Minimum trading days and time limits
Minimum trading days stop traders from passing with one lucky trade. Time limits stop accounts from sitting open forever. Both are easy to plan for once you know how your firm counts a day.
Minimum trading days
A minimum means you can't pass a phase, or take a payout, until you have traded on a set number of days, even if you hit the target on day one. In our directory, 26 of 50 accounts have a minimum, up to 5 days per phase.
What counts as a day
Firms count days differently:
- Any day with a trade. Opening or closing a position counts.
- A day with a closed trade. At least one position has to close that day.
- A profitable day. Some firms only count days that end in profit, often at least 0.5% of the account. This is far harder for strategies with many small losing days.
The day usually follows the firm's server day, so a trade at 11:30pm your time may count for the next day.
Time limits
Older challenges gave 30 days for phase one and 60 for phase two. Most firms have dropped them: none of the accounts we track have a time limit on the challenge. Without a deadline, a slow but steady strategy has a much better chance.
A time limit still exists in other forms: monthly subscriptions at some futures firms, and inactivity rules that close accounts after 30 or 60 days without a trade.
A worked example
An account needs 3 profitable days of 0.5% or more per phase, on a $100,000 balance. Your strategy trades twice a week and wins about half its trades.
- Each profitable day needs at least $500 closed profit, so a small winner of $300 doesn't count.
- With two trading days a week and half of them winning, you get about one qualifying day a week.
- So even if you hit the target in week one, expect around three weeks to complete the phase.
The same strategy on an account with no minimum days could finish phase one the day it hits the target. For a slow strategy, the counting rule matters more than the target.
Planning around them
- Don't rush once you are close. If you reach the target before the minimum days, you only need to trade on the remaining days, not to make more profit. Small, low-risk trades usually do this, but check the rules on what counts.
- Watch profitable-day rules. If you need five days of 0.5% profit, a strategy with one winning day a week will take five weeks.
- Use the lack of time limits. Without a deadline, the best plan is usually a smaller size and patience.
Test it
The test centre applies each account's minimum days and time limits and shows the median number of trading days to pass or reach a payout. If that figure is long, a lower-target or no-minimum account may suit you better.
More guides
- How trailing drawdown works, and why it catches traders out
- Prop firm consistency rules explained
- How prop firm payouts work
- The daily loss limit explained
- Prop firm trading restrictions you need to know
- Why most traders fail prop firm challenges
- One-step vs two-step prop firm challenges
- Instant funding: what's the catch?