Selling tickets in the United States comes with a layer that doesn't exist in Europe: a federal regulation that spells out, in granular detail, how accessible seats must be put on sale. It's called 28 CFR 36.302(f), and it isn't the venue's architect who has to comply with it — it's whoever runs the box office.
The rule isn't satisfied simply because the venue has wheelchair spaces. It governs sale times, sales channels, pricing, companion seating, what you can ask the buyer, and what happens to unsold seats. It's the kind of requirement a ticketing platform meets or fails through configuration, not goodwill.
What does the ADA require when you sell tickets in the United States?
It requires equal purchasing opportunity. The Title III regulation under the Americans with Disabilities Act was amended by AG Order No. 3181–2010, published at 75 FR 56251 on 15 September 2010, which added paragraph (f), "Ticketing," to Section 36.302 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Paragraph 36.302(f)(1)(ii) requires ticket sellers to modify their policies so that people with disabilities have the same opportunity to buy accessible seating: "(A) During the same hours; (B) During the same stages of sales, including, but not limited to, pre-sales, promotions, lotteries, wait-lists, and general sales; (C) Through the same methods of distribution; (D) In the same types and numbers of ticketing sales outlets, including telephone service, in-person ticket sales at the facility, and third-party ticket vendors, as other patrons; and (E) Under the same terms and conditions as other tickets sold for the same event or series of events."
Notice item (D): "third-party ticket vendors." The obligation doesn't stop at the venue. It extends to whoever sells on its behalf.
Who does it apply to? Places of public accommodation as defined in 42 U.S.C. 12181(7), whose paragraph (C) includes "a motion picture house, theater, concert hall, stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment," and whose paragraph (D) adds "an auditorium, convention center, lecture hall, or other place of public gathering." Practically any event with a box office falls within scope.
And there's a disclosure obligation that's routinely overlooked. Paragraph 36.302(f)(2) requires sellers, on request, to disclose "the location of all unsold or otherwise available accessible seating," to describe its features "in sufficient detail to reasonably permit an individual with a disability to assess independently" whether it suits them, and to provide seating maps and pricing charts "using the same text or visual representations as other tickets," where such materials are offered to the general public. A seating map where the accessible section is a grey rectangle with no price or row breaches that paragraph.
How many accessible seats does your venue have to put on sale?
Whatever Table 221.2.1.1 specifies. This is the scoping table that the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design draw from Appendix B of Part 1191, Title 36 of the CFR, published by the Access Board, and which 36.302(f)(1)(i) itself refers to when defining what counts as an accessible seat. Here is the table, verbatim, with the calculation applied to venues of different sizes.
| Number of seats | Wheelchair spaces required (Table 221.2.1.1) | Example and result (our own calculation) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 25 | 1 | 20-seat venue: 1 |
| 26 to 50 | 2 | 45-seat club: 2 |
| 51 to 150 | 4 | 120-seat venue: 4 |
| 151 to 300 | 5 | 250-seat theatre: 5 |
| 301 to 500 | 6 | 480-seat auditorium: 6 |
| 501 to 5,000 | 6, plus 1 for each additional 150, or fraction thereof, between 501 and 5,000 | 1,200-seat theatre: 6 + 700/150 rounded up = 11 |
| 5,001 and above | 36, plus 1 for each additional 200, or fraction thereof, above 5,000 | 20,000-seat stadium: 36 + 15,000/200 = 111 |
The last two rows line up: applying the sixth row to a 5,000-seat venue gives 6 + 4,500/150 = 36, exactly the baseline for the seventh row. That's our own check on the table, not a statement from the regulatory text.
Every wheelchair space needs a companion seat alongside it. Section 221.3 requires "at least one companion seat complying with 802.3" for "each wheelchair space required by 221.2.1." And section 221.4 adds another quota almost no one accounts for on the seating map: "at least 5 percent of the total number of aisle seats" must be designated aisle seats, "located closest to accessible routes." In a theatre with 400 aisle seats, that's 20 seats carrying a usage condition.
Section 221.2.2 rules out ghettoising accessible seating: "Wheelchair spaces shall be an integral part of any seating plan." And section 221.2.3 requires horizontal and vertical dispersion, with an express exception for venues of 300 seats or fewer. In boxes, section 221.2.1.3 requires spaces in "not less than 20 percent of all boxes" present.
If your seating map doesn't treat these categories as sellable inventory, the sales obligation under 36.302(f) becomes impossible to meet: you can't offer something at every price level if the system doesn't even know it exists.
Can you charge more for an accessible seat?
No, and the wording is unambiguous. Paragraph 36.302(f)(3) states that the price of accessible seating tickets "shall not be set higher than the price for other tickets in the same seating section of the facility for the same event or series of events."
The second sentence is the one most often breached: "Accessible seating must be available at every price category offered for each event or series of events." Having cheap accessible seats at the back isn't enough. If you sell five price tiers, all five need accessible options.
The regulation accounts for older venues unable to offer accessible seating at some tier because removing the barrier isn't "readily achievable." In that case, the venue must calculate the proportion — the ratio between the total number of tickets at that price level and the total number of tickets in the venue — and offer that same percentage of accessible tickets at that same price "in a location that is accessible and proximate to or comparable to other locations at that price level." In other words: the tier doesn't vanish, it gets relocated.
Layered on top of this since 2025 is the federal total-price rule. The Federal Trade Commission announced on 17 December 2024 its rule on unfair or deceptive fees, applicable to live-event tickets and short-term lodging, which requires disclosing the total price with all mandatory fees included, and which took effect on 12 May 2025. Read together: the total price you display for an accessible seat can't exceed the total price of another seat in its section. If your system adds a separate service fee for the accessible section, you're breaching two rules at once.
How many companion tickets must you offer?
Three. Paragraph 36.302(f)(4)(i) requires offering, for each wheelchair-space ticket sold, "three additional tickets for seats in the same row that are contiguous with the wheelchair space, provided three such seats are available at the time of purchase." No more than three is required. And those seats "may include wheelchair spaces."
The following subparagraphs resolve the edge cases with a mirroring logic:
- If three contiguous seats aren't available, the venue must offer the maximum number available and fill the gap "with seats as close as possible" to the accessible seating (f)(4)(ii).
- If the venue caps purchases at fewer than four tickets per person, it only has to offer as many as it offers to other patrons (f)(4)(iii).
- If it allows purchases of more than four, a buyer with a disability may purchase the same number, counting the wheelchair space itself (f)(4)(iv).
The group provision, (f)(4)(v), is the one that most affects schools, companies and associations: if a group includes someone who needs an accessible seat, the group is placed in an area with accessible seats "so that, if possible, the individual may sit with the group"; and if the group must be split, it's split "so that individuals who use wheelchairs are not isolated from their group." The same block-seating logic already applied to group sales for theatre and the performing arts, backed here by a legal requirement.
When can you release unsold accessible seats?
Only in three defined situations. Paragraph 36.302(f)(5)(i) allows releasing unsold accessible tickets for sale to people without disabilities "only under the following circumstances":
| Scenario | What must be exhausted first | Where you can release |
|---|---|---|
| (A) General sell-out | All non-accessible tickets, excluding luxury boxes, club boxes and suites | The whole venue |
| (B) Area sell-out | All non-accessible tickets in a designated area | That same designated area |
| (C) Price-category sell-out | All non-accessible tickets in a designated price category | That same price category |
Two nuances worth writing into your procedure. Paragraph (f)(5)(ii) clarifies that nothing requires release: you can leave the seats unsold. And (f)(5)(iii)(A), for season tickets and series, requires establishing "a process to ensure that accessible seats released" to such buyers are "not automatically assigned" to them in future seasons, years or series. In other words: a seat released in one season can't become an acquired right over that accessible space. If you manage season tickets, this rule means you need to adjust automatic renewal.
The practical rule here is the opposite of what most box offices apply: the accessible seat isn't last-minute inventory, it's protected inventory until the rest of its defined perimeter sells out.
What happens with the transfer and resale of accessible tickets?
The ADA treats both the same way. Paragraph 36.302(f)(6) states that whoever holds an accessible seating ticket may transfer it to third parties "to the same extent and under the same terms and conditions" as other patrons holding the same type of ticket. If your system allows transferring ownership of a regular ticket but blocks it for accessible seating, you're in breach.
Paragraph 36.302(f)(7) addresses the secondary market and sets out two rules. First: a person with a disability must be able to use a ticket bought through resale "under the same terms and conditions" as any other resale buyer. Second — and this is the one that requires a box-office procedure — if that person bought a non-accessible ticket on the secondary market, the venue must make reasonable modifications to allow them to exchange it "for an accessible seat in a comparable location, if accessible seats are vacant at the time the individual presents the ticket."
This sits awkwardly with unregulated resale and well with organiser-controlled official resale: if the change of ownership runs through your system, you know which ticket is accessible, who holds it, and what's free for a door-side swap. If the transaction happens outside your system, box-office staff discover the problem with the audience already queuing.
Can you demand proof of disability?
No. Paragraph 36.302(f)(8) is explicit: a place of public accommodation "shall not require proof of disability, including, for example, a doctor's note, as a condition for providing accessible seating to a patron."
What you can do is narrowly defined and differs by product:
| Type of sale | What the regulation allows | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Single-event ticket | Ask whether the buyer has a mobility disability or requires the features of the accessible seat, or whether they're buying for someone who does | 36.302(f)(8)(i) |
| Season ticket or series | Request a written statement that the accessible seat is for a person with that disability | 36.302(f)(8)(ii) |
| Suspected fraudulent use | Investigate possible misuse where there is "good cause" to believe the purchase was fraudulent | 36.302(f)(8)(iii) |
The line is sharp: asking is fine, documenting the disability isn't. A purchase form with a mandatory "attach certificate" field is a violation written into the checkout itself, and it leaves a record.
The website and app: what changed on 20 April 2026
What changed was the timetable, not the obligation. On 24 April 2024, at 89 FR 31320, the Department of Justice published the rule adopting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for the web content and mobile apps of state and local government entities, under ADA Title II.
On 20 April 2026, at 91 FR 20902, the Department approved an interim final rule (AG Order No. 6742–2026) pushing back those dates: entities with a total population of 50,000 or more move from 24 April 2026 to 26 April 2027, and entities with fewer than 50,000 residents, or special district governments, move from 26 April 2027 to 26 April 2028.
This matters to organisers because many US venues are run by municipalities, universities or special districts. If your event is sold through a municipal auditorium's website, that's the timetable that applies — and, by extension, the one for your embedded widget.
One boundary worth not crossing when explaining this: the interim rule itself notes in a footnote that it "only affects the Department's regulations implementing Title II; the regulations implementing Title III, at 28 CFR part 36, are not addressed by this rulemaking." Private venues have no web-accessibility technical standard set by regulation. What they do have is 36.302(f)(2): the same information, the same map and the same text for the accessible seat as for every other seat.
The cost of getting it wrong: federal penalties and California damages
The federal route runs through the Department of Justice. Table 1 of 28 CFR 85.5, in its current CFR edition, sets the maximum civil penalty for 42 U.S.C. 12188(b)(2)(C)(i) — "Americans With Disabilities Act; public accommodations, first violation" — at $115,231, and $230,464 for a subsequent violation, for penalties assessed after 12 February 2024. These are ceilings, not automatic amounts, and they move with the annual inflation adjustment.
The state route bites sooner. Section 51(f) of the California Civil Code states that "a violation of the right of any individual under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 shall also constitute a violation of this section." And Section 52(a) sets out the consequence: actual damages, up to three times that amount, "but in no case less than four thousand dollars ($4,000)," plus attorney's fees, for each violation.
Translated into box-office terms: in California, every single purchase where the system overcharged for an accessible seat or demanded a certificate is, on its own, a minimum of $4,000 plus costs. This is our own reading of how the two provisions interact, not a figure published by any agency, and the actual calculation depends on the case.
Checklist before you open sales in the United States
Seven checks on your configuration, not on the building.
Count your spaces using Table 221.2.1.1 and add the companion seats. A wheelchair space without its companion seat loaded as sellable inventory breaks the three-contiguous-seat requirement as soon as the row fills up.
Check that accessible seating exists at every price level. Export your inventory by tier and look for the tier with no accessible option: it's the easiest breach to prove and the easiest to fix.
Match sale times and phases. If you launch a fan pre-sale or a lottery, the accessible seat has to be part of that pre-sale and that lottery. The regulation explicitly names pre-sales, promotions, lotteries and wait-lists.
Audit the total price, not the base price. Add in service fees and compare the total for the accessible seat with the total for its section. They should match, or the accessible seat should be cheaper.
Write the release rule into your procedure. Which perimeter has to sell out, who authorises the release, and when. And block automatic reassignment in season-ticket renewals.
Remove any request for documentation at checkout. Replace it with the question the regulation actually permits, worded as written.
Prepare for door-side exchanges. A written procedure for swapping a non-accessible ticket bought through resale for a comparable accessible one, if any remain vacant. It's the same operational muscle that good access control needs for any ownership-related issue.
And what should Futura Tickets' platform deliver here?
Almost everything above is system configuration, not construction work. The useful question for any provider — Futura Tickets included — is whether its seating map distinguishes wheelchair spaces, companion seats and designated aisle seats as separate inventory types with their own pricing; whether it can include them in pre-sales and lotteries; whether it blocks their release until the chosen perimeter sells out; and whether it logs an ownership transfer on an accessible ticket the same way it does for any other.
What no platform should do is sell you an ADA compliance stamp. Compliance is assessed against your venue, your prices and your procedures. The tool can only make that easy or impossible. If you're building your sales channel from scratch, how to launch ticket sales covers the steps that come before inventory.
Conclusion
For an organiser, the ADA isn't a ramp regulation. It's a box-office regulation with eight paragraphs covering sale times, channels, price tiers, companion seating, stock release, transfer, resale and what you're allowed to ask. It's breached almost always the same way: a sales system that treats the accessible seat as a manual exception rather than inventory with full standing.
The figures in Table 221.2.1.1 and the rules in 36.302(f) have been in force since 2010 and haven't changed. What changed in 2026 is the web-accessibility timetable for public venues and the FTC's total-price requirement, which now overlaps with the ADA's pricing rule. Both push in the same direction: show the real price, and show it the same way to everyone.
Sources
- 28 CFR 36.302, Modifications in policies, practices, or procedures — paragraph (f) Ticketing (Code of Federal Regulations, GPO)
- ADA Requirements: Ticket Sales (U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov)
- 36 CFR Part 1191, Appendix B — ADA Scoping, Section 221 Assembly Areas and Table 221.2.1.1 (Access Board, via GPO)
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov)
- 42 U.S.C. 12181, definitions of public accommodation (United States Code, GPO)
- 28 CFR 85.5, Table 1 of inflation-adjusted civil penalties (Department of Justice, via GPO)
- Extension of Compliance Dates for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities, 91 FR 20902 (20 April 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission Announces Bipartisan Rule Banning Junk Ticket and Hotel Fees (FTC, 17 December 2024)
- California Civil Code, Section 51 (Unruh Civil Rights Act), subsection (f)
- California Civil Code, Section 52, subsection (a), minimum damages of $4,000