The new official Portrait President Elect Barack Obama

Tickets to the 56th Inaugural Ceremonies will be provided free of charge and distributed through
Members of the 111th Congress. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies does
not provide tickets to the public. Members of the public interested in attending the Inaugural
Ceremonies should contact their Member of Congress or U.S. Senators to request tickets.

The public should also be aware that no website or other ticket outlet actually has inaugural swearing-in
tickets to sell, regardless of what they may claim. Tickets will not be distributed to Congressional
offices until the week before the inauguration and will require in-person pick-up.

“Any website or ticket broker claiming that they have inaugural tickets is simply not telling the truth,”
said Howard Gantman, Staff Director for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
“Tickets for the swearing-in of President-elect are all provided through members of Congress, and the
President-elect and Vice President-elect through the Presidential Inaugural Committee. We urge the
public to view any offers of tickets for sale with great skepticism.”