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    Ticket Fees Explained

    Since May 12, 2025, the first price shown must include mandatory fees

    Fees did not disappear in 2025. What changed is where they appear: in the first price you see, not at the last step of checkout.

    By the Good Seats editorial teamUpdated How we research

    Fees still exist, but the price you see now includes them

    Ticket fees are the charges a seller adds to the base price of a ticket, and since May 12, 2025, federal law has required sellers to fold every mandatory fee into the first price they show you. The Federal Trade Commission's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees makes it an unfair and deceptive practice to offer, display or advertise any price for live-event tickets without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the total price.

    The rule does not ban fees and does not cap them. A seller can charge whatever fees it likes; it simply has to include them in the advertised price instead of revealing them at checkout. Taxes, shipping for physical tickets and optional extras are the only charges that may still be shown separately, and they must be disclosed before you pay. Understanding that split is the key to reading a ticket price today.

    The fees you will see, by name

    Ticket sellers use different labels, but most charges fall into a few groups:

    • Service fee (sometimes called a convenience fee): a per-ticket charge that pays the ticketing company or marketplace. It is usually the largest fee.
    • Facility fee: a per-ticket charge that goes to the venue, often for upkeep or improvements.
    • Order processing fee: a flat charge per order rather than per ticket, so it weighs more heavily on a one-ticket order.
    • Delivery or fulfillment fee: a charge for getting the ticket to you. For a physical ticket sent by mail or courier, part of this may count as shipping.
    • Taxes: sales or amusement taxes imposed by a state or local government.
    • Optional add-ons: ticket insurance, parking passes, merchandise bundles and similar extras you choose.

    Under the FTC rule, the first four groups are part of the total price whenever they are mandatory. Only taxes, genuine shipping charges and optional add-ons can sit outside it.

    What the FTC rule requires, line by line

    The FTC approved the final rule by a 4-1 vote, published it in the Federal Register on January 10, 2025, and it took effect May 12, 2025. It covers two industries: live-event tickets (concerts, sporting events, theater and other live performances) and short-term lodging. Its core requirements, from the text of 16 CFR Part 464:

    • Show the total price. Any business that offers, displays or advertises a price for a ticket must clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price, defined as the maximum total of all fees or charges you must pay, including any mandatory add-on.
    • Make it the most prominent price. The total price must be shown more prominently than any other pricing information. Where the final amount of payment is displayed, that final amount must be at least as prominent as the total price.
    • Limit the exclusions. Only government charges (fees imposed by a federal, state, tribal or local government), shipping charges and optional add-ons may be left out of the total price.
    • Disclose exclusions before payment. Before you agree to pay, the seller must clearly disclose the nature, purpose and amount of any excluded charge, plus the final amount of payment.
    • Do not misrepresent fees. A separate section bars misrepresenting any fee, including its nature, purpose, amount or refundability.

    The rule applies to any business that sells or advertises tickets, which includes primary ticketing companies, venues and resale marketplaces. It also leaves stronger state laws in place: a state rule that gives consumers greater protection is not treated as inconsistent with it. The final rule in the Federal Register contains the full definitions.

    What it means for the number on your screen

    In practice, the rule changes three things a buyer sees.

    The first price is the real price, minus a short list

    The price on a listing or event page should already include service, facility and order processing fees. The gap between that price and your final charge should come only from taxes, shipping for a physical ticket, and add-ons you chose. If a mandatory fee appears for the first time at checkout, that is the practice the rule was written to stop.

    Digital delivery is not shipping

    The rule defines shipping charges as fees that reasonably reflect the cost of sending physical goods. A fee for delivering a mobile ticket does not fit that definition, so if it is mandatory, it belongs in the total price.

    Comparison shopping works again

    Because every seller must lead with the total price, you can compare listings across sites on the same basis. Compare the same quantity, since a flat per-order fee spreads differently across one ticket than across four. The FTC's frequently asked questions on the rule answer common edge cases.

    How large fees have been

    Before the rule, fees were both large and hard to see. GAO's 2018 review of the ticket market found that primary ticketing companies charged total fees averaging 27 percent of face value (ranging from 13 to 58 percent), and secondary sellers averaged 31 percent of the listed price (ranging from 20 to 56 percent). GAO also found that some websites did not show fees clearly before a buyer entered payment information. Those figures are a historical baseline that predates the all-in rule; see GAO-18-347.

    More recent figures come from contested sources. In a September 2025 complaint against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the FTC alleged that consumers paid more than 16.4 billion dollars in mandatory fees on Ticketmaster purchases from 2019 through 2024, with fees ranging from 24 to 44 percent of the total price. Those are allegations in pending litigation, not findings. A 2025 analysis by the National Independent Talent Organization, an advocacy group that favors resale restrictions, estimated average fees of about 28 percent of face value on the primary market and about 38 percent of the listed price on resale for Maryland concerts. The direction is consistent even where the numbers differ: fees have commonly added a quarter to well over a third to the base price.

    How to keep fees from surprising you

    • Compare totals, not base prices. The total price is now the number every seller must lead with.
    • Check the per-order charge before buying single tickets; it is spread across fewer seats.
    • Choose mobile delivery where it is offered, since it avoids shipping charges for physical tickets.
    • Uncheck add-ons you did not ask for, such as insurance or parking, and confirm the final amount before you submit payment.
    • Watch for fees that appear late. A mandatory charge first revealed at checkout is a reason to stop and compare elsewhere.

    GoodSeats charges no digital transfer fees on mobile ticket delivery. On any site, the final amount of payment shown before you submit your card should match the total price plus only taxes, shipping and the add-ons you chose. If it does not, you can report the practice to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

    Frequently asked questions

    When did the FTC all-in ticket pricing rule take effect?

    The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees took effect May 12, 2025. It was published in the Federal Register on January 10, 2025.

    Does the FTC rule cap ticket fees?

    No. The rule sets no limit on the amount of fees. It requires sellers to include mandatory fees in the total price and to show that total price more prominently than other pricing information.

    What can still be added at checkout?

    Only taxes and other government charges, shipping charges for physical tickets, and optional add-ons you choose. The seller must disclose the nature, purpose and amount of those charges, and the final amount, before you pay.

    Does the rule apply to resale ticket sites?

    Yes. It applies to any business that offers, displays or advertises a price for live-event tickets, which includes resale marketplaces as well as primary ticketing companies and venues.

    Why does my ticket cost more at checkout than on the listing?

    Under the rule the difference should come only from taxes, shipping for physical tickets and add-ons you selected. A mandatory fee appearing for the first time at checkout is what the rule prohibits.

    Do state ticket laws still apply?

    Yes. The FTC rule does not override state laws that give consumers greater protection. New York, for example, separately requires resellers to disclose the total cost including all fees.

    Sources