Guide to Junk Fees & New Legislation Affecting Events
Confusion seems to be the norm these days when it comes to legislation related to event ticketing and fees. With the proposed TICKET Act and the Junk Prevention Act and the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Junk Fees Rule set to take effect in April 2025, there are a lot of pieces to parse through.
Don’t worry. While we’re not lawyers, we are ticketing experts, and we’ve kept up on the news and legislation. We put together this guide with all of the key information that event organizers need to know.
Junk Fees Legislation and Rules
The Junk Fee Prevention Act and the FTC’s Junk Fees Rule might sound the same, but they’re not. Both aim to eliminate hidden fees and enhance pricing transparency for consumers, particularly in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries. While they share common goals, they differ in scope, legal status, and enforcement mechanisms.
Junk Fee Prevention Act
- Scope: This proposed federal legislation seeks to address hidden fees across various industries, including short-term lodging, ticketing services, internet services, mobile services, and video programming. It also includes provisions requiring airlines to seat young children next to accompanying adults without additional charges.
- Status: Introduced in the 118th Congress in 2023, the S.916 Junk Fee Prevention Act bill has not been enacted into law.
- Enforcement: As a proposed bill, it currently lacks enforcement authority and is still under consideration. If passed, it would establish federal requirements mandating businesses to display total prices, including mandatory fees, in advertisements and at the initial point of sale.
FTC’s Junk Fees Rule
- Scope: This rule specifically targets the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging sectors. It requires that businesses in these industries clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price, including all mandatory fees, upfront in advertisements and at the beginning of the purchasing process.
- Status: Finalized by the FTC in December 2024, the rule is set to take effect in April 2025. It will be published in the Code of Federal Regulations, 16 CFR Part 464, “Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees”.
- Enforcement: When the rule goes into effect, the FTC will have the authority to enforce it with potential civil penalties for non-compliance.
Key Differences Between the Junk Fee Prevention Act and the FTC’s Junk Fees Rule
| JUNK FEE PREVENTION ACT | FTC’S JUNK FEES RULE | |
| INDUSTRY COVERAGE | Broader application across multiple industries | Narrowly focused on live-event ticketing & short-term lodging |
| LEGAL STATUS | A legislative proposal with no legal effect | A finalized regulation slated to be enforceable in April 2025 |
| ENFORCEMENT | None until the Act is passed and enacted into law | To be enforced by the FTC with specified penalties for violations |
All-In Pricing Legislation – The TICKET Act
If enacted, the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act would require that ticket sellers show the total ticket price upfront in any marketing material or advertisement, including all mandatory fees. The Act would also prohibit resellers from offering tickets that they don’t actually possess (i.e., “speculative” ticketing). In addition, it enforces refund requirements for any events that are delayed or canceled.
For event organizers, this legislation would require rethinking pricing strategies. Rather than relying on the common ticketing model of adding services charges and processing fees at checkout, these fees would need to be factored in upfront as an all-inclusive ticket price.
This change in pricing strategy comes with both opportunities and challenges, which we tackle in detail in our article, All-in Pricing Legislation and Its Impact on U.S. Airshows and Outdoor Events. Give it a read through to learn strategies to simplify pricing under all-in pricing regulations and more!
👉 Key Takeaways about Ticketing Legislation
While ticketing legislation often makes event organizers’ jobs harder, laws are usually enacted to protect ticket buyers from the bad actors in our industry. That’s a good thing, so we adapt and get better at what we do – putting on great events and delivering amazing experiences for attendees.
AttendStar is here to help you adjust your ticketing as needed with a flexible ticketing platform that can be customized to adapt to your event and changing needs – whether those changes come from you, your venue, performers, the weather, or legislation. We’re ticketing experts, we’ve been doing this for a long time, and we can handle it! Contact us to get started.
Learn More About All-In Ticket Pricing
As new regulations push the ticketing industry toward greater price transparency, event organizers must rethink how ticket prices are displayed and structured online. The move toward all-in ticket pricing—where the total ticket cost is shown upfront— is becoming a central part of compliance with emerging federal and state legislation aimed at eliminating hidden “junk fees.”
If you’re evaluating how these changes affect your event, the following resources provide deeper insights:
- All-In Ticket Pricing & Its Impact on Your Ticket Sales Pages – Learn how displaying total ticket prices upfront can influence buyer behavior, conversion rates, and the overall ticket purchasing experience.
- All-In Pricing Legislation and Its Impact on U.S. Airshows – A deeper dive into how transparency rules and federal policy changes are specifically affecting air show ticketing strategies and compliance considerations.
- New Feature: All-In Ticket Pricing for Events – See how AttendStar helps event organizers implement all-in pricing easily within their ticket sales pages to stay compliant while maintaining strong ticket sales performance.