable discharge, is considered in compliance with the residence rule if the student enrolls at the first opportunity.²
Foster care and state placements. A student placed in a foster home, kinship placement, or state-licensed childcare facility by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is presumed to reside at that placement. A later relocation by the state agency does not cost varsity eligibility as long as the student stays enrolled in the same school.
Attendance zone changes. A student attending a school outside the parents’ zone because the school board redrew district or attendance zone lines is not penalized.
First-opportunity transfers from K–8 districts. A student leaving a public K–8 district that has no high school is eligible at a contiguous high school, at the high school receiving state transportation funds for that K–8 district, or at the nearest high school, whichever the student selects first.
Intra-district transfers. A student with a choice of high schools within the same district is eligible at the school first selected. A later transfer within the district triggers the one-year wait, though a one-time exception exists for a varsity sport that was not offered at the previous school.

If Eligibility Is Denied or You Want to Appeal

A student found to have changed schools for athletic purposes is ineligible for varsity UIL athletic contests for at least one calendar year from enrollment, even if both parents moved to the new attendance zone. The District Executive Committee decides when — or whether — the student becomes eligible again, and in serious cases can extend the ineligibility period beyond one year by referring the case to the State Executive Committee.² The Section 443(g) bar applies specifically to varsity contests. Sub-varsity and junior varsity play may still be open, as long as the eligibility questionnaire is on file.

To appeal a District Executive Committee ruling, complete the “Request to Overturn District Executive Committee Ruling” form and send it, with supporting evidence, to the UIL office. Paperwork should arrive at least seven calendar days before the next scheduled State Executive Committee meeting.⁸ Required documentation includes the student’s PAPF, minutes from the district meeting showing the ruling, all information presented at the district level, and any new evidence. Each appeal gets 45 minutes; the family, both schools, and the DEC chair all have the chance to speak, and a ruling issues at the end of the case.

A separate track applies if a waiver of the parent residence rule or the four-year rule was denied. Those denials go to the Waiver Review Board, which meets monthly, and its decision is final.⁹

Practical Tips Before You Start

Reach out to the new school’s athletic department before your child’s first day if you can. Bring your dates and your reason for the move to Section I in writing, so nothing on the form contradicts what you can document later. Keep a line open to the previous school’s athletic office so Section II does not sit. If any of the special-circumstance categories apply to your family, tell the coach initiating the form, so the explanation gets uploaded for the committee chair to see from the start.

1
University Interscholastic League. DEC Handbook
2
University Interscholastic League. Subchapter M – Eligibility
3
Aktivate Registration Knowledge Base. How to Initiate a PAPF/Waiver
4
University Interscholastic League. Athletics Forms
5
University Interscholastic League. Accuracy Is Vital on Previous Athletic Participation Forms
6
University Interscholastic League. Parent Residence Requirements for Service Members, Peace Officers and Educators
7
University Interscholastic League. E – District Executive Committee
8
University Interscholastic League. Appeal Process
9
University Interscholastic League. Waiver Review Board and Appeals