> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ticketspotapp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reserve tickets during checkout

> Hold ordinary tickets while buyers answer registration questions, configure the checkout time limit, and handle expiry or payment processing.

Enable **Hold tickets during checkout** to reserve ordinary tickets while buyers complete attendee details, additional questions, and payment. The countdown starts after they select tickets and choose **Continue**. For recurring events and timed entry, they must also choose a concrete date or time slot.

## Enable ticket reservations

1. Open **Events → Edit event → Tickets**.
2. Turn on **Hold tickets during checkout**, above the ticket list, and save the event. It is off by default and applies to every widget selling that event.
3. Open **Settings → General → Checkout** and set **Ticket Hold Time in Minutes**. Enter a whole number from **1 to 120**; the default is **15**. Save the site settings.
4. Preview the event, select tickets, and choose **Continue**. Confirm that the countdown appears while you enter attendee details and proceed to payment.

The ticket reservation duration is independent of **Seat Hold Time in Minutes**. Changing a duration affects new reservations. Turning the event switch off stops new reservations; existing reservations still need to complete, expire, or be released.

![Hold tickets during checkout enabled on the event Tickets screen](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-settings.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=dafaa8588234a68d734960866509e1c5)

The event switch enabled in the demo dashboard on localhost.

![Ticket Hold Time in Minutes set to fifteen](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-duration.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=3b6880fcf44e1038cb1d01b48664be91)

The independent ticket and seat durations in the refined Checkout section of General settings.

> [accordion] See the Checkout settings on mobile
>
> ![Mobile Checkout settings with separate ticket and seat reservation durations](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-duration-mobile.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=39dd8a743268280c1eb452632ce5a31a)
>
> Ticket and seat durations stack into one column on a narrow screen.

Dates following the main event's ticket settings inherit its reservation switch. Change it on the main event, or give the date its own ticket configuration before setting a different policy.

## Complete attendee details before the timer expires

Once the server confirms a reservation, the buyer sees **Your tickets are reserved for** and the remaining minutes and seconds. Existing [registration questions](https://docs.ticketspotapp.com/event-management/additional-information.md), waivers, and per-ticket attendee forms continue to apply.

Returning to a previous step, editing answers, changing a promo code, or retrying validation does not restart the timer. Increasing quantities or changing a ticket/date checks the replacement before releasing the previous allocation. If the replacement is unavailable, the buyer must review their selection before continuing. Decreasing quantities or removing a cart selection releases the corresponding ordinary-ticket allocation.

![Ticket reservation countdown above attendee name, email, and a required dietary question](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-details.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=847ab6a5ee88eec90de892532cb385c2)

Demo checkout on localhost. The countdown continues while the buyer completes the required registration question.

> [accordion] See the countdown on mobile
>
> ![Mobile attendee form with the remaining ticket reservation time](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-mobile.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=50d89809c872f59e857146d79076cbc6)
>
> The same demo checkout and countdown at a mobile screen width.

Keep checkout open. The browsing cart and answers stay in memory; reloading the page clears them. Closing the page does not instantly release a reservation, but unpaid tickets become available when its deadline passes.

## When a reservation expires

Checkout blocks a new payment attempt and offers **Check availability**. Entered answers remain in the current page. Selecting that button requests a new reservation; the tickets may have become unavailable while the first reservation expired.

![Expired ticket reservation message with Check availability and a retained attendee name](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-expired.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=916011af79ee1693fa25e41323ef1a5c)

After the real one-minute demo reservation expires, Check availability appears and the entered name remains.

If only some tickets remain, change the quantities or remove the affected selection. An old cart does not guarantee admission. A successful purchase is required to confirm the booking.

## Payment processing

The ordinary-ticket timer does not restart when payment begins. Once a payment may still complete, **Payment processing. Your tickets remain reserved.** replaces the countdown while Ticket Spot verifies its outcome. A timeout alone does not free tickets that could still be paid for.

![Payment processing notice while a test payment completes](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-processing.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=972bff7257f8102697cb03f7b9a189ed)

The demo keeps tickets reserved while a Stripe test payment awaits order completion.

If a payment error appears, check the order/payment status before retrying. PayPal approval and Square card entry still need to reach the final payment action before the reservation expires. A free registration must also complete within its reservation window.

After a successful purchase, the order confirmation replaces checkout and the reservation timer disappears.

![Order complete confirmation with ticket and receipt links](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-complete.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=5c2ee896e78e8cb0a30d56bdebc047a1)

A completed Stripe test order in the demo checkout on localhost.

## Carts and capacity

Each event selection in a [multi-event cart](https://docs.ticketspotapp.com/branding-and-design/checkout-settings.md#cart-across-multiple-events) keeps its deadline. The cart shows the earliest relevant expiry and identifies that event. Adding another event does not renew earlier reservations. Review, renew, or remove expired ordinary selections before paying for the combined order.

Seated selections retain their Seats.io deadline and existing payment-time renewal rules. When they share a cart with ordinary reservations, the cart also considers their known seat deadline. An expired seated selection must be chosen again or removed; the ordinary-ticket availability button cannot renew seats.

Reservations protect both ticket inventory and event places. Two table tickets admitting six people each reserve **two tickets and twelve places**. Group tickets use their composition. See [capacity used per ticket](https://docs.ticketspotapp.com/event-management/ticket-capacity.md).

## Supported checkout

Use this setting for ordinary ticketed events, recurring dates, and timed slots sold through **Ticket Spot checkout**. Embedded Ticket Spot checkout can use reservations even on a store-connected site when the event is not linked to an external checkout product.

The switch is unavailable for seating charts, all-sessions passes, exclusive whole-slot bookings, membership-only sales, RSVP-only registration, and events linked to Shopify, Ecwid, or Square catalog checkout. [Seating reservations](https://docs.ticketspotapp.com/seating-charts/seat-selection.md) and [exclusive bookings](https://docs.ticketspotapp.com/bookings/exclusive-time-slots.md) keep their existing rules. Joining a waitlist does not reserve tickets.

Before linking an event or series to external store checkout, turn off ordinary-ticket holds and allow outstanding reservations and payments to resolve.

## Customize the wording

Open **Design → Widget → All Settings → Text → Checkout → General**. Search for **Ticket Hold** to find the countdown, expiry, processing, low-time warning, retry-button, and checking labels. Expand **Reservation error messages** to customize unavailable tickets, changed selections, a busy checkout, failed availability checks, required reservations, payment-status review, and access-code or membership errors. Keep `{time}` in **Ticket Hold Countdown Text**.

Reservation failures use these messages rather than raw server diagnostics. The default wording follows the visitor's supported language when **Automatic translation** is enabled. Custom wording stays as entered. Text changes do not change the reservation duration.

![French checkout showing the translated ticket availability error](https://mintcdn.com/ticketspot/7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK/assets/refresh/event-management/ticket-holds-error-fr.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=7A6ay1OZocN6SOlK\&q=85\&s=b271d6a6ddb14b2ee2f3812a90321894)

A real reservation conflict in the localhost demo uses the French default error text.


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