What does it mean to be pinned, on hold or on avail?

Between "great audition" and "you booked it" sits a stretch of vocabulary that sounds like progress and often is, but is not yet a job. Actors hear "you're pinned" and start planning their week around a shoot that may never happen. This page lays out what each term means, what it asks of you, and what it does not.

A caution up front: usage varies. These words mean slightly different things in commercials versus film and television, in New York versus Los Angeles, and in the US versus the UK, Canada and Australia. Individual casting offices have their own habits too. The definitions below are the common ones; your agent knows how a particular office uses them, and when in doubt, ask.

The terms, from loosest to firmest

Avail check (on avail)

Casting asks your agent whether you are available for specific dates, usually the shoot and any fitting. It is a question, and it commits nobody. Avail checks are common in commercials and can go out to more actors than will be booked.

Hold

A request to keep certain dates free because you are a serious contender. Common in commercials, where "on hold" and "on avail" are sometimes used for the same thing. Still not a booking.

Pin (pinned)

The film and television version of a hold. Casting has narrowed the role to a shortlist, often after a callback or producer session, and you are on it. They want your dates kept open while the decision is made.

Second refusal

You are on hold for these dates, but another production already has first refusal on you for the same days. If that one books you, you are unavailable here.

First refusal

The strongest pre-booking status, mostly used in commercials. The production gets first claim on your dates. If another job wants you for the same days, your agent goes back to the first-refusal holder and gives them the chance to book you or release you before you accept anything else.

Booked

A confirmed offer has been made and accepted, normally through your agent, with the dates, fee and terms agreed. This is the only one on the list that is a job.

Released

The production has let you go from the hold, pin or refusal. Usually it means someone else was cast.

Commercials versus film and TV

In commercials, the language is busier because the process is faster. Shoots are often scheduled within days of casting, the client may be choosing between two or three finalists from a callback, and production needs to know who could actually show up. So you will hear avail, hold, first refusal and second refusal more often. A typical sequence might be: audition, callback, put on avail for the shoot dates, then either booked or released within a few days.

In US film and television, "pinned" is the word you are most likely to hear, especially for co-star and guest star roles after a producer session. A pin can last from an afternoon to a couple of weeks, often while the producers wait for a director or network to sign off on the choice. For the difference between those role sizes, see co-star vs guest star.

What "pencil" means in the UK

In the UK, and in some other markets, the equivalent word is pencil. You might be "pencilled" for dates, as opposed to inked in.

A light pencil is early interest. You can generally still accept other work, but your agent will tell the production first as a courtesy. A heavy pencil is strong interest, roughly the same as first refusal: before you take a conflicting job, your agent checks with the production holding the heavy pencil, which then confirms or releases you. Conventions vary between agencies and casting offices, so ask yours how they handle it.

What you are obligated to do

Less than it feels like, and more than nothing.

Before a booking, avails, holds and pins are professional courtesies. In general you are not paid for them, and you are not contractually bound by them. The production can release you at any time without explanation, and in principle you can accept other work.

What the courtesy asks is that you do not quietly accept a conflicting job. If you are on a hold and something else comes in, tell your agent before you say yes. They will contact the first production, which then has to decide: book you, release you, or accept that you may not be available. With first refusal, that call should happen before you accept anything else. Handling it this way protects your relationship with the casting office, which matters more over a career than any single job.

Some union agreements include specific rules about holds, especially in commercials, and those rules change. Your agent or your union (SAG-AFTRA in the US, Equity in the UK, ACTRA in Canada, MEAA in Australia) can tell you what currently applies.

If you do not have an agent, the casting office or production will contact you directly, and the same etiquette applies: be honest about conflicts and quick to tell them if your availability changes. Your agent normally manages all of this, which is one of the less glamorous reasons representation helps; see talent agent vs manager for who does what.

Book-outs: the other direction

A related term you will need: a book-out is when you tell your agent you are unavailable on certain dates, for a holiday, a theater run or a family event. It stops your agent submitting you for jobs you cannot do. If you are on hold for a shoot, you should not book yourself out of those dates without telling your agent, and if you have a book-out in place when an avail check arrives, your agent needs to know whether you would move it.

A different kind of hold: hold days on set

Once you have booked a job, "hold" can turn up again with a different meaning. On a production schedule, a hold day is a day between your working days when you are under contract and kept available but not called to set. You will see it marked as H on some schedules and call sheets. Whether and how hold days are paid depends on your contract and any union agreement, so check with your agent if you are unsure.

How to think about a pin or a hold

As good news that has not finished arriving. Being pinned means your work landed with the people who decide. It also means you are now waiting on things you cannot influence: who else is on the shortlist, how the network feels about a name, whether the director wants someone taller to match the actor already cast.

The healthiest approach is to note it, keep the dates clear as asked, and carry on with your week. Keep auditioning. Do not cancel other plans unless your agent tells you to. Do not tell everyone you booked it.

If you are released, it is worth remembering that you were on the shortlist. Casting directors keep track of the actors who came close, and plenty of bookings have started with a pin for a different role that went elsewhere. If the next step is a chemistry read, that is a sign you are still very much in it.

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