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Short answer: Washington, DC’s new resale-price limit is enacted but does not apply until January 1, 2027. For a covered event after that date, add the original ticket price, fees and taxes from the first purchase. The resale ticket price may be no more than that total plus 10%. A secondary ticket exchange may charge a separate marketplace fee of up to another 10% of the original total. The listing and checkout must show an all-in price, itemized charges and applicable seat details.
What the DC rule covers—and when it starts
Law 26-181, the Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE) Amendment Act of 2026, adds Chapter 55 to the District of Columbia Code. The codified provision states that the resale requirements are applicable on January 1, 2027. Until that date, do not describe a listing as violating this particular cap merely because its markup exceeds 10%; the cap is scheduled, not yet effective.
The chapter addresses tickets for live concerts, theatrical performances, shows and similarly scheduled live activities. It does not cover every event held in the District.
| Event type | Coverage under Chapter 55 |
|---|---|
| Live concerts | Covered when the requirements are in force |
| Theatrical performances and shows | Covered when the requirements are in force |
| Other similarly scheduled live activities | Covered when the event fits the statutory definition |
| Professional or intercollegiate sports organized by a team located in DC, or by a professional athletic association with an event in DC | Excluded |
| Motion-picture screenings | Excluded |
For an event that falls outside the definition, the 10% calculation below is not a Chapter 55 test. Other consumer-protection, contract or ticketing rules may still matter.
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How much can a reseller charge in Washington, DC?
For a covered listing offered on or after January 1, 2027, use the initial ticket total as the starting point. That is the original ticket price plus every fee and tax connected with the initial purchase. The permitted resale ticket price is that initial total multiplied by 1.10.
A secondary ticket exchange may also add a separate marketplace service fee of up to 10% of the same initial ticket total. The District’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) describes the resulting maximum as 120% of the original total when both 10% allowances are used. A reasonable physical-ticket shipping charge can be added when permitted and properly disclosed.
The formulas
- Initial ticket total = original ticket price + initial fees + initial taxes.
- Resale ticket-price ceiling = initial ticket total × 1.10.
- Maximum marketplace service fee on a secondary exchange = initial ticket total × 0.10.
- Maximum before a permitted physical-shipping charge = initial ticket total × 1.20.
The 10% resale allowance is not calculated from the seller’s desired price, the current face value shown by a venue, or the total after new checkout fees. It is anchored to the documented amount paid in the original purchase, including the original fees and taxes.
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Suppose the original buyer paid an initial ticket total of $100. The resale ticket-price ceiling is $100 × 1.10 = $110. A secondary exchange could charge a separate marketplace service fee of up to $100 × 0.10 = $10. The maximum shown before any permitted reasonable physical-shipping charge would therefore be $120.
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| Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Original ticket total | Given | $100 |
| 10% resale allowance | $100 × 0.10 | $10 |
| Resale ticket price | $100 + $10 | $110 |
| Separate marketplace fee | $100 × 0.10 | $10 |
| Total before permitted physical shipping | $110 + $10 | $120 |
This is an arithmetic illustration, not a published average or enforcement statistic. The listing still must identify each charge and show the final total before you commit to the purchase.
Does the 10% cap include fees and taxes?
Yes, the base for the calculation includes the original purchase’s fees and taxes. Start with the complete amount paid for the ticket when it was first sold, not just the printed face value. If the original receipt shows a $75 ticket, $8 in service charges and $7 in taxes, the initial ticket total is $90; the 10% resale allowance is $9, making the resale ticket-price ceiling $99.
New charges at resale are evaluated separately. The resale ticket price cannot exceed 110% of the initial total. If the transaction occurs on a secondary exchange, that exchange’s marketplace service fee can be as much as another 10% of the initial total. Taxes and other mandatory charges that apply to the resale transaction must be included in the disclosed all-in amount, so compare the complete checkout total with the permitted components rather than relying on a headline price.
How to find the original ticket price
The statute requires the secondary exchange to disclose the original purchase price, including the initial fees and taxes, before resale or an offer to resell. Look for the amount in the listing details, price breakdown, seller documentation or checkout disclosure. The relevant number should be a total for the original purchase, not a rounded estimate.
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Use this document trail
- Open the listing’s price-breakdown panel and record any field labeled original price, original purchase price or initial ticket total.
- Check whether the figure includes the original service charges, facility fees, delivery charges and taxes. If the listing gives only a face value, treat the calculation as incomplete.
- Ask the marketplace or seller for the original receipt or an itemized explanation when the initial total is missing or unclear.
- Write down the initial total before applying the 1.10 and 0.10 calculations. Keep the arithmetic with your saved screenshots.
If no original-price information is provided, you cannot independently verify the statutory ceiling. Missing disclosure is itself a reason to pause, even if the headline price looks reasonable.
What a compliant listing should disclose
Chapter 55 requires clear and conspicuous pricing throughout the transaction, not merely on the final confirmation page. Check each of these elements.
- All-in ticket price: the total ticket price, including applicable fees and taxes, should be visible before final purchase. Shipping that cannot yet be determined may be added later, but a reasonable physical-ticket shipping charge must be disclosed before final purchase.
- Itemized charges: each fee, tax and marketplace charge should have its own line or an equivalent explanation. A single unexplained “service” amount makes the cap difficult to audit.
- Seat information: when applicable, the listing should show the seat number, zone and section.
- Original purchase price: the exchange must disclose the original price, including the fees and taxes paid at the initial sale.
- Seller eligibility: before resale or an offer to resell, the secondary exchange must verify that the reseller satisfies DC licensing and bonding requirements.
- Actual ticket possession: speculative tickets are prohibited. The ticket must be in the reseller’s actual or constructive possession when it is listed, sold, resold or advertised.
A listing can fail more than one check. For example, a page may show a seat number yet still be unverifiable because it omits the original total or adds undisclosed mandatory fees at checkout.
Step-by-step: check a resale listing before you buy
- Confirm the event date and type. Determine whether it is a covered live concert, theatrical performance, show or similar activity. Exclude the sports and movie categories described above.
- Apply the effective date. If the offer, sale or resale occurs before January 1, 2027, label the 10% test as a future statutory benchmark rather than an already-effective cap.
- Find the initial ticket total. Capture the original ticket price together with every initial fee and tax. If the marketplace does not disclose this amount, stop and request clarification.
- Calculate the resale ticket-price ceiling. Multiply the initial total by 1.10. This is the most the ticket price itself may be after the effective date.
- Identify marketplace fees. If a secondary exchange adds a marketplace service fee, calculate 10% of the initial total as the maximum separate amount. Do not treat an unexplained bundle as automatically compliant.
- Open the complete price breakdown. Expand every “details,” “fees” or “taxes” control and record the all-in total. Check whether any delivery charge is physical shipping and whether it is disclosed before final purchase.
- Verify seat details. Compare the stated seat number, zone and section with the event’s seating map when available.
- Check the seller and licensing information. Note the seller or exchange identity and any licensing or bonding disclosure. A marketplace’s verification obligation does not remove your need to preserve the evidence.
- Look for possession language. Phrases indicating that the seller will obtain the ticket later, is “listing on request” or does not yet hold it may indicate a prohibited speculative ticket.
- Save the evidence before payment. Capture the listing, original total, every fee line, seat information, seller or marketplace name and final checkout total. Save the date and time with the files.
Why did the price jump at checkout?
A jump usually means mandatory fees were revealed in stages, a practice commonly called drip pricing. A headline amount can look within the 10% calculation while the final total exceeds it after service, facility, processing or other mandatory charges are added.
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The District’s Attorney General has treated hidden mandatory fees and pressure tactics as consumer-protection concerns. In a release about StubHub, Attorney General Brian Schwalb said, “For years, StubHub has illegally deceived District consumers through its convoluted junk fee scheme.” The release described mandatory fees appearing only after multiple steps and a countdown that created false urgency.
Those enforcement examples predate the January 1, 2027 effective date of the new markup cap. They are still useful warning signs: an unexplained checkout increase, a countdown urging immediate payment or a price that cannot be reconciled with the original total warrants a pause and preserved evidence.
How to compare two DC resale listings
Compare listings using the same initial ticket total and the same definition of “all-in.” A lower headline price can be more expensive after marketplace and delivery charges.
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| Comparison point | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Original ticket total | Original price plus initial fees and taxes | It is the base for both 10% calculations |
| Markup percentage | (Resale ticket price − initial total) ÷ initial total | Shows whether the ticket price stays within the 10% allowance after January 1, 2027 |
| Marketplace and delivery fees | Each charge and whether it is mandatory | Separate marketplace fees can reach 10%; physical shipping must be reasonable and disclosed before final purchase |
| All-in visibility | Total shown before the final purchase action | Prevents a headline-to-checkout surprise |
| Seat, zone and section | Exact location when applicable | Lets you verify that the listing describes the ticket being sold |
| Refund and cancellation terms | Conditions, deadlines and exclusions | Determines your remedy if the event, ticket or delivery changes |
| Seller or exchange identity | Name plus licensing or bonding information | Helps establish who made the offer and whether required verification is disclosed |
Keep both listings’ screenshots if you are deciding between them. A comparison made after one page changes its fees is difficult to prove without a time-stamped record.
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Red flags that should make you stop
- The original purchase price, including initial fees and taxes, is absent.
- The displayed amount and the checkout total differ without a clear itemized explanation.
- The post-January 1, 2027 resale ticket price is more than 110% of the documented initial total.
- A secondary exchange’s marketplace fee appears to exceed 10% of the initial total or is bundled so it cannot be calculated.
- Mandatory fees appear only after several screens, or a countdown pressures you to buy immediately.
- Seat number, zone or section information is missing when the event normally provides it.
- The listing suggests the seller does not possess the ticket and will obtain it only after someone buys.
- The seller or exchange gives no meaningful licensing or bonding information where the law requires verification.
- A physical-shipping charge is added without being disclosed before final purchase.
What evidence to save
Save evidence before you click the final purchase button, because a listing can change or disappear. Your file should include:
- A full-page screenshot of the listing and the date and time.
- The displayed original ticket price and the stated initial fees and taxes.
- Every marketplace, service, delivery and tax line in the price breakdown.
- The seat number, zone, section and any ticket quantity information shown.
- The seller or exchange name, licensing or bonding disclosure and contact details displayed on the page.
- The final checkout total, including any shipping amount.
- Any countdown, “limited time” message or language suggesting the ticket is not yet in the seller’s possession.
Keep the original files rather than only cropped images. If possible, save the page as a PDF and retain the confirmation email or receipt.
What to do when a listing appears unlawful
Before January 1, 2027
Do not present the Chapter 55 10% cap as an effective legal limit before its stated applicability date. You can still treat hidden fees, missing disclosures, deceptive urgency and uncertain ticket possession as consumer-protection warning signs. Preserve the evidence and review the exchange’s refund and complaint process before paying.
On or after January 1, 2027
- Recalculate the ceiling from the documented initial ticket total, including initial fees and taxes.
- Separate the resale ticket price from any marketplace service fee and from a physical-shipping charge.
- Compare those amounts with the all-in total shown before final purchase.
- Save the listing and checkout evidence, including the seller or exchange identity.
- Ask the exchange for a written explanation and retain its response.
- If the explanation does not resolve the discrepancy, report the conduct to the appropriate District consumer-protection authority and provide the preserved records.
A calculation error can come from using face value instead of the initial total, counting a marketplace fee twice or treating a shipping charge as an unexplained mandatory fee. Recheck the arithmetic before reporting, but do not discard evidence of a disclosure failure.
What DC enforcement shows about hidden fees
The Attorney General has already pursued deceptive ticket-pricing practices separate from the new cap. In a separate release, the office announced that Live Nation would pay $9.9 million over practices that allegedly hid mandatory fees until checkout from 2015 through May 2025. The release says the company implemented all-in pricing in 2025 after the investigation.
These matters do not change the January 1, 2027 start date or prove that every high-priced listing violates Chapter 55. They do show why the practical test should focus on the complete price, the original-price disclosure and the transaction path—not only the first number displayed.
Quick calculation worksheet
Use this worksheet for each ticket listing:
- Initial ticket price: $__________
- Initial fees: $__________
- Initial taxes: $__________
- Initial ticket total: add lines 1–3 = $__________
- 10% resale allowance: line 4 × 0.10 = $__________
- Resale ticket-price ceiling: line 4 + line 5 = $__________
- 10% marketplace-fee ceiling, if applicable: line 4 × 0.10 = $__________
- Marketplace fee shown: $__________
- Physical shipping shown: $__________
- All-in checkout total: $__________
For an offer subject to the effective law, compare the displayed resale ticket price with line 6 and the marketplace fee with line 7. Then verify that every amount in the all-in total is itemized and visible before final purchase.
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