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Firm Rules Info |
Copy Trading- Copy trading across PA accounts under your personal name and business name is allowed.
30% Negative P&L Rule (MAE)- Open trades should not exceed a 30% negative drawdown from the account’s profit balance, If the end of day (EOD) profit balance doubles the safety net, traders may use a 50% drawdown limit instead of 30%.
Consistency Rule- When requesting a payout, no single trading day should account for more than 30% of the total profit balance accumulated.
Inconsistent Sizing- Drastic inconsistencies in trade sizes are not allowed; traders must maintain consistent trade sizing.
Contract Scaling Rules- Traders are limited to trading half of the available contracts until they meet the trailing threshold stop.
No Hedging- Holding both long and short positions simultaneously on the same or correlated instrument is strictly prohibited.
Risk Management- A maximum 5:1 risk-to-reward ratio applies to all trades.
RITHMIC and TRADOVATE accounts rules for trailing drawdown- RITHMIC Accounts: During the evaluation, the drawdown stops trailing when the threshold balance reaches your profit target (not the account balance). For instance, a 50K account stops trailing when the threshold reaches $53,000.
- TRADOVATE Accounts: The trailing drawdown continues to trail in evaluations and does not stop.
Holidays and Half-Day Closures- You can trade on holidays if the market is open; however, half-day holidays do not count as trading days.
Limit on Losses- Open trades should not exceed a 30% negative drawdown from the account’s profit balance.
- If the account balance doubles the safety net, traders may use a 50% drawdown limit instead of 30%.
Flipping Trades is Allowed- Opening and closing trades quickly to count as a trading day is permitted, as long as the $50 minimum profit for 5 days is satisfied.
Trading With Risk Management- All trades must have either pending or mental stop losses and a well-defined risk management strategy. Trading without these measures is strictly prohibited.
Using the Trailing Threshold as a Stop Loss- Traders are prohibited from using the account's full threshold as a stop-loss mechanism to absorb large losses, leading to account liquidation.
One-Direction Rule- Traders may take a position in either long (buy) or short (sell) during a news event.
- Holding positions in both directions simultaneously is strictly prohibited.
Consequences for Rule Violations- Temporary limitations on contract usage (e.g., 50% cap)
- Payouts restricted to profit earned since the last request
- Disqualification of previously accrued “windfall” profits for withdrawal over the next two payout cycles
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Minimum Trading Days- Evaluation (Trading Combine): 2 Days (tied to the 50% consistency score)
- Funded (Express Funded (XFA)): 5 winning days of $150+
News Trading- Allowed with no restrictions during Evaluation and Funded stages.
Copy Trading- Trade copying can only be applied to accounts within the same trading environment. you can copy trades from a trading combine to an Express Funded Account, and from an Express from a trading combine to an Express Funded Account, and from an Express Funded Account to a Trading combine. Live Funded Accounts cannot utilize the Trade Copier.
Automated strategies and EA's- Automated strategies (EAs) are allowed, but traders are fully responsible for their setup and performance. Bots must comply with all trading rules no manipulative or unfair software and TopstepX only supports automation via API access.
Consistency rule- Only on combine accounts your profits should not exceed 50% of your total profit target.
On Express Funded account- After payout the capital remaining in your account will be the maximum amount you will be able to lose. Your maximum loss limit will always be set to $0 after your payout.
Inactivity- Express Funded Account must have at least one trade every 30 days to remain open.
Overnight Holding- Overnight and weekend holding are prohibited. All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT daily, except on Sundays when trades opened after 5:00 PM CT may be held into Monday’s session.
Trading HoursProhibited Trading Strategies- Account Stacking
- Intentional Account Depletion
- Terms Violation
- Use of Manipulative Tools (AI or Automation)
- Abnormal Market Behavior
- Trading Outside Market Range
- News Event Exploitation
More Prohibited trading conduct can be found via this link:VPN Rule- The use of VPNs, Proxy Services, TOR, geo-location obfuscation, and other potential identity masking services are not permitted
Trading Combine/Reset Purchase Limits- Traders can purchase up to 10 new Trading Combine subscriptions per month.
- Traders are allowed 2 Resets per account per calendar day.
The Do's and Don'ts of SIM Fills- Topstep prohibits any attempts to exploit or manipulate the simulated environment and may reject profits if abuse is detected.
- Practices like scalping algorithms, rapid-fire trades, impossible fills, or unrealistic stop-loss execution are not allowed.
- The rule targets intentional abusive behavior, not normal trading and exists to ensure traders focus on real, consistent skill development.
- See details: https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/10431370-the-do-s-and-don-ts-of-sim-fills
2% Price Limit Rule- Topstep do not allow market participation when a product is trading within 2% of a Price Limit. Applies to all levels of Topstep's program.
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Payout Policy Info |
Payout Split Percentage- Traders are entitled to 100% of the first $25,000 per account they are paid out, and 90% of the profit after that.
Payout Requirements and Criteria- 8 Trading Days: You must have completed at least 8 trading days.
- Profit on 5 Days: At least 5 of those 8 days must show a profit of $50 or more.
- Safety Net for First Three Payouts: The safety net is calculated as your drawdown limit plus $100. This requirement applies to your first three payouts only. For more details, please refer to Safety Net Rules.
- When requesting a payout, no single trading day should account for more than 30% of the total profit balance accumulated. The rule applies until the sixth payout or until the account is transferred to a Live Prop Trading Account
Minimum and Maximum Payout Amounts- Minimum Payout: $500 for any account size. To request a payout over $500, the balance must exceed the safety net threshold by an amount equal to the additional amount requested.'
Maximum Payouts (First Five Payouts): Account Size | Maximum Payout $25k Account | $1,500 $50k Account | $2,000 $100k Account | $2,500 $150k Account | $2,750 $250k Account | $3,000 $300k Account | $3,500 $100k Static | $1,000- No Maximum After Fifth Payout: Starting from the sixth payout, there’s no maximum payout amount, provided the minimum balance threshold remains in the account after the payout.
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Topstep's Profit Split- Traders will receive 100% of the profits from payouts, up to $10,000
- After the first $10,000 of funds have been received by the trader, the profit split will become 90/10, with the trader receiving 90% of payouts and Topstep retaining 10% of the requested payout.
Express Funded Account- Traders can request a payout of up to $5,000 or 50% of their account balance after accumulating five winning trading days per payout request. A winning trading day is counted when a day’s Net PNL is $150 or more.
Express Payout Eligibility- Get 5 winning days (each day +$150 or more).
- First payout: No balance requirement.
- After first payout: Your balance must be at or above your Eligible Payout Balance (the balance right after your last payout).
- If your balance drops below that level, you must raise it back up before requesting another payout.
- After each payout, the 5 winning days reset previous winning days don’t carry over.
The updated Payout Eligibility Balance rule applies only to Express Funded Accounts created after 5 PM CT on Dec 30th, 2025.
Payout FrequencyMinimum Payout AmountPayout Methods- Wise: 1-3 business days
- ACH: 1-3 business days
- Wire/SWIFT: 3-5 business days
- International Wire/SWIFT: up to 5-10 business days
- $20 processing fee with ACH or Wire
Once the payout request is processed, the Maximum Loss Limit will automatically be set to $0 (the trader cannot allow the account balance to reach or go below $0 after a payout).Scaling PlanLive Funded Account:- Traders can request a payout of up to 50% of their account balance after accumulating five winning trading days per payout request. A winning trading day is counted when a day’s Net PNL is $150 or more.
- Traders can request Daily payouts and access 100% of the profits after accumulating 30 winning trading days (After which the Live Funded Account will be closed since the balance will be brought to the Maximum Loss Limit.)
- Once you take five (5) payouts in any single Express Funded Account, you’ll be called up to Live after the Risk Team review.
- Live Funded Explained: https://help.topstep.com/en/collections/5836632-live-funded-account
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Countries List |
Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo Free State), Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territory, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of the Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Reunion, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chinese Military Companies, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Crimea (Region of Ukraine), Cuba, Darfur, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo Free State), Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, North of Black Sea, Pakistan, Regions of Ukraine: Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, Zaporizhzhia (Region of Ukraine) |