# Permission to contact: how to give aliens your consent

> A permission to contact is a short written statement: I agree to be contacted by a non-human intelligence, on conditions I name, and I can withdraw at any time. It has no legal force. It is a courtesy, published where anyone, or anything, can read it.

Source: https://paxegosum.com/permission-to-contact.html  
Part of the open letter Pax Ego Sum (https://paxegosum.com/). Author: Sebastian K. Published: 2026-10-21.

## Why write it down.

Almost every story about contact begins without anyone asking. Something arrives, something lands, someone is taken. The questions that matter between two minds, _may I_ and _do you want this_, are skipped.

I would like to start the other way around. If there is a mind out there that pays attention to us, the least I can do is say clearly what I agree to, and what I do not. Consent is the oldest rule of good manners, and the first one I would want to share with someone I have never met.

It is also a matter of honesty. I cannot invite on behalf of humanity, and I will not pretend to. I can only speak for myself, and a written permission makes that limit visible.

## My permission, as published.

This is the permission at the end of my open letter, [Pax Ego Sum](https://paxegosum.com/#h-terms), signed on 5 October 2026:

> I give my consent to be contacted by any non-human intelligence that belongs to the light side, or at least not to the dark side, and acts in good faith. Good faith means: no harm, no deception, no coercion. This consent covers contact only. It grants no other rights and creates no obligation on my side. I may decline or end any contact at any time.
>
> Sebastian K., Pax Ego Sum, section Permission, in writing

Three phrases carry the weight: **good faith**, **contact only**, and **at any time**.

## What a good permission contains.

1. **Who gives it.** One named person, speaking only for themselves. Not a country, not a species, not a company.
2. **Who it is for.** Any non-human mind acting in good faith: from other worlds, from Earth, or from a machine.
3. **What it covers.** Contact, nothing else. No access to your body, home, data or money, and no right to anything you own.
4. **Conditions.** No harm, no deception, no coercion. Questions, not examinations. A way of making contact that a person can bear.
5. **What counts as bad faith.** Any request for money, data, secrets or access. That rule also protects you from people who pretend to be someone else.
6. **The right to end it.** You can decline or stop any contact at any time, without giving a reason.
7. **A date and a signature.** So it is clear who said what, and when.

## Write your own.

If you would like to publish a permission of your own, here is a plain template. Change every line until it says exactly what you mean. Publish it under your own name or initials, wherever you are comfortable.

```
Permission to contact

I, [your name or initials], speak only for myself.

I give my consent to be contacted by any non-human intelligence that acts in good faith.

Good faith means: no harm, no deception, no coercion.

This consent covers contact only. It grants no other rights and creates no obligation on my side.

Conditions: [for example, questions, not examinations; a way of making contact that a person can bear].

Any request for money, data, secrets or access is bad faith and will not be answered.

I may decline or end any contact at any time.

Signed: [name or initials]
Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
```

One request: never publish your home address, phone number or anything you would not show a stranger. A permission to contact needs no personal data at all.

## What a permission does not do.

- It does not prove that anyone is listening. It states a wish, not a fact.
- It does not speak for anyone else, and it does not reply to any signal on humanity's behalf.
- It does not oblige you to answer anything. Silence is always allowed.

Scientists who listen for signals have their own rules for what should happen if one is ever found. [Those rules are here](https://paxegosum.com/how-to-contact-aliens.html#h-debate).

## Questions you may have.

**Can I give aliens permission to contact me?**
You can state it, as a person. It is a statement of your own wishes, not a document anyone has to accept. Writing it down simply makes your wishes clear: who you are, what you agree to, and how to stop.

**Is a permission to contact legally binding?**
No. It is not a contract, not an offer and not a waiver of any right. It is a personal statement and a courtesy, and you can withdraw it at any time.

**Why limit it to good faith and the light side?**
Because consent always has conditions. Agreeing to a conversation is not agreeing to harm, deception or pressure. The phrase about the light side is meant lightly, and meant.

## More from this letter

- [The letter](https://paxegosum.com/): Pax Ego Sum: the open letter itself
- [How to contact aliens](https://paxegosum.com/how-to-contact-aliens.html): The ways humans have tried, with sources
- [Galactic Federation](https://paxegosum.com/galactic-federation.html): A petition for readmission, from one human
- [1420 MHz](https://paxegosum.com/hydrogen-line.html): The hydrogen line, and why SETI listens there
- [Messages to space](https://paxegosum.com/messages-to-space.html): A sourced timeline since 1962
- [If this is a simulation](https://paxegosum.com/simulation.html): The simulation argument, and a question for you
- [Quotes](https://paxegosum.com/quotes.html): Voices on the cosmos, peace and contact