Every position needs a stop-loss, and you have 10 minutes to set it. A position that sits with no stop-loss for longer than that breaches the account, on the evaluation and on the funded account.
Key takeaways
- The grace period is 10 minutes: the time a position may sit with no stop-loss before it breaches.
- The rule is about time, not distance. The site sets no minimum or maximum distance for the stop.
- The stop does not change the loss limits. A loss on a stopped trade still counts toward the daily and overall limits.
- The simplest habit is to enter the stop in the order ticket before you open the position.
What the rule says
It sits in the risk management table of the trading rules page, next to the position size limits:
| Mandatory stop-loss grace | 10 minutes | Minutes a position may sit with no stop-loss before it breaches. |
|---|
Like every rule on that page, it is checked automatically against your trade history. A breach fails the account. There is no reminder at minute nine and no warning at minute eleven.
The site does not give a reason for this rule, so we will not supply one.
How the 10 minutes read in practice
The wording measures time: how long a position sits with no stop-loss. The clock that matters starts when the position has no stop, which for a new position is the moment it opens.
| Stop in the order ticket | Clear | The position never sits without a stop. |
|---|---|---|
| Stop added after 4 minutes | Clear | Inside the 10-minute grace. |
| Stop added after 12 minutes | Breach | The position sat without a stop past the grace. |
| No stop, left open all session | Breach | Breaches at the 10-minute mark, whatever happens after. |
Two situations are not described on the site. One is removing a stop from a position that already had one. The wording is about a position sitting with no stop-loss, and it does not say the clock only runs once, so do not assume that pulling a stop later is safe. The other is a position closed inside 10 minutes that never had a stop. Read literally, it never reached the grace limit, but relying on a literal reading leaves you no margin if a close is late. If either matters to how you trade, ask support in a ticket before you rely on it.
Set the stop before you press Buy or Sell, and the 10 minutes never start.
Where the stop goes is your decision
The rules page sets no distance for the stop. It does not have to be tight, and it does not have to be at a set number of points. What it has to do is exist within 10 minutes.
The loss limits are what make the distance matter. A stop far from the entry is allowed by this rule, but if the price reaches it, the loss counts toward the daily and overall drawdown like any other loss. Floating losses count too: the daily limit is measured "on closed and floating positions".
How far away you put the stop, and how large the position is, are trading decisions, and we do not advise on them. This article can only show the arithmetic of the limits.
A worked example on a €50,000 account
On a €50,000 1-Step Challenge, the daily loss limit while you evaluate is 5%, which is €2,500. The overall limit is 12%, €6,000, and it trails from the account's peak equity.
Say you open one position with a stop placed where the loss, if hit, would be €2,500. The stop rule is met. The drawdown limit is where it gets tight: that one stop, if hit, uses the whole daily limit on its own, and any other open position that is also losing at the same time takes you past it.
Now say you pass and trade the €50,000 funded account. The daily limit becomes 3%, €1,500, and the overall limit becomes 6%, €3,000, trailed from peak equity. A stop that fitted inside the evaluation limit can be larger than the whole funded daily limit. The stop rule itself does not change after you pass. The room around it does. The daily drawdown article works through those limits on every size.
Habits that keep you clear
The platform's order ticket has a stop-loss field next to the volume. Filling it before opening the position is the one habit that takes the 10 minutes out of play entirely.
Be careful on the phone. eTrader runs on web, desktop, iOS and Android with one login, and a position opened quickly from a phone is the easiest one to leave without a stop. The rule is the same on every device.
Check the stop again when you change the position. The rules page also limits lot size: 100 lots per position, 100 lots per instrument combined, and a trade may not exceed 3 times your baseline size, which is the median lot size of your closed trades, checked from your 4th closed trade. The lot-size limits article covers those.
Your account is a Simulated Demo Trading Account, sold as a digital product. A position without a stop at minute eleven ends it, the same as a drawdown breach. What you can do after that is in what happens when you breach.
Frequently asked questions
Does every position need a stop-loss?
The rules page gives a 10-minute grace: the time a position may sit with no stop-loss before it breaches. Set a stop on every position within 10 minutes of opening it, and the rule is met.
Is there a maximum distance for the stop-loss?
The trading rules set none. A loss when the stop is hit still counts toward the daily and overall drawdown limits, which do not change.
Does a take profit count instead of a stop-loss?
No. The rule is about a stop-loss. A take profit does not close a losing position, and the rules page names the stop-loss specifically.
Does the rule apply on the funded account?
Yes. It is in the main rule set, which governs the funded account and also applies during the evaluation on all three programs.
Read the rules, then pick a program
Every rule that can fail an account is published in full before you pay. Three programs, five sizes, an 80% reward and no time limit on any step.