Ticketmaster Verified Fan explained: registration, codes, the Waiting Room and time zones
Accurate as of October 24, 2026. Details vary by show, so always read each show's official page.
Most in-demand concerts in the U.S. sell through Ticketmaster, and the biggest ones use Verified Fan, a pre-registration system meant to screen out resellers and bots. It's similar to a Korean fan-club presale, except there's a lottery.
How Verified Fan works
- Register: sign in with the Ticketmaster account you'll use on sale day, pick your shows and register. It's free and has a deadline.
- Verification: Ticketmaster checks that each registration belongs to a real individual and isn't tied to irregular activity.
- Code or waitlist: when demand exceeds supply, a lottery-style process decides who gets a unique access code. Codes arrive by text, are tied to your account and won't work for anyone else. If you aren't selected you go on a waitlist and may get a code if tickets remain.
- Sale: only code holders get in, and inside the sale it's first come, first served.
Registering doesn't guarantee tickets. Ticketmaster states that access to a Verified Fan sale doesn't guarantee tickets, and that if everything sells during the Verified Fan sale, there may be no general onsale.
Sale day: the Waiting Room
- The Waiting Room opens 30 minutes before the sale. Join with the account you registered.
- Ticketmaster asks you to join only once and use one tab per show, and not to close the page once you're in.
- When it's your turn, enter your code exactly as shown.
- Limits vary by show. For TWICE's 2023 U.S. tour, the maximum was four tickets per code.
The tricky part: time zones
Ticketmaster sales are often set in local venue time. TWICE's 2023 sale was "3PM local venue time" on March 22, while the registration deadline was listed as "7PM PT / 9PM CT / 10PM ET". Venues are in different zones, so convert the local time in your email and notice to your own.
| 10 a.m. local venue time (standard time, from Nov) | Korea time |
|---|---|
| Eastern (New York) | Midnight, next day |
| Central (Chicago/Dallas) | 1 a.m., next day |
| Pacific (Los Angeles) | 3 a.m., next day |
U.S. daylight saving time ends November 1, adding an hour to the gap; see DST ends Nov 1.
Checklist
- Convert the registration deadline to your time zone and set an alarm
- Sign in on sale day with the same account you registered; save payment details
- Enter the Waiting Room 30 minutes early, one tab, don't close the page
- Right before, check your device against the server on Chochim