Abstract: Methods and systems for distributed arbitration in a push-to-talk communications system are disclosed. A server receives talk requests from user communications terminals in a push-to-talk communications system. The server generates state information based on the talk requests and delivers the state information to the user communications terminals. The user communications terminals execute a distributed arbitration algorithm to determine which user communications terminal should have possession of a communications channel among user communications terminals with simultaneously pending talk requests based on the state information.