TradeDay Rules Explained

TradeDay likes to say it has just one rule: don't break the maximum drawdown. That is the only rule that fails an evaluation outright, but there is more to know. Consistency limits decide when you pass, the drawdown style can change once you are funded, and a few trading practices can cost you profits or the account. This guide explains TradeDay's Quick Pay and Fast Pass rules as its help center described them on November 3, 2026. For prices and our verdict, see the TradeDay review.

Rules at a glance

Rule	Evaluation	Funded Sim
Max drawdown	$1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,500. Quick Pay: intraday or end-of-day (your choice). Fast Pass: end-of-day	Quick Pay: always intraday. Fast Pass: end-of-day
Freeze level	Stops trailing at the starting balance	Same; Fast Pass moves to the starting balance at the first payout request
Daily loss limit	None published	None published
Consistency	Quick Pay 30%, Fast Pass 45%	Quick Pay none. Fast Pass 45% of gross profit (accounts opened on or after July 26, 2026)
Minimum days	Quick Pay 5. Fast Pass 3 (see note below)	Fast Pass: 5 profitable days per payout
Price limits	n/a	No trading within 2% of an exchange price limit
Profit split	n/a	Quick Pay 50/50 below $4,000 profit, 80/20 above. Fast Pass 80/20. Funded Live 90/10

Sizes are 25K / 50K / 100K / 150K. Profit targets are $1,500, $3,000, $6,000 and $9,000.

Maximum drawdown

TradeDay calls it the trailing maximum drawdown (TMD). It never moves down and stops trailing once it reaches your starting balance. Under either style, the level is enforced in real time: you can't go below it with an open position, or the account is liquidated and the evaluation ends.

The two styles differ in when the level rises:

• Intraday: it follows your highest unrealized equity during the session.
• End-of-day (EOD): it moves only after the close, based on your closing balance.

Worked example: 100K account, both styles

Both start at $100,000 with the TMD at $97,000. TradeDay's own examples run like this:

• Intraday: day 1 equity peaks at $101,000 and the day closes flat. The TMD is now $98,000, even though you made nothing. Day 3 equity peaks at $103,000, so the TMD reaches $100,000 and freezes.
• EOD: day 1 closes at $102,000, so the TMD moves to $99,000. Day 2 closes at $100,500 and the TMD stays at $99,000. Day 3 closes at $103,500 and the TMD moves to $100,500.

One detail catches people out. Quick Pay Funded Sim accounts always use an intraday drawdown, even if you passed on an EOD evaluation. Fast Pass funded accounts stay on EOD. On Quick Pay, the TMD is based on gross profit including past payouts, so a withdrawal lowers your balance but not the TMD. TradeDay's example: a $50K account's TMD stays at $48,500 after a $500 payout.

Track the moving level with our trailing drawdown calculator, and read EOD vs intraday trailing drawdown to choose a style.

Daily loss limit

TradeDay's rules articles name the maximum drawdown as the only rule that fails an account, and the pages we checked don't list a daily loss limit for any plan. That gives you more room on a bad day, but nothing stops you after a run of losses either. Setting a personal limit is sensible; our daily loss calculator can help, and prop firms with no daily loss limit lists similar firms.

Consistency rule

In evaluation, no single day can exceed 30% of total profit on Quick Pay, or 45% on Fast Pass. If one day is too big, you keep trading until it falls under the limit. On a $3,000 Quick Pay target, for example, a $1,200 day means you need more than $4,000 in total.

Once funded, Quick Pay has no consistency rule. Fast Pass accounts opened on or after July 26, 2026 must keep any single day at 45% or less of gross profit, where gross profit means current profit plus past payouts. Fast Pass accounts opened before that date have no funded consistency rule. Our consistency rule explainer covers the math.

Minimum trading days

Quick Pay needs at least five trading days. If you reach the target early, you keep trading until you have five. For Fast Pass, TradeDay's rules article says three days, while its "What is Fast Pass?" article says there is no minimum but you can pass in three days. Plan on three.

Contract limits and scaling

Evaluation limits are 2 contracts on 25K, 5 on 50K, 10 on 100K and 15 on 150K. Micro limits are 20, 50, 50 and 50, so the 100K and 150K accounts cannot use their full size in micros.

Fast Pass Funded Sim accounts start lower: 1, 2, 3 or 4 contracts by size. The limit rises by one contract for every $2,000 of end-of-day profit. When you move to Funded Live, the same starting limits apply and later increases are at TradeDay's discretion. Use our position size calculator to match size to the drawdown.

TradeDay says accidental breaches of the position limit, permitted products or permitted times are not failures, but traders who keep abusing them lose the account.

News, overnight and price-limit rules

• Price limits: funded traders may not trade within 2% of an exchange price limit. Doing so loses the funded account.
• Tier 1 data: profits from trading Tier 1 data releases at times that breach TradeDay's permitted trading times are forfeited.
• Overnight and weekend: TradeDay links to a separate permitted-times article that we could not open. The rules pages we read don't state the holding rule, so confirm before carrying a position past the close.

Our economic calendar guide lists the releases usually treated as Tier 1.

Prohibited practices

TradeDay's prohibited trade practices article includes:

• Third-party bots or automated trading systems, and automated high-frequency scalping, including more than 200 trades in a day.
• Order splitting: several identical orders at the same price at the same time.
• Spoofing, layering and other conduct banned under CME Group rules.
• Trading gapped or illiquid markets for stray fills, or exploiting the sim's lack of slippage.
• Trading outside the best bid or offer, or on a slow external data feed.
• Hedging: long in one account and short in another on the same product.
• Multiple sign-ups, and using a VPN or VPS to mask your location.

Profits from these practices are confiscated, and passed evaluations can be reviewed. TradeDay also polices microscalping. Scalping is allowed, but accounts where most trades last about 10 seconds or less, or where most profit comes from such trades, can be reviewed. A first case brings a reset and a warning; repeat or severe cases can mean profit deductions or suspension.

Payouts step by step

Quick Pay

You can request a payout whenever the funded account shows positive profit, with no buffer, a $250 minimum and no withdrawal below the starting balance. The split depends on current profit in that account:

• Profit above $4,000 before and after the payout: 80/20. A $1,000 request from $5,000 of profit pays you $800.
• Profit below $4,000: 50/50. A $1,000 request from $3,000 of profit pays you $500.
• Crossing the line: TradeDay's example is $6,000 of profit and a $3,000 request, which pays $2,100.

Fast Pass

You need a balance above the starting balance, net profit since the last request, and five profitable days of at least $100, $150, $200 or $250 by size. Each payout is capped at 50% of the balance, up to $750, $1,500, $1,875 and $2,250 for accounts opened on or after July 26, 2026. The minimum is $250, the split is 80/20 and there is no buffer. At the first request, if the TMD is below the starting balance, it moves up to the starting balance and stays there. After a payout, don't trade until it arrives; day one of the next cycle is the session after you receive it. TradeDay moves Fast Pass traders to Funded Live on the fifth payout request, or earlier at its discretion.

How to request

1. Set up your Riseworks account; TradeDay pays through it.
2. On a Funded Sim account, click "Request Withdrawal" in the dashboard. The button only appears when you're eligible.
3. Enter the amount and submit. A second request replaces a pending one.
4. Requests received before 5:30 p.m. CT are processed within 24 hours on business days. Funded Live traders email TradeDay's funded trader desk instead.

TradeDay lists US wires and L2 crypto as free, international wires at $15 and L1 crypto at $2.50 plus gas. See how this compares on our fastest-paying prop firms list.

Common ways traders fail

• Passing on EOD, then trading Quick Pay funded the same way. The funded account switches to intraday trailing, so open profit you give back costs you room.
• Withdrawing early and often on Quick Pay. Payouts don't lower the TMD, so each one thins your cushion.
• Trading near a price limit. Within 2% of a limit, a funded account is lost.
• One big day. A day above 30% (Quick Pay) or 45% (Fast Pass) extends the evaluation.
• Trading while a Fast Pass payout is in flight. TradeDay asks you to wait until it arrives.
• Microscalping. A pattern of trades held seconds can trigger a reset or worse.

Compare TradeDay with other firms on our prop firm comparison page, and see how prop firm evaluations work if you're new.

Frequently asked questions

Does TradeDay have a daily loss limit?

Not on the pages we checked. TradeDay says the maximum drawdown is the one rule that fails an account.

Is the TradeDay drawdown intraday or end-of-day?

Quick Pay evaluations let you choose. Quick Pay funded accounts are always intraday. Fast Pass is end-of-day in both stages.

When does the drawdown stop trailing?

When it reaches your starting balance. On a $100K account it freezes at $100,000 once the trigger balance of $103,000 is reached.

What is the TradeDay consistency rule?

30% on Quick Pay evaluations and 45% on Fast Pass evaluations. Fast Pass funded accounts opened on or after July 26, 2026 also use 45% of gross profit.

What is the Quick Pay profit split?

50/50 while current profit is below $4,000, 80/20 above it, and 90/10 on Funded Live accounts.

Are bots allowed at TradeDay?

No. Third-party bots and automated trading systems are on TradeDay's prohibited list.