Revised ADA Requirements: Ticket Sales

Overview

Providing equal opportunity to people with disabilities is the fundamental principle of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This publication provides guidance on the Department's new nondiscrimination requirements that apply to selling tickets for assigned seats at events such as concerts, plays, and sporting events. The requirements, which are identical for title II and title III entities, apply to tickets sold for single events and those sold for a series of events (e.g., subscriptions or season tickets).

The requirements, which went into effect on March 15, 2011, address:

• Ticket Sales;
• Ticket Prices;
• Identification of Available Accessible Seating;
• Purchasing Multiple Tickets;
• Ticket Transfer;
• Secondary Ticket Market;
• Hold and Release of Tickets for Accessible Seating and;
• Prevention of Fraud in Purchase of Tickets for Accessible Seating

Over the past 20 years, some public and private venues, ticket sellers, and distributors have not provided the same opportunity to purchase tickets for wheelchair-accessible seats and non-accessible seats. The general public has been able to directly and immediately purchase tickets for non-accessible seats, whether through a venue's Internet site or its box office, or through a third-party Internet based vendor. However, these direct purchase options have simply been unavailable to many individuals with disabilities because transactions frequently could not be completed. Instead the purchaser was directed to send an e-mail or to call a separate telephone number to request tickets and wait for a response. These burdensome policies still exist, making it difficult or impossible for those who require accessible seats to purchase tickets, especially for popular events that sell out in minutes. As of March 15, 2011, venues that sell tickets for assigned seats must implement policies to comply with the new ticketing requirements.