When a paid Squarespace order exceeds capacity
A paid Squarespace order can complete after an event or ticket type reaches capacity. Instead of rejecting the order, Eventually registers the buyer's seat and marks it Over capacity, so you refund, cancel, or move the seat from your dashboard. Unpaid checkouts and the public widget still stop at capacity.
What "Over capacity" means
A paid order that arrives after an event or ticket type is full is registered as an active seat and marked Over capacity. The buyer keeps their paid ticket and confirmation; the flag is a host action state, not a new capacity setting or permission to accept unpaid registrations. The seat stays in your sold count and can be checked in like any other registration.
This is the one exception to sold-out enforcement. Capacity remains a hard stop for every unpaid path, and the public widget and normal checkout still block over-buys. See How capacity and "sold out" work for the standard rules.
Where the Over capacity badge appears
The Over capacity badge appears in the event guest feed, the guest drawer, the attendees list, and the attendee detail view. The attendee detail view explains the state with Bought on Squarespace after the event filled. Refund or move this seat. and the attendee's timeline can include a Registered over capacity entry.
How you're notified
Over-capacity notices use your existing New Registration notification preference. The regular new-registration email includes an over-capacity callout; if that email was already sent before the seat was flagged, you receive a separate email with the subject Over capacity: [event title] and a View attendees action. See Notification preferences.
How to resolve an over-capacity seat
Refund, cancel, or move the seat to resolve the flag, and each action resolves it differently:
Refund — a full refund cancels the registration and clears the flag. A partial refund that keeps the seat active can leave the flag while the event stays oversold. Refunds run through Squarespace Commerce. See Issuing refunds.
Cancel — cancelling frees the seat and clears the flag, but does not refund the Squarespace payment. See Cancelling a registration.
Move — moving the seat to an event with room clears the flag through the recount. A same-event tier exchange can keep the warning while the event remains oversold. See Change a guest's ticket tier or move them to a different class.
Increase capacity — raising the event or ticket-type capacity can clear the flag once the active seats fit within the new limit. See Set event capacity and ticket limits.