Data

How long event check-in really takes: what we measured with PASE

By SOMOS DER · October 31, 2026 · 5 min read

We measured entries at the events that ran on PASE between September and October 2026 with more than 300 entries each (three events: an afternoon presentation, a morning conference day and a five day brand activation). One operator with QR codes checked in a person every 6 to 16 seconds; at the events with a set start time, almost half of the day's crowd came in during the busiest half hour; and between 1 and 11 in 100 scans were not a valid entry. We do not name the events: the numbers come from the PASE database, with no personal data from anyone.

Why we are publishing this

To size an event door you need two numbers: how many people arrive at once and how long each entry takes. In our guide on how many check-in points and staff you need we recommend measuring both at your own event, and we still do. But if you are setting up your first door, you have nowhere to get them from. Safety guidance does not give a figure either: the HSE page on crowd management controls (the HSE is the UK's workplace health and safety regulator) asks large events to encourage phased arrivals and, where arrivals could exceed what the venue can hold, to have a way of monitoring and estimating how many people are arriving, but it does not say how fast people get through the door. These are the numbers we have, so you have a starting point.

Finding 1: between 6 and 16 seconds per person per operator

For each operator we took the time between one scan and the next, only during busy stretches (we discarded gaps of more than two minutes, which are breaks). Half of the scans came in under:

• 6 seconds at the afternoon presentation, with two gates and people arriving with the QR code already open on their phone. About 10 people per minute per operator.
• 10 seconds at the five day activation, with a single check-in point. About 6 per minute.
• 16 seconds at the morning conference day, with a single check-in point. About 4 per minute.

That is the scan alone: the system responds instantly, so the difference comes from everything else (finding the email, getting the phone out, screen brightness, someone asking a question). If your door also checks bags, asks for ID or prints badges at the same point, the time goes up. For planning, pick a value on the slow side.

Finding 2: up to 47% of the crowd in the busiest half hour

For each day, we counted how many entries came in during the busiest half hour and compared it with the day's total:

• Afternoon presentation, with a set start time: 47% of the crowd came in during the peak half hour (276 of 588).
• Morning conference day, with a set start time: 41% (134 of 326).
• Open doors activation, about 7 hours a day: between 12% and 34% depending on the day. The 34% was the last day, a Sunday.

The lesson is the usual one, now with numbers: if the event has a start time, almost half the crowd arrives together and the door has to be built for that peak, not for the average. If it is open doors, the peak is lower but it changes a lot from one day to the next: at the activation, the last day was the most concentrated.

Finding 3: between 1 and 11 in 100 scans are not a valid entry

Not everything that gets scanned gets in. By event:

• Morning conference day: 1.5 in 100 (all of them QR codes that had already been used to enter).
• Five day activation: 6.8 in 100: mostly QR codes that had already been used to enter, and some codes the system did not recognise.
• Afternoon presentation: 11 in 100: on top of repeated QR codes and unrecognised codes, there were 40 scans of passes without access to that gate.

Each of those cases holds up the queue if the person scanning has to sort it out. That is why we insist on a separate exceptions desk: whoever does not get through steps out of the line and is dealt with to one side. And if the event has areas with different access levels, as the presentation did, make sure the signage says clearly which gate is for whom.

How to use these numbers

1. Estimate the peak: if your event has a start time and you have no other data, assume close to half the crowd arrives in the half hour before.
2. Pick a time per person: 15 seconds is a cautious starting point with QR codes on phones; more if there are bags or printing.
3. Do the maths: the check-in points calculator does it for you and shows the queue that builds up if you open fewer points.
4. Add the exceptions desk: with 1 to 11 rejections in 100, someone who cannot get in turns up every few minutes.
5. Measure your own event: the HSE page on crowd monitoring recommends keeping an eye on entrances, exits and the places where queues form, and using counting systems at entry points. The PASE report logs the time of every entry by gate: the second time round, you are no longer guessing.

What this data does not tell you

These are three events, not market statistics. They do not include bag checks or badge printing at the same point, and the pace depends a lot on how prepared people are when they arrive. Use them as a reference to get started; your rehearsal and your first event are worth more than any average. We will update them as more events run on PASE.

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