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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesWashington, D.C.’s new ticket-resale law limits the resale price of a covered ticket to the initial ticket’s total purchase price—including the original fees and taxes—plus up to 10%. A secondary ticket exchange may also add a separate marketplace-service fee of up to 10% of that same initial all-in total. If both maximums apply, the ticket price and marketplace fee can reach 120% of the original all-in cost, before other lawful charges that are clearly disclosed.
D.C. Law 26-181 became effective September 25, 2026, but its ticket-resale chapter applies January 1, 2027. A federal lawsuit seeking to block implementation was pending as of October 19, 2026, with no injunction ruling available. Unless a court orders otherwise, buyers should use January 1, 2027 as the operative date.
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The rule in one glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is the resale-price baseline? | The initial ticket’s total price, including every fee and tax charged in the original purchase. |
| How much can the resale price exceed that baseline? | Up to 10% for a covered resale or resale offer. |
| Can an exchange charge another fee? | Yes. A secondary ticket exchange may charge a separately stated marketplace-service fee of up to 10% of the initial all-in total. |
| When does the resale chapter apply? | January 1, 2027. |
| Who needs a license and bond? | A reseller who resells or offers at least 50 tickets in a year must be licensed and maintain a $25,000 surety bond. |
The law does not cap every ticket sold by a venue or other primary-market issuer at 10% above face value. It governs covered transactions in the secondary market, where a ticket is resold after the initial sale.
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What the 10% cap is actually measured against
The important number is not the ticket’s printed face value. It is the initial all-in total: the amount the first purchaser paid for the ticket, plus the fees and taxes connected with that initial purchase. D.C. Law 26-181 states that a reseller or secondary ticket exchange may not sell or offer a ticket for more than that total plus up to 10% of the same total.
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That distinction matters when the primary seller added a service charge, facility charge, processing fee or tax. Those amounts become part of the baseline. A buyer looking only at a $75 face value could therefore misjudge the lawful resale ceiling if the original checkout total was $92.
Worked examples
| Initial all-in total (T) | Maximum resale price (T + 10%) | Maximum marketplace fee (10% of T) | Combined ticket price and marketplace fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40.00 | $44.00 | $4.00 | $48.00 |
| $100.00 | $110.00 | $10.00 | $120.00 |
| $275.00 | $302.50 | $27.50 | $330.00 |
These examples apply the statutory percentages to the initial all-in amount. They are not promises about what any particular event or exchange will charge. A platform may charge less, and some transactions may not involve a separate marketplace fee.
How the separate marketplace fee changes the checkout total
The 10% resale markup and the potential 10% marketplace fee are different charges. The markup is part of the permitted resale price. The marketplace fee is a separate charge by a secondary ticket exchange, measured against the initial all-in total rather than against the marked-up resale price.
For example, with an initial all-in total of $100, the resale price may be as high as $110. An exchange could then state a marketplace fee of as much as $10. The two amounts total $120 before any other lawful charge. The law does not make every additional charge automatically illegal; it requires buyers to be shown the relevant amounts so they can understand the transaction before committing.
When reviewing an offer, separate these figures:
- the original all-in purchase price;
- the resale price, including any permitted markup;
- the marketplace-service fee, if an exchange charges one; and
- other charges, such as delivery or payment-related amounts, that the seller or exchange identifies and is otherwise allowed to impose.
What buyers must be shown before buying
A secondary ticket exchange must disclose the original purchase price, including the fees and taxes from the initial transaction, before a ticket is resold or offered for resale. The District of Columbia Council describes the requirement as “all in” pricing: the buyer should be able to see the total cost before making the purchase decision.
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Use the disclosure as a verification exercise rather than treating a headline price as the final answer.
- Find the disclosed initial all-in total. If it is missing, unclear or limited to a face-value number, pause before paying.
- Calculate 10% of that total. That is the maximum statutory markup and, separately, the maximum marketplace fee.
- Compare the listed resale price with the baseline plus the permitted markup.
- Check whether a marketplace fee is listed separately and compare it with 10% of the baseline.
- Read the final checkout page for other charges and save the itemized receipt.
- Confirm the transfer method, delivery timing, refund terms and any event-specific conditions before completing the order.
Keeping the listing and receipt is useful if the final amount differs from the pre-purchase disclosure or if a transfer problem arises. The law’s disclosure rule concerns the original all-in price; it does not guarantee that every event will have identical refund or delivery policies.
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When the law starts—and what the effective date means
| Date | Event | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| September 25, 2026 | D.C. Law 26-181 became effective. | The law was enacted and legally effective, but the ticket-resale chapter has a later applicability date. |
| January 1, 2027 | Ticket-resale chapter becomes applicable. | Unless a court changes the schedule, covered resale transactions should be evaluated under the new requirements from this date. |
| October 14, 2026 | Federal lawsuit filed by Ticket Policy Forum and resale platforms SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Gametime and TickPick. | The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction; filing a case did not itself suspend the statute. |
| October 19, 2026 | No injunction ruling was available. | January 1, 2027 remained the statutory applicability date at that point. |
| No earlier than January 1, 2028 | Potential rulemaking adjustment. | The Mayor’s implementing rules may adjust the price and fee limits within statutory boundaries. |
The law’s effective date and its applicability date are therefore not interchangeable. A ticket transaction occurring before January 1, 2027 should not automatically be described as subject to the chapter, and a transaction after that date could still be affected by a court order or implementing rule.
Transferability: when an issuer may restrict a ticket
The Act generally protects a buyer’s ability to transfer a ticket. An issuer cannot restrict transferability unless the restriction was clearly and conspicuously disclosed before purchase and the buyer acknowledged receiving that disclosure.
That requirement gives buyers a practical question to ask before paying: does the purchase flow plainly say that the ticket cannot be transferred, or that transfer is limited to a particular account, app or name? If the restriction appears only after payment, its timing may be significant, although disputes can depend on the facts and the implementing rules.
Transferability does not erase ordinary event rules. Issuers may still enforce lawful conditions concerning:
- conduct and behavior at the venue;
- public health and safety;
- age restrictions; and
- limits on the quantity of tickets a buyer may obtain.
Before buying a resale ticket, confirm whether the recipient must create an account, show identification, use a mobile transfer, or accept a name change. A price that fits the cap is not useful if the ticket cannot be delivered or used under the event’s disclosed conditions.
Speculative tickets and automated purchasing
The Act prohibits speculative tickets. A reseller may not offer a ticket that the seller does not yet own. A listing should therefore represent an existing ticket rather than a promise to find one later.
Ticket issuers and exchanges must also maintain reasonable technology to prevent bots and other automated methods from bypassing purchase limits. This obligation is aimed at the purchasing process, not at guaranteeing that every event will have abundant inventory. Popular events can still sell out, and a lawful exchange can still have limited supply.
Seller licensing and the exchange’s verification duty
A reseller who resells or offers to resell 50 or more tickets in a year must obtain a license and maintain a $25,000 surety bond. The threshold is annual and applies to the reseller’s activity, not to the number of tickets in one order.
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Before a resale, a secondary ticket exchange must verify the reseller’s licensing and bonding and disclose the original all-in purchase price. Buyers ordinarily will not calculate a seller’s annual volume themselves; the exchange’s verification duty is the relevant safeguard. If a listing gives no meaningful information about the exchange’s verification process, retain the listing and consider asking customer support how the requirement is being handled.
The bond is not a guarantee that every dispute will be paid automatically. It is a licensing condition intended to provide financial security for covered reseller activity. Questions about a claim against the bond, licensing status or enforcement may require the District’s implementing process once the Mayor issues rules.
How to compare two resale offers
A lower headline price is not necessarily the lower-cost or safer transaction. Compare offers using the same six dimensions:
| Comparison point | What to check |
|---|---|
| Initial all-in price | Is the original ticket total, including initial fees and taxes, disclosed? |
| Resale markup | Does the resale price stay at or below the initial total plus 10%? |
| Marketplace fee | Is a separate exchange fee shown, and is it no more than 10% of the initial total? |
| Transfer and refund terms | Can the ticket be transferred, when will it arrive, and what happens if the event is canceled? |
| Licensing and verification | Has the exchange verified the reseller’s license and bond when those requirements apply? |
| Legal status | Has a court order or later rule changed implementation before the purchase date? |
Comparing the final payable amount, rather than only the advertised resale price, prevents the common mistake of treating a compliant markup as the entire cost.
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The Mayor must issue implementing rules. Beginning no earlier than January 1, 2028, those rules may adjust the price and fee restrictions, but the statute sets limits on how far an adjustment can go.
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- The resale-price restriction cannot be set below the initial all-in total or above 20% over that total.
- The marketplace-service fee cannot be reduced below 5% of the initial all-in total or raised above 20% of that total.
Those are statutory boundaries, not an automatic 2028 increase or decrease. Until a valid rule changes the limits, the enacted 10% resale markup and 10% marketplace-fee maximum remain the figures buyers should use from the chapter’s January 1, 2027 applicability date.
What the federal lawsuit could change
On October 14, 2026, Ticket Policy Forum and the resale platforms SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Gametime and TickPick filed a federal case requesting a preliminary injunction. A preliminary injunction is a court order that can pause or limit enforcement while litigation continues; filing a request does not establish that the law is invalid.
As of October 19, 2026, the docket showed a scheduling order for the parties’ joint status report but no ruling granting or denying an injunction. Buyers should therefore treat January 1, 2027 as the operative date unless a later court order says otherwise. Because litigation can change implementation on short notice, check the exchange’s current disclosures and official District notices when buying close to the start date.
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A practical checklist for a January 2027 purchase
- Confirm that the transaction is a secondary-market resale rather than a primary sale by the issuer.
- Locate the original all-in ticket total, including initial fees and taxes.
- Compute the 10% resale allowance and the separate 10% marketplace-fee ceiling.
- Review the itemized checkout total, including any other clearly identified lawful charges.
- Read transfer restrictions before payment and verify that the delivery method works for the intended recipient.
- Check refund, cancellation and postponement terms for the event.
- Save the listing, original-price disclosure, checkout page and receipt.
- Recheck the legal status if a court order or new implementing rule is announced before the transaction.
The central consumer-protection change is transparency: buyers should be able to see the original all-in baseline, the permitted resale markup and any separate marketplace fee before committing. That makes the 10% figure a calculation based on the first purchase’s total cost—not a blanket promise that every ticket will be available at only 10% above face value.
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