Go to "The Colbert Report" website to check on ticket availability. The chances are pretty good that you will have to check the site frequently because tickets are not always available. If not, the website will ask you to check back in a couple of months.
Send an email to "The Colbert Report" requesting tickets. This will only be an option for you if you see a note that tickets can be ordered on their website. Click on the link and you will be taken to an email request form. If you are a big fan of the show, look on the Internet for other fan sites. Many will send out an email alert to members as soon as tickets are available.
Answer the confirmation email that will be sent to you after you have made your request. Remember that you will not receive paper tickets. Instead, your name is placed on the audience coordinator's list for the show you are attending and some form of identification will be checked against the list when you arrive. It is wise, however, to print out the confirmation email you receive and bring it with you, just to be doubly sure you will get in.
Get to the taping early, even if you are a ticket holder. "The Colbert Report" lets the audience in at 6:00 p.m., but many people get in line starting at 4:00 p.m. or earlier. Audience members are seated based on their place in the general admission line, and fans for this show tend to be crazed about getting there early.
Try your chances with standby tickets if you're going to be in New York City anyway. The show usually tapes Monday through Thursday afternoons, but there are also many weeks during the year when the show is on vacation or in reruns. "The Colbert Show" standby line forms next to the ticket holders line each afternoon and once the audience is seated, standby seats are given out on a first-come, first-served basis.
Check on Livejournal for their web community that exists expressly for the purpose of trading tickets. Tickets to both "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" are swapped by the more than 200 members of the forum. The rule is that money can't change hands, just tickets. The one caveat is that "The Colbert Report" might check IDs against their list of ticket requests and allow only the person who reserved tickets to use them, so do this at your own risk.
Keep your eyes peeled for VIP tickets to the show, which occasionally show up at charity events in the New York metropolitan area or on eBay. Be cautious, though. Know upfront who is supplying the tickets and what you would be receiving as proof of entry. With VIP tickets, you can show up less than an hour before the taping begins.