# Require an invitation before someone can buy tickets | Ticket Fairy Guides 1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/) 2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) 3. Require an invitation before someone can buy tickets Setting up an event # Require an invitation before someone can buy tickets Require personal invitation links for normal ticket purchases, import or enter your approved list, set recipient limits and follow every invitation after you send it. For: Selling tickets through an approved invitation list Takes: 16 minutes - [Turn on Invitation required to attend](#step-1) - [Draft the invitation email](#step-2) - [Choose any hidden tickets or held allocation the link should open](#step-3) - [Add one recipient and set both limits](#step-4) - [Import a larger approved list from CSV](#step-5) - [Review the CSV import results](#step-6) - [Correct any rejected CSV rows](#step-7) - [Send now or schedule the invitation](#step-8) - [Review invitations waiting to send](#step-9) - [Delete a scheduled invitation before it sends](#step-10) - [Follow each invitation after it leaves](#step-11) - [Resend one person's invitation](#step-12) - [Cancel one person's invitation](#step-13) - [Choose the reminder message](#step-14) - [Send the reminder](#step-15) - [Test one invitation from the email to checkout](#step-16) ## What you need before you start - You can edit **Event Settings** and send invitations for the event. - Your brand is verified. If your brand is new or you do not know whether it is verified, contact Ticket Fairy Support before preparing the invitation. - Open **Account Settings** in the dashboard and check **Account Verification**. Complete the verification if your account has not already been verified. - Your approved list has a first name, last name and email address for each person. - You know the most tickets and separate orders each recipient may place. 1. ## Turn on Invitation required to attend Open **Event Settings**, turn on **Invitation required to attend**, and confirm the change. Select **Save Event Settings** before you open the invitations area. Once the setting is saved, a normal event visit cannot add a ticket without a current personal invitation link. A valid referral-link visit can still buy when your event already allows that access exception. ![Ticket Fairy Event Settings with Invitation required to attend on and Save Event Settings below it](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-settings--invitation-required.png) Event Settings, Invitation required to attend. 2. ## Draft the invitation email Open **Interact**, select **Invitations**, then start a new invitation. Enter the **Subject** and **Invitation Content** in the same voice as the rest of your event messages. Tell the recipient what the invitation opens, when sales close and whether the link should remain private. Ticket Fairy adds the ticket link to the invitation when the message does not already contain it. ![Ticket Fairy invitation form with Subject, Invitation Content, hidden-ticket access and two CSV recipients](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--compose.png) Interact, Invitations, Send Invitation. 3. ## Choose any hidden tickets or held allocation the link should open Use **Unhide Hidden Ticket Type (optional)** when this invitation should reveal one or more tickets that ordinary visits cannot see. Use **Hold Tickets (optional)** when you already have a held allocation set aside for the invited list. Leave both fields empty when every invited person should choose from the normal visible tickets. The invitation requirement still applies. 4. ## Add one recipient and set both limits Under **Recipients**, select **Add Recipient**. Enter **First Name**, **Last Name**, **Email**, **Maximum number of tickets** and **Maximum transactions**. **Maximum number of tickets** is the total number of tickets this invitation may buy. **Maximum transactions** is the number of separate orders it may place. Set the transaction limit no higher than the ticket limit. The recipient table shortens these headings to **Max Tickets** and **Max Transactions**. ![Ticket Fairy Add Recipient dialog with name, email, maximum tickets and maximum transactions fields](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--add-recipient.png) Interact, Invitations, Add Recipient. 5. ## Import a larger approved list from CSV Select **Upload CSV**, then add a CSV with no header row. Put first name, last name, email address, maximum tickets and maximum transactions in that order on every row. Drop the file onto **Add CSV File**, or select it and choose the file from your device. Use one row per person. Each limit must be from 1 to 50, and maximum transactions cannot exceed maximum tickets. ![Ticket Fairy Upload CSV File dialog listing the five recipient columns and the Add CSV File area](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--upload-csv.png) Interact, Invitations, Upload CSV. 6. ## Review the CSV import results Read the **Processed**, **Imported** and **Failed** totals. **Imported** recipients have already been added to the invitation. Select **OK** after you have checked the totals. When **Failed** is greater than zero, Ticket Fairy opens those rows for correction after you select **OK**. You do not need to upload the valid rows again. ![Ticket Fairy Import Results dialog showing three processed recipients, two imported and one failed](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--import-results.png) Interact, Invitations, Import Results. 7. ## Correct any rejected CSV rows In **Fix CSV Import Errors**, enter each missing or invalid value. The red message identifies the field that needs attention. Select **Import Row** when the row is complete. **Import Row** remains unavailable until the row is valid. When several rows failed, correct every row you want to keep, then import the valid rows. ![Ticket Fairy Fix CSV Import Errors dialog with a recipient row whose required email address is missing](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--fix-csv-errors.png) Interact, Invitations, Fix CSV Import Errors. 8. ## Send now or schedule the invitation Read the subject, content, ticket access and recipient rows once more. Select **Send** to send now. To send later, select **Schedule Email**, choose the date and time in the event timezone, then select **Schedule**. A scheduled invitation remains under **Scheduled invitations** until its send time. Cancel it there if the list or message changes first. ![Ticket Fairy Schedule Email dialog with the event-local start date and Schedule action](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--schedule-email.png) Interact, Invitations, Schedule Email. 9. ## Review invitations waiting to send Return to **Invitations** and check **Scheduled invitations**. Confirm each recipient, ticket type, ticket limit and scheduled time before the message leaves. Scheduled times use the event timezone. Correct the event timezone first when the displayed time is not the time your audience should receive the invitation. ![Ticket Fairy Scheduled invitations table with recipients, ticket types, ticket limits, scheduled times and Delete actions](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--scheduled.png) Interact, Invitations, Scheduled invitations. 10. ## Delete a scheduled invitation before it sends Select **Delete** beside the scheduled invitation. Check the warning, then select **Confirm**. Deleting the scheduled send prevents that email from leaving. It does not delete invitations that have already been sent. ![Ticket Fairy warning that confirms deletion of a scheduled invitation](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--cancel-scheduled.png) Interact, Invitations, delete a scheduled invitation. 11. ## Follow each invitation after it leaves Return to **Invitations** and read the recipient table. **Sent** means the email left, **Link opened** means its link was used, and **Bought** means the invitation produced a completed purchase or an active payment plan. **Withdrawn** means the personal link was cancelled. The table keeps the recipient, invited ticket type, limits and order IDs together, so you can check which allowance produced a purchase before you act. ![Ticket Fairy Invitations table with Sent, Bought and Link opened recipients and actions on each row](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--recipients.png) Interact, Invitations. 12. ## Resend one person's invitation Select **Resend** in the recipient row. Check the confirmation, then select **Resend** again. Resend sends the same personal access again. It does not create another ticket or transaction allowance. The action is unavailable after the invitation is bought or withdrawn. ![Ticket Fairy confirmation before resending a personal invitation](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--resend-recipient.png) Interact, Invitations, resend an invitation. 13. ## Cancel one person's invitation Select **Cancel** in the recipient row. Check the recipient named in the confirmation, then select **OK**. Cancel changes that invitation to **Withdrawn** and stops its personal link. Every other recipient and the event's invitation requirement stay in place. ![Ticket Fairy confirmation naming the recipient whose invitation will be cancelled](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--cancel-recipient.png) Interact, Invitations, cancel an invitation. 14. ## Choose the reminder message Select **Send a Reminder**. Under **Message Type**, choose **Resend same message** or **New message**. For a new message, enter **Subject** and **Message**. A reminder goes to invited people who have not bought. Resending the original message preserves the first wording; a new message lets you explain a deadline, low availability or a changed plan. ![Ticket Fairy Send a Reminder dialog with Message Type and original or new message choices](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-invitations--send-reminder.png) Interact, Invitations, Send a Reminder. 15. ## Send the reminder Check the selected message type and any new subject or message, then select **Send a Reminder**. The reminder action can contact several recipients at once. Check the event and wording before you send it. 16. ## Test one invitation from the email to checkout Send an invitation to an address you control. Open it in a private browser window, confirm that the intended tickets appear, complete a test order and check that the recipient changes to **Bought**. Repeat the test from a normal event visit without the invitation link. Try to add a visible ticket and confirm the purchase action is refused. Ticket choices may remain visible until you try to add one. ## Or have it done for you Fai, the assistant inside your dashboard, can turn on the invitation requirement, prepare and send the approved list, and manage invitations after they leave. She asks you to approve each change before she makes it. You can also complete the whole workflow in the dashboard. Your own AI assistant over the MCP server can check existing invitations and help you resend or cancel one. ### In your dashboard, with Fai Find my event by name, turn on Invitation required to attend, and prepare an invitation email for these approved guests: \. Unlock these ticket types with the same invitation: \. Show me the event setting, subject, message, ticket access and each recipient limit, then ask me to approve the event change and the send ### From your own assistant, over MCP Connect your assistant to [our MCP server](https://www.ticketfairy.com/mcp-server) and ask it: The copied MCP configuration includes `--read-only`. Remove `--read-only` only when you want your assistant to make changes. Routine changes run when requested; destructive actions ask you in a compatible client. If your client cannot ask, make the change in your dashboard. Find my event by name, list its invitations, and resend the invitation for \ if it is eligible to resend. Show me the recipient and current status, then ask me to approve the resend ## Questions you might have What is the difference between Max Tickets and Max Transactions?: **Max Tickets** limits the combined ticket quantity across completed purchases and active payment plans. **Max Transactions** counts each completed purchase, active payment plan or pending order once. A pending order may still be waiting for approval or payment confirmation. One order containing several ticket types still uses one transaction. Can someone forward a personal invitation link?: Yes. Anyone with the link can use its remaining ticket and transaction allowance. Tell recipients to keep it private and cancel it if it reaches the wrong person. Can an invitation reveal a ticket that is hidden from everyone else?: Yes. Choose it under **Unhide Hidden Ticket Type (optional)** before you send. The personal link reveals that ticket while ordinary visits keep it hidden. Can I invite the same email address again?: Use **Resend** on the existing row when you want to send the same access again. Use **Send a Reminder** only when you want to contact everyone who has not bought. Create another invitation when that address needs a separate link and allowance. What does Link opened mean?: The invitation URL was opened. It does not mean an order completed. **Bought** confirms that the invitation produced a completed purchase or an active payment plan. How do I revoke one person without closing the event?: Select **Cancel** in the recipient row. Its status changes to **Withdrawn**, while the other personal links and the invitation-required event setting stay in place. ## Where to go from here - [What else you can do with Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/features) - [Make your event invitation-only](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/make-an-event-invitation-only) - [Password-protect your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/password-protect-your-event) - [Unlock hidden tickets with an access code](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/unlock-hidden-tickets-with-an-access-code) - [Approve orders before buyers receive tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/approve-orders-before-buyers-receive-tickets) - [Schedule when your event goes live](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/schedule-when-your-event-goes-live) - [Share an event setup as a reusable template](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/share-your-event-as-a-template) - [Set up ticketing for a multi-day festival](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-a-multi-day-festival) - [Sell parking, camping and merchandise with your tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-add-ons-with-your-tickets) - [Group ticket types under headings buyers understand](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/group-your-tickets-into-categories) - [Issue reusable event passes to crew and artists](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-entry-passes-to-your-crew) - [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) ## Do this on your own event Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call. [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) --- This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) ยท [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)