# How the nominator limit works

> Why the number of nominated contacts is not the same as spots taken, how many spots a contact without a response holds, and what to do when the limit is not enough.

- Canonical article (Help Center): https://help.happenee.com/en/articles/104-how-the-nominator-limit-works
- Česká verze: https://aidocs.happenee.com/cs/jak-funguje-limit-nominatora.md
- Collection: Event setup and registration
- Updated: 2026-11-05

---

> **Overview**
> This article is for nominators who work in the nominator portal. Organizers can find how to set up nominations in [How nominations and nominators work](https://aidocs.happenee.com/en/how-nominations-and-nominators-work.md).
>
> The nominator limit says how many spots at the event you can fill with your contacts. It counts the spots taken. A confirmed contact takes one spot plus a spot for each companion, and a contact without a response holds a spot in advance. The organizer sets the limit, and only the organizer can change it.

## Getting started

At the top of the nominator portal, the **Spots taken** card shows how many spots of your limit are taken, how many are left (**Available places**), and how many of the taken spots are **Reserved places**. If the card shows **No limit**, the organizer hasn't limited your number of spots.

## Details

### What takes a spot

- **A contact with the status Attending or Pending approval** — one spot plus as many spots as companions they entered when registering.
- **A contact who hasn't responded** — one spot plus the spots reserved for a possible companion. The organizer sets how many for the whole event: zero to four, with zero as the default.
- **A contact with the status Not attending or Maybe** — takes no spot.

For example, you have a limit of 20 spots, and the organizer reserves one companion spot per contact. Ten contacts without a response then take 20 spots, and you can't add another contact even though your list has only ten names. As contacts respond, the spots are recalculated: a contact who comes without a companion frees the reserved spot, and a contact who declines frees both.

The reservation does not set how many companions a contact may choose when registering. That depends on the registration form, which the organizer prepares.

### When the limit isn't enough

Before you add a contact, the portal checks whether the new contact's whole reservation fits within the limit. If it doesn't, **Add contact** is disabled, and an import lists the extra rows under **Over capacity**. The same applies when you change the number of companions for a confirmed contact.

To free a spot, choose **Change attendance** next to a contact who won't come and mark them as not attending, or delete the contact. If you need to invite more people, ask the organizer for a higher limit.

The limit can also be exceeded without any action on your part, for example when the organizer increases the number of reserved spots. Your existing contacts stay, but you can't add more until a spot frees up.

### The limit when working for several nominators

If you also work on behalf of other nominators, each of them has their own limit. Limits are not added together, and a contact always counts toward the limit of the nominator it belongs to. In the view of all nominations, the portal therefore shows a **Nominated contacts** tile instead of spots taken, and a **Nominator capacities** breakdown; you see a specific nominator's remaining spots when you select them.

Spots taken don't depend on the search or the list filters. A filter narrows the list and the status overview, but the limit is always calculated from all your contacts.

## Common pitfalls

### You have fewer contacts than your limit, yet you can't add another

Most often, contacts without a response are holding spots, especially when the organizer reserves companion spots. Send them a reminder, or mark the ones who won't come.

### A reserved spot is not a promised companion

The reservation only holds capacity until the contact responds. It doesn't mean the contact may bring a companion or that the organizer expects one.

## Related articles

- [Adding and importing contacts in the nominator portal](https://aidocs.happenee.com/en/adding-and-importing-contacts-in-the-nominator-portal.md)
- [Inviting nominated contacts and tracking their registration](https://aidocs.happenee.com/en/inviting-nominated-contacts-and-tracking-their-registration.md)
- [Working on behalf of another nominator](https://aidocs.happenee.com/en/working-on-behalf-of-another-nominator.md)