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

# How reserved seating works

> Let buyers pick their own seats from a map of your venue instead of choosing a quantity

With **reserved seating**, buyers choose specific seats from a map of your venue instead of typing a ticket quantity. Each ticket they receive carries the section, row, and seat it was sold for — `Balcony · Row C · Seat 12` — and the seat is theirs until the event.

You draw the map yourself. Rows, curved rows, round tables, and standing areas are all available, along with a stage and entrances so buyers can orient themselves. Each section is tied to one of your [ticket categories](/events/ticket-types), which is where the price comes from.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  A["1. Turn on<br/>Reserved Seating"] --> B["2. Create your<br/>ticket categories"]
  B --> C["3. Draw the<br/>seat map"]
  C --> D["4. Validate<br/>and publish"]
  D --> E["5. Buyers pick<br/>their seats"]
  E --> F["6. Watch seats<br/>sell live"]

  style A fill:#57118F,stroke:#57118F,color:#fff
  style D fill:#9F46C5,stroke:#9F46C5,color:#fff
  style E fill:#2B2BB0,stroke:#2B2BB0,color:#fff
```

***

## Get access

Reserved seating is switched on per organizer account by TixFix. If your event form has no `Reserved Seating` card on the second step and no `Seat color` field when you create a ticket category, your account does not have it yet. Email [contact@tixfix.ai](mailto:contact@tixfix.ai) and ask for reserved seating to be enabled.

Turning it off later hides the seat map step. It does not touch events that already have a published map: those keep selling by seat, and tickets already sold keep their seats.

***

## What you can build

| Object | What it is | Sells seats? |
| - | - | - |
| **Seat row** | A block of straight or gently curved rows, with an optional aisle. | Yes |
| **Round table** | A table with seats around it. Each seat is sold individually. | Yes |
| **Standing** | A drawn area with a fixed capacity and no numbered seats. | Yes, by count |
| **Stage, Entry, Exit, Label** | Scenery that shows buyers where things are. | Never |

Sellable objects are called **sections**. Scenery objects are called **markers**. A marker never has a price, a capacity, or a ticket category, and it can never stop a map from publishing.

See [Build a seat map](/seating/build-a-seat-map) for every field and control.

***

## Rules to know before you start

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Every ticket category must be on the map">
    A seated event is all-or-nothing. Publishing is refused if any ticket category on the event is not assigned to at least one section. You cannot sell some tickets by seat and others by quantity in the same event.

    For a general-admission floor alongside seated tiers, draw the floor as a `Standing` section. It counts as part of the map. See [Standing areas](/seating/build-a-seat-map#standing-areas).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The map decides how many tickets you have">
    A seated category's ticket count is the number of seats the map draws for it, not the number you typed when you created the category. When you publish, TixFix shows a before-and-after table and asks you to confirm. See [Publish a seat map](/seating/publish-a-seat-map).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A seat never has its own price">
    Every seat takes the price of the ticket category its section is assigned to. To charge more for the front rows, put them in their own section and assign that section a pricier category.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Up to 5,000 seats per map">
    A map that would hold more than 5,000 seats cannot be published. The total is every seat you draw, standing capacity included, and blocked seats still count toward it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Seat holds and order limits are fixed">
    When a buyer picks a seat it is held for them for **5 minutes**, and an order can contain at most **6 seats**. The seat map screen has no control for either number today. If you need different values for an event, email [contact@tixfix.ai](mailto:contact@tixfix.ai).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Build a seat map" icon="pencil-ruler" href="/seating/build-a-seat-map">
    Turn on seating, set category colors, and draw your venue.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Publish a seat map" icon="rocket" href="/seating/publish-a-seat-map">
    Validate the map, review the inventory change, and go live.
  </Card>

  <Card title="What buyers see" icon="mouse-pointer-click" href="/seating/how-buyers-choose-seats">
    How buyers pick seats, and how holds work.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manage seated events" icon="clipboard-list" href="/seating/manage-seated-events">
    Watch seats sell, block seats, release a seat, and handle refunds.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>