Registering your event helps ensure its success by alerting key MIT partners and coordinating essential campus services. When you submit your event in Atlas, you connect directly with the support you need. If you’re ever unsure whether registration is required, please reach out to sole-events@mit.edu for guidance.
Event registration is required at least 10 working days in advance if your event includes any of the following:
- Alcohol, Money, or Ticketing
- Alcohol will be served
- Money will be collected during the event
- adMIT ONE or Engage will be used for ticketing (free or paid)
- Size and Location
- Attendance of 100 people or more
- In multiple spaces with a combined capacity over 100
- Formally recognized student organization events in residence halls
- Non-MIT Involvement
- Visitors (non-MIT community members)
- Non-MIT speakers or presenters
- Co-sponsorship with non-MIT groups
- Unaccompanied minors under age 18 (not MIT students)
- Dignitaries, VIPs, or special guests
- Career fairs
- Conferences, case competitions, hackathons, or similar large events
- Coordination with MIT Departments
- Coordination is required with MIT departments (e.g., MIT Police, Dining/Food Trucks, Environmental Health and Safety)
- Metal detectors or enhanced security
- Exhibits, displays, or special installations
- Contracts and Licensing
- Contracts, agreements, or payments to outside vendors (including zero-dollar agreements)
- Licensing or permits are required (e.g., alcohol, entertainment, film, or City of Cambridge permits)
To help you navigate registration requirements, events are grouped into three categories based on their size, scope, and complexity. Each category has different consultation and registration timelines to ensure proper coordination with SOLE and campus partners. Understanding which category your event falls into will guide you through the appropriate steps for a successful event.
Category I: Simple meetings or small events
No event registration or SOLE consultation is required for events such as:
- Simple meetings or small events with fewer than 100 attendees, limited to your student organization’s members, with no features from Categories II or III.
Category II: Standard events
A SOLE consultation (email or in-person) is required. Event registration is required at least 10 working days in advance if any of the following apply:
- Attendance of 100 people or more
- In multiple spaces with a combined capacity over 100
- Visitors (non-MIT community members) will attend
- In a residence hall
- adMIT ONE or Engage will be used for ticketing (free or paid)
- Non-MIT speakers or presenters will participate
- Money will be collected during the event
- Coordination is required with MIT departments (e.g., MIT Police, Dining/Food Trucks, or Environmental Health and Safety)
Category III: Significant events
In-person SOLE consultations are required 1 to 6 months in advance, depending on the complexity of the event. After the consultation, as with all significant events, SOLE will instruct the event planner to complete the event registration at least 30 working days in advance.
1 month in advance if any of the following apply:
- Alcohol will be served
- Use of metal detectors or enhanced security
- Licensing or permits are required (e.g., alcohol, entertainment, film, or City of Cambridge permits)
- Contracts, agreements, or payments to outside vendors (including zero-dollar agreements)
- Co-sponsorship with non-MIT groups
- Includes exhibits, displays, or special installations
3 months in advance if any of the following apply:
- Dignitaries, VIPs, or special guests
- Conferences, case competitions, hackathons, or similar large events that recur annually and remain generally consistent year to year
- Unaccompanied minors under age 18 (not MIT students)
6 months in advance if any of the following apply:
- Career fairs
- First-time conferences, case competitions, hackathons, or similar large events