Washington, DC RESALE Act: resale price cap, all-in rules, and July 7 steps

The D.C. Council approved the Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE) Act on July 3, 2026. The measure targets secondary-market ticket resales for live entertainment (such as music and theater)—and it does not cover tickets for sports events or movies.

For people buying tickets in Washington, D.C.’s resale market, the biggest changes are a resale price cap, required “all-in” price disclosure (including fees and add-ons upfront), and new licensing and bonding rules for high-volume resellers.

Price cap + “all-in” pricing for live-entertainment resales i

The Council’s explanation says the RESALE Act creates a resale price cap based on ticket face value: 10% above the ticket price, plus a maximum fee allowance of 10%. Put together, it means the most a consumer can pay for a covered resale ticket—including fees—is 120% of face value.

The law also requires that ticket prices be listed as “all in,” meaning the posted resale price should include required fees and other add-ons, rather than shifting the true cost to later at checkout.

What the RESALE Act bans: speculative and “surveillance” pricing i

The RESALE Act includes restrictions aimed at inflated listings. The Council says it bans:

• “Speculative pricing”—reselling tickets in advance that the seller is not actually in possession of yet (or does not have under contract to transfer).
• “Surveillance pricing”—pricing that uses identifiable online data or signals tied to a consumer (for example, location or browsing activity) to influence the price.

DLCP licensing and a $25,000 surety bond for high-volume resellers i

Instead of letting high-volume reselling operate without a consumer-protection backstop, the RESALE Act brings frequent resellers under D.C. oversight.

The Council describes the threshold as more than fifty tickets a year; the OCFO fiscal impact statement describes it as 50 or more tickets per year. Either way, the practical takeaway is that people who resell at scale are expected to be regulated.

Under the framework described by the Council and OCFO, resellers above that threshold must:

• Be licensed through DLCP (the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection)
• Maintain a $25,000 surety bond with DLCP
• Comply with conspicuous ticket price disclosure requirements

Enforcement baseline: Class II civil infractions, fines, and record retention i

The OCFO fiscal impact statement says violations are Class II civil infractions, subject to fines. It also describes a compliance-and-enforcement approach that depends on:

• DLCP maintaining a public list of licensed resellers and violations
• Detailed transaction record retention by licensed resellers and secondary ticket exchanges for three years

The OCFO memo also notes that the Mayor must issue implementing rules for the law.

Timeline: new consumer protections begin Jan. 1, 2027 i

Residents should expect these changes to take effect at the start of January 1, 2027, along with required implementing steps and rules from the Mayor/DLCP—so this is not an immediate “change your cart today” situation.

The Council’s explanation also says the Mayor may modify certain resale price/fee cap ranges one year after implementation, so any future adjustments will happen through that later process.

Funding reality check: Council says funding was set aside, OCFO says funds aren’t sufficient i

There’s a built-in tension in the public record. The Council’s explanation says funding was set aside so the RESALE Act can go into effect as intended on January 1, 2027. But the OCFO fiscal impact statement concludes: funds are not sufficient in the proposed budget/financial plan to implement the bill.

That matters for residents because DLCP enforcement, public listings, and compliance infrastructure (including record-keeping) all rely on implementation capacity once the rules start.

What’s next on July 7 i

On July 7, 2026, the Council is holding its next legislative meeting. The Council’s own explainer says the agenda for July 7 consists solely of the second of two necessary votes on the Budget Support Act (BSA), part of closing out the District’s annual budget package.

The Council also posted how to watch the July 7 meeting. And on July 6, Chairman Phil Mendelson posted notice of an amendment-in-the-nature-of-a-substitute tied to the FY27 Budget Support Act that will be considered at the additional legislative meeting.

What residents should do as the July 7 budget package moves forward i

• When rules are active in 2027, look for resale listings that match the 120% all-in cap structure and show prices that reflect required fees/add-ons up front.
• Once DLCP posts the required public materials, check whether high-volume resellers are properly licensed and comply with disclosure and record-keeping expectations.
• Because OCFO flagged implementation funding concerns, watch whether the July 7 budget steps clarify or resolve staffing/enforcement capacity issues needed for DLCP to carry out the law.

Sources

• Council of the District of Columbia (July 3, 2026) — “Council Approves RESALE Act, Regulating Ticket Sales and Capping Ticket Resale Prices”
• Office of the Chief Financial Officer (June 18, 2026) — “Fiscal Impact Statement – RESALE Amendment Act of 2026”
• Chairman Phil Mendelson (July 6, 2026) — Notice re: amendment-in-the-nature-of-a-substitute to the FY27 Budget Support Act at the July 7 meeting

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