Obama Inauguration: How to Get Tickets

Because of the high demand for tickets to the Inauguration on January 20^th, and to prevent fraud, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies has restricted their availability. The only way to get authentic tickets is through the offices of your Congressional representatives (unless you happen to know the President-elect or Vice President-elect).

Inauguration tickets are not for sale. They cannot be purchased, sold, or traded. They are given to members of the public, free of charge, only through the offices of members of Congress.

Many Senators and Congressmen have links available on their websites where you can make a request for tickets, or sign up for a lottery to get them. Others, who don't have dedicated sections of their websites, can be contacted via email or traditional mail. In all cases, the Representative's staff will need your contact information, to notify you if you win and/or send your tickets to you.

It should be noted that it is members of the incoming Congress, the 111^th, that can distribute tickets; if your representative has changed in the last election, you'll need to contact the new one. Also, the Sen. Charles Schumer's website (D - NY) limits tickets to 2 per household; expect others to have similar restrictions.

For more information, contact your local representative, or visit the Congressional Committee's website at http://inaugural.senate.gov/