Pinned, On Avail, On Hold, Booked: What Casting Terms Mean

The text arrives two days after the callback: “You’re pinned for the mom. Keep the 14th and 15th clear.” You read it three times. Is that a yes? Can you take the catering shift on the 15th? What about the play rehearsal you already said yes to?

Casting has its own vocabulary for the space between “you auditioned” and “you got it.” Pinned, on avail, first refusal, on hold, booked, released. The words sound precise, but they aren’t used the same way by every office or in every market, and only some of them carry money or a promise.

The short version: an avail or a pin means you’re on a short list and they want to know you’re free. It’s a good sign and a courtesy, not a job. A hold, in union terms, is a booking, with pay attached if they cancel. Booked means an offer you’ve accepted. Released means you’re free to plan your life again. When in doubt, ask one plain question: “Is this a booking?”

The rough order, from audition to booking

After the audition (and any callback or chemistry read), most jobs move through some version of this ladder. Not every job uses every rung, and offices name them differently, but the shape is common.

• Sent to producers. Casting has picked your tape or session to show the people who decide. Lauren Harvey, writing for StageMilk, notes that casting doesn’t send every audition up, so this alone means you made a select group.
• Avail check, or on avail. Someone asks whether you’re free on the shoot dates.
• Pinned, or first refusal. You’re a frontrunner, and they’d like to hear before you take a conflicting job.
• On hold. A firmer reservation of your dates. Under union rules this is usually a booking.
• Booked. You have an offer and you’ve accepted it.
• Released. They’ve gone another way, or the dates changed, and you’re free.

The pin and avail steps can swap places, depending on the office.

You can be released from any rung before the booking. That’s the part worth remembering on a hopeful afternoon.

On avail: a question about your calendar

An avail is the simplest of the terms. A trade-press guide to avails, pins, and holds describes it as casting or producers asking you to keep a shoot day free. It’s nonbinding, and you’re not booked until an official offer comes.

Avails are common in commercials, and film and TV use them too. Harvey’s StageMilk explainer says it mainly protects the casting team: they confirm your dates before taking their options to the director, network, or ad agency. She calls it a great sign, and it is: they’re checking your calendar because they’re thinking about you.

The union is just as clear about what an avail is not. SAG-AFTRA’s commercials tip sheet on hold vs. avail calls an avail and a first refusal professional courtesies. A performer on either is not booked and would not be entitled to pay. The same sheet says performers shouldn’t be kept on avail or first refusal indefinitely.

So an avail asks you for honesty, not loyalty. If you’re free, say so. If you’re not, say that too, because a wrong answer here can lose you the job later.

How to answer an avail check

If you have an agent, the avail usually goes to them, and they’ll ask you. If you represent yourself, you may get it directly. Either way, answer fast, cover every date, and flag anything that could get in the way. Here’s an example we wrote, for a self-represented actor:

Hi Dana, thanks so much for checking. I’m available on both the 14th and the 15th, all day. One note: I have a rehearsal on the evening of the 15th that I can move with a day’s notice. Happy to confirm anything else you need.

Short, specific, and no guessing about whether you got it. You don’t need to say how excited you are. Answering quickly says it for you.

Pinned: you’re on the short list

Many offices treat a pin as a step above an avail, but the order varies. That same trade-press guide explains that getting pinned means the casting office has recommended you to producers as a possible choice, and some offices pin several actors for a role first, then check whether those actors will go on avail.

Harvey’s view is more upbeat. In her words, “A pin is a win.” She describes it as the last step before booking, often between you and one or two others, and says pins are more common in film and TV (co-star, guest, and recurring roles) than in commercials, which tend to go straight from avail to booked or released.

One casting platform’s help center for casting directors puts it plainly. In its list of casting statuses, Pinned is an informal sign of strong interest and “not a formal booking.” Several actors can be pinned for one role, and casting may ask you to flag any scheduling conflicts. The article says these statuses aren’t visible to talent or their reps, so you’ll usually hear the word from your agent or the office.

Pinned or avail first? It depends on the office

Here’s where the sources disagree. The trade-press guide notes that some offices use “pinned” and “on avail” interchangeably, and some rank pinned higher. StageMilk says that in some markets “on hold” and “pin” mean the same thing. Casting director Ramani Leah, writing on The Casting Director’s Cut, goes further: she sees little real difference between first refusal, on avail, and pinned beyond semantics.

Don’t try to read your odds from the exact word. Read the instruction that comes with it. “Keep the dates free” and “let us know if anything comes up” tell you more than the label does.

On hold: in union terms, a booking

Hold is the word that changes things, at least on union jobs. SAG-AFTRA’s FAQ on first refusal versus hold says that with a hold, the producer has engaged the performer, and a cancellation fee is due if the producer cancels. Its commercials tip sheet goes further: a hold is a booking, and the performer is owed a day’s pay or their guarantee for each day on hold.

Leah makes the same point from the casting side: “hold” usually means money is owed. When you’re held, production is paying for your time and asking you not to take other work.

That casting platform’s status list describes On Hold as a more formal step than a pin or avail, where the performer is asked to reserve the shoot dates. It’s typically used in the final stages, with two or three actors, while a producer or studio decides, and a cancellation fee may apply, depending on contracts. And in some markets, as above, people say “on hold” when they mean pinned.

That gap is exactly why SAG-AFTRA’s FAQ notes the terms aren’t always used properly, and advises asking the casting director directly whether you’re booked. If you’re turning down other work, you deserve a clear answer.

Not the same as a holding fee

One more trap: commercial actors also hear about holding fees. Those are something else. They’re payments tied to a commercial you’ve already shot, not to a job you’re waiting on. SAG-AFTRA’s page on how long a performer is held to a commercial explains that while the producer keeps paying them on time, the performer is held exclusive to the product. Same word, different stage of the job.

Booked and released: the two clear answers

Booked means you’re the final choice and officially hired. In practice, that’s an offer, usually through your agent, with dates and terms, and your yes. Until that happens, everything above is a maybe, even a very warm one.

Released is the other clear answer, and it’s more useful than it sounds. The same status list describes the Released status as formally telling an actor they’re free to pursue other work. Not every office sends a release; plenty of maybes just go quiet. If the dates pass and no one called, you weren’t booked.

Either way, log it. Our guide to tracking your auditions shows how to log every result, so a year of near misses turns into information about which offices keep coming back to you.

What to do when another job comes up

This is the question behind most of the confusion. You’re pinned for a TV co-star role shooting on the 15th, and a theater company offers you a role that rehearses that day. What now?

Under SAG-AFTRA’s guidance, a first refusal is not a booking. The performer has no contractual obligation to get back to the casting director or turn down the second job, and no cancellation fee is owed if they don’t use you. Leah says the same: when you’re pinned or on first refusal, you can technically book other work.

Technically is doing a lot of work there. Leah explains that the office is asking, as a courtesy, to be told if another production wants you. Telling them gives them the chance to book you now or let you go. It also protects your name with an office that just put you on its short list.

If both offers do land, Leah notes that the first project usually gets “first position,” and the second has to work around it. Sometimes both jobs are possible if the productions can sort out the schedule. That’s a job for your agent, if you have one.

When you get pinned (or put on avail)

1. Answer the same day, and cover every date they named.
2. Ask what it means here if you’re not sure: “Is this a pin, a hold, or a booking?” Your agent can ask for you.
3. Keep the dates as clear as you honestly can. Don’t book a trip, and don’t promise a friend the day.
4. If another offer comes in, tell the first office (or your agent) before you accept. Give them a chance to book you or release you.
5. Don’t post about it, and don’t chase. If nothing has happened by the dates, assume you were released.
6. Keep your audition material ready in case they ask for one more read.

Keep the scene ready while you wait

A pin is often the moment between “they liked you” and “they want to see it once more.” A director’s session, a chemistry read with another actor, or a quick request for a new take can come with a day’s notice. Our guides to preparing for a callback and what happens in a chemistry read cover what changes in those rooms.

The practical risk is that the lines go stale. You learned the sides for the audition, then spent a week waiting. A short run every day or two keeps them warm, so you walk into a callback with the scene still in your body. A quick run in Offbook, with realistic voices reading the other parts and waiting for your line, keeps the cues sharp.

Then hide your own lines for a real test, so you know you can do it without the page if they call you back in. Then the call on a Wednesday afternoon is good news, not a scramble.

And if you were released, or never heard, that’s the job too. Our guide to following up after an audition covers what’s worth sending and when to let it go.

Questions actors ask

What does it mean to be pinned for a role?

It usually means casting has recommended you to the producers as one of a few possible choices and wants to know you’re free. It’s a strong sign, not an offer. Several actors can be pinned for the same role, and you can still be released.

What is the difference between an avail and a hold?

An avail asks whether you’re free and is a courtesy. Under SAG-AFTRA’s commercials guidance, a performer on avail isn’t booked and isn’t owed pay. A hold, under union rules, means the producer has engaged you, so a cancellation fee is due if they cancel. Offices don’t all use “hold” the same way, so ask whether it’s a booking.

Can I book another job if I’m on avail?

SAG-AFTRA says a first refusal isn’t a booking and you have no contractual duty to turn down other work, and its commercials tip sheet treats an avail as not booked and unpaid. Many casting offices still expect you to keep the dates open, so tell the first office (or have your agent tell them) before you accept, so they can book you or release you.

Do they tell you if you were released?

Sometimes. Some offices formally release actors so they can plan; others simply never call. If the shoot dates pass with no offer, treat yourself as released and move on to the next audition.