The 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of California and the United States’ biggest music events of the year, is just around the corner, so it’s not too late to buy tickets, but how do you avoid scams?
This year’s Coachella lineup includes Sabrina Carpenter, The Strokes, and Laufey, among dozens of other artists, big and small. The first weekend will take place April 10 through 12, and the second weekend will be from April 17through 19.
As usual, the festival sold out of weekend passes quickly, but ticketholders who couldn’t make the trip to the desert often sell their passes to those still waiting.
There are official ways to get these resale tickets, but prospective festival-goers hoping to save money by resorting to unofficial channels may risk falling for a resale scam.
How should fans in and out of California go about securing their spot?
How can I avoid Coachella ticket scams?
The best way to avoid falling for ticket scams is by buying tickets through official channels.
The official Coachella festival website has all of the ways to buy tickets at the last minute in one place.
Passes for both weekends are sold out, and it’s too late to add your name to the waitlist, but ticket-selling giant AXS is the official platform to buy passes.
Music fans who purchased their passes months ago and have since changed their plans can resell their tickets via the resale link on the Coachella website. Not all passes can be resold, however.
Selling or buying tickets face-to-face with someone carries the risk of scams and personal danger, so AXS has made it so that tickets are only sold and shipped online.
Physical passes that have been resold will be voided, and new passes will be sent to the buyer, so buying a ticket in person runs the danger of receiving a voided pass.
The only time AXS requires tickets to be picked up in person is if they are purchased past March 27 for Weekend 1 and April 3 for Weekend 2. Passes purchased after those deadlines will be available at will-call on the Wednesday prior to each weekend.
Fans who have bought tickets and run into shipping or other issues can contact AXS for support.
Where do I purchase Coachella tickets?
The festival’s official website has links for people hoping to buy passes for either weekend.
It is too late to get passes shipped for the first weekend, but not too late to buy.
AXS official Weekend 1 tickets can be found on the festival’s website, as can Weekend 2 tickets.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella is almost here. So are ticket scams. How to avoid them
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
