Below are answers to common questions about planning for and participating in NCYC. The questions are grouped by topic to make it easier to find what you’re seeking.
If you can’t find your question below, please email us at [email protected].
Ticket Process
Our system is now open! Click here to purchase passes.
Any adult over the age of 21 may purchase passes. NFCYM expects members will purchase most passes, but the system is open to non-members as well. NFCYM reserves the right to cancel and refund non-member bulk purchases if it is suspected that they were purchased by a company to resell for a profit.
ayments will be processed through Stripe, which accepts all major credit cards, bank debit cards, and ACH transfers. You do not need a Stripe account to complete your payment, making the checkout process quick and easy.
However, we prefer payments by check. Checks should be made payable to NFCYM and mailed to:
NFCYM
415 Michigan Ave NE #40
Washington, DC 20017
For payments of $2,500 or more, checks or ACH transfers must come from a Catholic parish, school, or diocesan business/corporate account (no personal checks). Checks must be received within ten (30) business days to avoid the sale being voided.
No. You cannot return passes, nor are they refundable. They are transferable. You must notify NFCYM of the sale and remain responsible for the transfer of all related materials, including links to required consent forms, to the purchasing party.
You can sell unneeded passes. Once you buy a pass, you own it. It is not refundable (unless NCYC is cancelled). You must notify NFCYM of the sale (name of new owner, updated email address, and phone number), You remain responsible for the transfer of any related communications, information, and materials, including links to required consent forms, to the purchasing party until the transfer is acknowledged by NFCYM.
While not actual paperwork, NFCYM has three requirements.
- All NCYC participants, or their guardians, must complete an NFCYM/NCYC Legal Agreement (aka “liability waiver”).
- To print credentials, delegation leaders must upload the following information for each person in their group: First Name; Badge Name (either first name or nickname); Last Name; Participant Type (youth, adult, priest, deacon); Email Address (participant’s if an adult, guardian’s if a youth); Interpretation Needs (Spanish, ASL).
- Confirmation of safe environment policy compliance – adults only.
The legal agreement is a cloud-based form available for distribution through the ticket site.
While NFCYM does not require anything else, if you are coordinating a group for in-person participation, we recommend you collect your own permission/consent form and a medical permission form, including emergency contact information, insurance information, and pertinent health and medical information for each person in your group. Your parish, school, diocese, or organization should have templates for these forms. If traveling as a family, these forms would not be necessary.
All NFCYM members (associate, diocesan, etc.) may purchase passes at a discounted rate. The discount does not extend from the diocese to the parishes and schools within the diocese. Parish and school leaders may purchase discounted tickets if they are either an associate member or a named representative of a diocesan or organizational member.
Ticket site will automatically apply the NFCYM member discount upon ticket purchase.
Not a member? Click here to learn more about NFCYM membership and join today to take advantage of these savings!
*NFCYM reserves the right to adjust rates if we cannot verify your member status.
**NFCYM Membership must be in place BEFORE purchasing tickets for the discount to apply. Discounts do not apply retroactively. Fees will not be adjusted after purchase.
No. The discount does not automatically extend from the member diocese to the parishes and schools within the diocese. If you are a named representative for your diocese, you qualify for the member discount. If not, before you purchase passes, you may become an associate member and then be eligible to buy passes at the discounted rate.
NFCYM Membership must be in place BEFORE purchasing tickets for the discount to apply. Discounts do not apply retroactively. Fees will not be adjusted after purchase.
Yes. Delegation leaders will receive a name badge and lanyard for each pass that has a completed Legal Agreement associated with it. These credentials will be used to identify people as event participants to gain access to the facility. Lanyards will differentiate adult and youth participants.
Yes. Scholarships are available for individuals and groups. Detailed information along with applications and a timeline are available at ncyc.us/scholarships.
The NFCYM scholarship program’s objective is to grow and support the mission of NFCYM through offering opportunities for financial aid and grants for national events under three tenants:
- Serve under-represented communities
- Extend economic assistance to those in need
- Offer the opportunity for new and diverse individuals to participate in NCYC.
If you have specific scholarship-related questions, please contact us at [email protected]
Purchasers must affirm they are over 21 years old and understand that youth must be chaperoned to participate. Also, passes must be paid for at the time of purchase, which means the purchaser will need a credit card or checking account, which most minors do not have.
No participant information is needed to purchase passes or reserve hotel rooms. Only the group leader’s (purchaser) name and contact information will be needed at the initial stage. However, no later than October 1, NFCYM will need the following information for each participant:
- First Name
- Badge Name (either first name or nickname)
- Last Name
- Participant Type (youth, adult, priest, deacon)
- Email Address (participant’s if an adult, guardian’s if a youth)
- Interpretation Needs (Spanish, ASL)
To pick up credentials, NFCYM requires that a completed NFCYM/NCYC Legal Agreement from each participant in the delegation be on file and each adult participant’s safe environment policy compliance must be verified to receive credentials.
Yes. The official title of the form is NFCYM/NCYC Legal Agreement. There are separate forms for adult and youth participants.
The forms are available directly on the ticket site (we are no longer using Permission Click).
Each adult participant and youth participant’s guardian MUST submit the appropriate NFCYM/NCYC Legal Agreement on or before October 15. No completed form = no credentials for those participants. Failure to complete the Legal Agreement is not grounds for a refund.
(Note: An amended form from a previous NCYC is not acceptable.)
Please follow the requirements of your local organization (diocese/school). We strongly recommend a ratio of 1 adult per 5-6 youth.
No. NFCYM will only refund passes if NCYC is cancelled.
No. NFCYM will only refund passes if NCYC is cancelled.
No. NFCYM will only refund passes if NCYC is cancelled.
Please direct your bishop or the bishop’s assistant to the Bishop Registration Page where they can register for NCYC and someone will reach out to them.
Future NCYC
- 2026 NCYC in Long Beach – November 18-20, 2026
- 2027 NCYC in Indianapolis – November 18-20, 2027
Visit the Future NCYCs webpage for more information.
NFCYM is committed to hosting impactful NCYCs. We know this requires detailed information for planning and participation. Click the button below to access a synopsis of our planning timeline and key milestones to facilitate effective coordination by group leaders.
Please visit the NCYC Planning Timeline & Key Milestone page.
Hotels
Once you purchase at least one NCYC pass, you will see “Hotels” pop up in the upper right corner of your screen. When you click on it the word, it will open another section showing all the hotels in the block, including the number of available rooms and the rate per night, exclusive of taxes (currently 17%).
Room rates for 2025 range from $138 to $211 per room per night.
All rooms accommodate up to four people unless otherwise noted.
All hotels require a three-night stay (Thursday to Sunday) unless otherwise noted.
If you need rooms with only one bed, or alternate arrival or departure dates, you can complete a request form in Hotel section.
Our preference is that groups request/reserve hotel rooms immediately following the purchase of passes. If that is not possible, you may return to request rooms later. We anticipate having enough rooms in our block to accommodate all participant requests, but availability will become more limited the closer we get to November.
Please allow us ninety (90) days to review, accept, or reject your request. As we assess requests, we are seeking to:
- Place (large) groups in one hotel unless two or more are required or requested.
- Place groups that must fly due to distance within walking distance of convention facilities or near the airport.
We will contact you to discuss alternatives if we cannot accept your request.
Two-bedded rooms can generally accommodate a maximum of four people–two per bed. One-bedded rooms max at two people unless they have a pull-out couch or rollaway bed. Room capacity cannot exceed the maximum number of people as defined by the hotel.
Programming
We’re not sure of the origin of this practice but it has long been a part of NCYC. Participants bring small items from their hometowns or dioceses that they give away or trade with other participants. It’s a great tool for meeting new people. Cool hats (think cheese wedges from Wisconsin groups or lobsters from Maine) are often coveted trade items. But shirts, hoodies, shells, handmade crosses, are also great mementoes of the experience. We recommend staying away from anything that has sharp edges, is especially hard (i.e., plastic frisbees, clothes pins!), or will make particularly annoying noise (i.e., vuvuzelas). If you wouldn’t want the item at an event you were planning to host, we don’t want it at NCYC.
Yes, Please!
For any priest who wishes to provide sacramental ministry at NCYC (concelebrate Mass, hear confessions) or a deacon who wishes to vest and assist at Mass, a Letter of Suitability must be submitted from your bishop or religious superior. The letter must reference the priest’s suitability for ministry and their completion of safe environment training and background check status.
Address your letter to:
Reverend Monsignor William Stumpf
Vicar General
Attn: Office of Clergy
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
1400 N. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Email the letter to [email protected]. Questions regarding letters of suitability can be emailed to this address as well.
Concession stands will be open in the convention center from 11 am to 3 pm on Friday and Saturday. There will be more limited options available until 6 pm.
There are lots of restaurants in the surrounding hotels and area. Food trucks may be present, but we won’t know which ones or where they will be stationed.
Safe ENVIRONMENT
NFCYM will follow the requirements of Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center and the local health department regarding COVID-19 mitigation in effect at the time of NCYC. Neither entity currently requires vaccination, testing, or masking for visitors. If this changes, NFCYM will communicate the changes to ticket purchasers via email.
Yes. All chaperones must be compliant with their sponsoring organization’s safe environment policy. For most, this means that each adult must complete a youth protection training course, submit to a criminal background screening (which cannot reveal any disqualifying offenses), and agree to a code of conduct. Delegation leaders must attest that all adults in their group are compliant before NCYC credentials will be released onsite.
The following adults are not required to comply with their diocese’s safe environment policy.
- Parents who are participating in NCYC as part of a family group, independent of a parish, school, diocesan, or organizational group.
- Exhibit booth personnel.
- Vendor and facility personnel.
If any of these individuals are safe environment compliant, NFCYM will provide a form they can have their local safe environment coordinator complete to verify their status. Any adult whose safe environment status is unknown or unverified receives a different color lanyard denoting that status.
You must follow the requirements of your local organization (diocese/parish/school). Generally, you should have two adults for the first one to ten youth, and one additional adult for every six additional youth. We recommend the overall ratio of one adult per six youth.
To the best of your ability, groups should have male and female chaperones in proportion to the makeup of the group.
The code of conduct is part of NFCYM’s Safe Environment Policy: Safe Guarding God’s Children.
The Behavior Guidelines address general behavior or conduct during NCYC.
Click Here to read the Guidelines.
Terms and Conditions
The National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) credential is revocable, non-transferable, and must be clearly displayed at all times. It entitles the bearer to enter only those NCYC events, sites, and areas therein as appropriate. Presence in unauthorized areas will serve as grounds for suspension or termination of access privileges. By acceptance and use of the credential, the bearer
- Agrees to comply with all NCYC behavior guidelines, NFCYM’s code of conduct, and all facility rules and regulations, and understands that violation thereof may result in termination of access privileges;
- Voluntarily assumes all risks and dangers incidental to the events and activities for which the credential is issued, whether occurring prior to, during, or after same, and agrees that the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, Inc. (NFCYM) and its agents, staff, and volunteers, and all other official NCYC participants are not responsible or liable for injuries or damage suffered by the bearer resulting from or arising out of such activities;
- Consents to a reasonable search of his/her carry-in items and/or person as deemed necessary by NFCYM, the facility, or law enforcement agencies for security purposes.
- Consents to being recorded, photographed, videotaped, or filmed within and about the areas to which access is permitted, waiving all claims and rights relating to production, acquisition, sale, usage, and distribution of such material, in any form now known or later in use, worldwide.
Failure to comply with the above conditions may result in non-admission and/or confiscation thereof. The sale or attempted sale of the credential is prohibited. In case of loss, a substitute may be issued at NFCYM’s discretion.
