# Request a seat in a shared workspace

How a member without a seat, or with a lower one, asks the owner and admins for a Premium or Max seat, and how they answer.

In a shared workspace, the seat you hold sets what you can do. Without a paid seat, the workspace is locked or read-only for you. See [What a member without a seat can do](https://support.bluedeer.ai/team/members-and-seats/what-a-member-without-a-seat-can-do.md). To get a seat, or a higher one, ask for it. The owner and admins get your request.

## Ask for a seat

1. Select **Request a seat**. It is in place of the message box in a chat, on the **Workspace** page, and under **Plan & billing** in the workspace's **Settings**. If you already hold a seat, select **Request a higher seat** there. When an upgrade suggestion offers a higher seat, its button opens the same window with that seat chosen.
2. Choose **Premium** or **Max**. A shared workspace has only these two seats: Pro is a personal plan. Where Bluedeer knows the price, each seat shows what it costs a month.
3. If you like, add a note for the owner and admins, up to 500 characters.
4. Select **Send request**.

When you open a workspace without a seat for the first time, for example after accepting an invitation, the **Request a seat** window opens by itself, once. You can close it with **Not now** and ask later.

You can have one open request in a workspace. While it is open, the workspace shows "Seat requested (Premium) — waiting for an owner or admin". Select **Change** to choose another seat or edit your note, or **Cancel request** to take it back.

The owner doesn't request a seat. They choose one for themselves on the **Seats** page.

## When your request is answered

- **Granted:** you are put on a seat of that tier, and you can work in the workspace again. The Inbox says "You have a Premium seat now", and you get an email.
- **Declined:** the Inbox says so, with the reason if one was given, and you get an email. You can request a seat again.

## Answer a request as the owner or an admin

The owner and admins get each request in the workspace's Inbox, and by email. Open it from the Inbox, or select **Review the request** in the email. **Seats** opens with the request marked. Open requests are listed under **Seat requests** at the top of the **Seats** page, oldest first, with the person, the seat they ask for, their note and when they asked.

- Select **Grant** to put them on an available seat of that tier. If they hold another seat, they move, and their old seat becomes available.
- Select **Decline**. You can give a reason, which they see.

Only the owner answers an admin's request. Another admin sees "Only the owner can answer an admin's request."

## When no seat of that tier is available

A request can only be granted onto an available seat of the tier it asks for.

- **Owner:** select **Add Premium seats** (or **Add Max seats**, by the tier asked for). The **Add seats** window opens with that tier chosen.
- **Admin:** the request says, for example, "No Max seat is available. Ask the owner to add Max seats."

You don't have to come back to it. When seats of a tier are bought, or a pack of that tier is made bigger, open requests for it are granted by themselves, oldest first. A request is also closed as granted when the person gets a seat of that tier or higher another way, for example when the owner moves them onto one.