This guide walks you through setting up graduation or commencement ticketing, from limiting tickets per graduate to handling weather contingencies and collecting accessibility information.
Planning your graduation event
Before building your event in the Box Office, decide:
How many tickets per graduate? Most schools allow 4 to 8 per graduate for outdoor ceremonies and 2 to 4 for indoor.
Will you use passcodes? Uploading graduate student IDs as passcodes ensures only graduates' families can purchase tickets and limits each graduate to a set number.
Do you need accessibility information? Add custom checkout questions for wheelchair seating, special accommodations, etc.
Do you have a weather backup? If your outdoor ceremony might move indoors with different capacity, plan for two events (see "Weather contingency" below).
Creating your graduation event
Click +New Event from the Dashboard.
Enter event details: Event Name (e.g., "Class of 2026 Commencement Ceremony"), Date and Time, Venue, Event Type: Ticketed Event.
Set up ticket levels: Create a "Graduate Family Ticket" level. Set the price (or $0 for free). Set the Quantity to a high number (the passcode will control per-graduate limits, not the ticket level quantity). Optional: Create a "Faculty/Staff" ticket level for comp tickets.
Add a Capacity Manager if your venue has a maximum occupancy. Go to Advanced Event Options > Capacity Manager.
Upload graduate student IDs as passcodes (see next section).
Add checkout custom fields for accessibility needs (see "Collecting accessibility information" below).
Preview and Publish.
Restricting tickets to graduate families using passcodes
In your event, scroll to Advanced Event Options > click Edit next to Event Codes.
Click the Passcodes tab > click New.
Select Upload Code Batch.
Prepare a CSV file: one student ID per row in Column A, no header row, no formatting. Save as .csv.
Upload the CSV file.
Select the Ticket Level the codes apply to (e.g., "Graduate Family Ticket").
Set Quantity to the number of tickets each graduate's family can purchase (e.g., 4 for outdoor, 2 for indoor).
Set Max Per Cart to match the Quantity.
Click Submit.
Distribute the student IDs to graduates along with the event page link. When they visit the page, they click "Have a Passcode?" and enter their student ID to unlock ticket purchases.
Example: A high school commencement with 400 graduates and an outdoor venue allowing 6 tickets per graduate. The admin uploaded a CSV of 400 student IDs as passcodes, set Quantity to 6, and distributed the IDs to graduates via email. Each graduate entered their ID on the event page to purchase up to 6 tickets for family members.
Collecting accessibility or special needs information
In your event, scroll to Advanced Event Options > click Edit next to Manage Custom Fields.
Click the Ticket Level tab (so the question appears once per ticket).
Click Add first question and create fields such as: "Do you need wheelchair accessible seating?" (Checkbox), "Any special accommodations needed?" (Short Answer), "Guest Name" (Short Answer).
Click Save Changes.
To see more guidance on this tool, see the How To Manage Custom Fields article.
To retrieve this data after ticket sales, export the Attendee List from the Reporting Center. See How do I find my event data in reports?
Weather contingency: outdoor and indoor plans
If you need both an outdoor and indoor option with different capacity limits:
Create the outdoor event first and publish it. Set passcode quantities to your outdoor limit (e.g., 6 per graduate).
Create the indoor event as a separate event but keep it in Draft (do not publish yet). Set passcode quantities to your indoor limit (e.g., 2 per graduate). You can re-upload the same student IDs.
If you need to switch to indoor:
Unpublish the outdoor event (go to Event Options > Edit > change to Unpublished).
Use Notify Guests to inform outdoor ticket holders about the venue change. Go to Box Office Tools > Guest List > Notify Guests. See How to Notify Fans.
To void free or paid tickets, process a Bulk Refund: go to Advanced Event Options > Bulk Refunds > Create Request. See Bulk Refunds.
Publish the indoor event and distribute the new link to graduates and attendees.
Event day: scanning and check-in
Use the Hometown Gate App to scan tickets at entry. See Gate App & Equipment Training for a full walkthrough.
Set up Scan In AND Scan Out for a complete record of who entered and exited.
Create gate worker accounts before event day: Settings > User Accounts > +Add User (App Only security level for scanning).
Print the Volunteer Check-In Resource for your gate workers.
FAQs
Can I send free tickets to faculty or board members?
Yes. Use the Create Order tool. Go to the event > Box Office Tools > Create Order. Set the payment method to "Comp: Box Office." See How to Create an Order or Complimentary Ticket.
How do I know how many tickets each graduate's family has purchased?
Export the Attendee List from the Reporting Center. Each order shows the passcode used, which corresponds to the graduate's student ID. Sort or filter by passcode to see how many tickets each graduate's family bought.
Can I use the same student IDs for both the outdoor and indoor events?
Yes. Upload the same CSV of student IDs as passcodes to both events. Just set different Quantity limits for each.
How do I pull the accessibility information after ticket sales close?
Go to Reporting Center > Attendee List > select your graduation event > Export to CSV. The custom field answers (wheelchair seating, accommodations) will appear as columns in the spreadsheet. See How do I find my event data in reports?
Can I add a livestream link to the event page?
You can include a livestream link in the event description or in a Notify Guests message sent to ticket holders on the day of the ceremony.