Understand order types

Here are some basics for entering stock and exchange traded fund (ETF) and note (ETN) orders at E*TRADE Securities ("E*TRADE" or the "Firm") on the etrade.com order ticket. Please note, other platforms such as Power E*TRADE, E*TRADE Pro, and other E*TRADE Mobile applications may not offer all order types and terms described on this page and in some cases may offer order types and terms unique only to that platform.

While E*TRADE will use best efforts to communicate order type restrictions to customers in advance, E*TRADE reserves the right to restrict the use of any order type in any security, at any time, with or without notice, to protect the Firm and its customers.

For step-by-step instructions on how to place an order on etrade.com, access the Help topic Place a stock order.

Note: Information on conditional order types can be accessed on etrade.com. This includes contingent orders, one-cancels-all orders, etc., as outlined in the conditional orders section of the Help Center.

Market orders

A Market order is an order placed "at the market" and is intended to be executed at a price at or better than the best prevailing quoted bid or offer displayed in the market. Essentially, it is as if the order is for "whatever the going price is when its turn comes up." It is an order with instructions to execute as soon as practicable at the best price reasonably available.

A Market order execution price can substantially deviate from the quoted price displayed when the order was entered. This is particularly the case in times of extreme or heightened volatility of the security, limited liquidity, or a delay in order vetting, handling, or routing.

Market orders placed when the market is closed are routed prior to the open of the Regular Trading Session (9:30 AM ET to 4 PM ET with exceptions for certain holidays) the next trading day, and the price received is intended to be the best price available after the market opens. Market orders entered prior to the opening of the Regular Trading Session, including Market On Open orders, may be subject to additional order vetting, Market Access controls, size and price limits, and buying power requirements. Please note that Market orders are not permitted for opening orders in Over-the-Counter (OTC) securities. Market orders, other than Market On Close orders, are available for closing OTC securities orders.

Market On Close Orders

A Market on Close (MOC) order is a Market order to execute as close as possible to the closing of trading on the trading day it is entered. MOC orders may not be canceled within the last ten minutes of the trading day. MOC orders entered after the market is closed will be queued as MOC orders for the next trading day. MOC orders are not permitted for OTC securities.

Market On Open Orders

A Market on Open (MOO) order is a Market order to be executed at the day's opening price. MOO orders can only be executed when the market opens or very shortly thereafter.

Opening price may vary greatly from the previous day's closing price. Market orders submitted less than five minutes before the opening of the Regular Trading Session may be handled as MOO orders and may not be canceled within ten minutes prior to the opening of the Regular Trading Session.

MOO orders are not guaranteed opening price executions. Although MOO orders are designed to receive the opening price, orders may miss being included in the opening rotation process or otherwise miss executing at the opening price. Regulatory trading halts or other unusual market conditions may also impede MOO executions. Market orders entered prior to the opening of the Regular Trading Session, including MOO orders, may be subject to additional order vetting, Market Access controls, size and price limits, and buying power requirements. There is no opening rotation process to determine a single uniform opening price for OTC securities and therefore, no official opening prices for OTC securities.

Market Order Risks

The execution price received for a Market order may be different from the price quoted at the time the order is entered, particularly during periods of high volume, illiquidity, or volatility in the marketplace. Partial executions of an order at different prices can also occur.

Please note, Market orders will not execute during regulatory halts or limit up/limit down circuit breaker events.

A Market order is intended to be executed at a price at or better than the best prevailing quoted bid or offer displayed in the market. Accordingly, buy orders typically execute at or better than the ask price and sell orders typically execute at or better than the bid price displayed at the time the order reaches the market center. Transactions in U.S. listed securities are subject to price protection rules, which prohibit the trading of U.S. listed securities at prices worse than the prevailing best nationally quoted bid (for sales) or offer (for buys). These price protection rules, however, do not apply to OTC securities and other types of securities and thus, there is no guarantee that a Market order will execute at a price at or better than the best quoted price displayed in the market at the time in all security types.

The bid or ask price may be insufficient for an entire order to fill. When this happens the rest of the order may execute at a higher price (for buy orders) or lower price (for sell orders) than the initial partial execution price, resulting in the order fill completing at different prices, including prices worse than the quoted price displayed in the market at order entry. In addition, depending on the size of the order and the amount of liquidity in the market when an order is received, it is possible that only a partial execution will take place.

Market Order Restrictions

Market orders may not always be available on all trading platforms, during all trading sessions, or in all security types. In addition, liquidity in individual securities may not always be available due to market conditions, including during periods of heightened market or sector volatility, for volatile and thinly traded securities, or other scenarios presenting risks to the Firm or to customers.

Market orders that exceed certain notional, share, or contract size limitations may be manually reviewed before routing and may be rejected by the Firm or the market maker. While E*TRADE will use reasonable efforts to communicate order type restrictions to customers in advance, E*TRADE reserves the right to restrict the use of Market orders in any security, at any time, with or without notice, to protect the Firm or its customers.

Instructions submitted to cancel a Market order may not be accepted less than 5 minutes prior to market open and may be subjected to other restrictions depending on the market center to which the Market order is routed. Market orders are not available and cannot be placed for orders to be executed in the Extended Hours Trading Sessions (after 4 PM ET and before 9:30 AM ET).

Limit Orders

A Limit order requires a set price—either the maximum amount to pay for a buy order, or the minimum amount to receive for a sell order. The execution of a Limit order is not guaranteed.

For example, if a stock is priced higher than the sell limit order, it will fill at the limit price or higher as long as the number of shares is available. In comparison, if the stock is priced lower than the sell limit order, it will not fill.

Buy Limit Orders

A Buy Limit order indicates the highest price at which a customer is willing to pay to purchase a security. The buy limit price is the maximum purchase price, and the order will execute only at or below that price in full, in part, or not at all. The quoted ask price is the lowest price at which someone is willing to sell the security at the given time.

Sell Limit Orders

A Sell Limit order indicates the lowest price at which a customer is willing to sell a security at a given time. The limit price is the minimum purchase price accepted, and the order will execute only at or above that price in full, in part, or not at all. The quoted bid price is the highest price at which someone is willing to purchase the security.

For example, if XYZ's current ask price is $53 and an order to buy at a limit price of $50 is entered, the order can only execute if the price of the security falls to $50. A limit order in a similar scenario to buy at $53 or above, would be deemed "marketable" and would execute right away.

Limit Order Entry Requirements

Prices may be entered in dollars and cents, and fractions of a cent for certain securities and price levels. Exchange-listed stocks priced above $1.00 can only be entered in increments of $0.01, and with a maximum of two decimal places. Listed stocks priced below $1.00 may be entered in increments of $0.0001 with a maximum of four decimal places. OTC stocks (including, OTCQX, Pink Sheet, and others) can be entered in increments of $0.0001 with a maximum of four decimal places.

Limit Order Modification Requirements

Absent receipt of contrary instructions, E*TRADE is required to automatically modify or reduce the price of an open Good-Til-Canceled (GTC) Limit order in the event of certain corporate actions and dividend payments.

In the case of an announced dividend payment, the price of an open GTC limit order will be reduced by the amount of the announced cash dividend on the ex-dividend date. Automatic price modifications for corporate actions and dividend payments do not apply to conditional order prices and trigger prices. Do Not Reduce and Do Not Increase instructions may be submitted in the manner prescribed by E*TRADE ahead of applicable submission cutoff times.

Limit Order Execution Risks

Limit orders carry execution risk because they do not guarantee execution and may not execute. A Limit order will not execute if the stock's price never reaches the limit price specified, or the price moves away from the limit price before the order can be filled. For example, if XYZ is trading at $53, and a limit order to purchase at $50 is placed, the order will not execute if the stock's price does not reach $50.

Limit order execution risk may be increased in cases where the Limit order is placed "away from the market," meaning the order's limit price is below the stock's current ask price (for a buy) or above its current bid price (for a sell). The farther the current market price is from the limit price entered for an order, the higher the risk is that the market will not meet the limit order price and thus will not execute. In some cases, Limit orders may partially execute if there is not enough liquidity at the limit price or better to execute in full.

Limit orders may also be subject to execution risk when they are queued behind other orders that are entitled to execution at a market center. Depending on the market center, identically priced orders may execute in the order they are received. For example, if a limit order to sell at $50 is placed and the current bid/ask is $50, the order may not be filled if other previously received limit orders priced at the same price or better are received and processed by the market center first. Accordingly, by the time the specified order reaches its turn, if the market price has changed to say, $49 in this example, the order will no longer be marketable or executable against the remaining market interest.

Other Limit Order Risks

Marketable odd lot Limit orders, essentially orders for fewer than 100 shares or units, and All-or-None orders (described below) are not guaranteed execution.

E*TRADE does not accept Limit orders to sell fractional shares that are not included in an order for whole share amounts, as detailed in the Fractional Shares section below. Limit orders that exceed certain notional, share, or contract size limitations may be manually reviewed before routing or rejected by the Firm or a market center. In addition, E*TRADE may reject limit orders that are priced too aggressively or too far outside the quoted spread to help ensure execution quality.

While E*TRADE will use reasonable efforts to communicate order type restrictions to customers in advance, E*TRADE reserves the right to restrict the use of limit orders in any security at any time, with or without notice, to protect the Firm or its customers.

Stop on Quote and Stop Limit on Quote Orders

Stop on Quote and Stop Limit on Quote orders have "triggers", which are events that must occur for the order to be executed. These orders can only execute after an applicable quote on the opposite side of the market reaches the stop price or "trigger price" and the order is triggered (or turned into a Market order).

Stop on Quote buy orders trigger off of the ask price while Stop on Quote sell orders trigger off of the bid price. Upon triggering, a Stop on Quote order will become a Market order for execution, and a Stop Limit on Quote order will turn into a Limit order for execution.

Stop on Quote Orders

Although Stop orders can be used for a variety of reasons and purposes, they are most commonly used to protect a gain on a long or short position, which is the reason they are frequently called "stop loss" orders.

Triggers for Stop on Quote Orders may vary for OTC securities due to the absence of a published national best bid and offer and may be based on the last sale price, external dealer quotations, or displayed interest on an alternative trading system (ATS), among other events.

Triggers for Options Stop on Quote orders also vary depending on the venue to which the order is routed and may be based on the last sale price, a same side national best bid or offer quotation, or a same side exchange bid or offer quotation, among other events.

A Stop on Quote order turns into a Market order if the bid price (for sell orders) is equal to or lower than the stop price, or the ask price (for buy orders) is equal to or higher than the stop price. For example, XYZ is trading at $55, and a Stop on Quote sell order is placed for $50. If the bid price goes down to $50, the order will trigger. This means a Market order should execute at the current market price or better. This could be $50, higher, or lower.

Stop on Quote Order Risks

The price at which a Stop on Quote order executes may be at, below, or higher than the stop price depending on the time the order reaches the marketplace and the available liquidity in the market at the time. Because the order is a Market order, it may execute at a price considerably different than the trigger price and at prices away from the best displayed quotation in the market at the time the order is triggered.

These risks may increase under unusual market conditions, during periods of heightened market or sector volatility, and in transactions involving volatile and thinly traded securities. In addition, overnight market movements may cause open GTC and GTD Stop on Quote orders to trigger at the market open, and in some instances may result in execution at a price significantly different or worse than the trigger price or the previous day's closing price.

Stop on Quote Order Entry Restrictions

Stop on Quote orders may not be always available on all trading platforms, during all trading sessions, or in all security type, or individual securities due to market conditions or other scenarios that present risks to the Firm or its customers. Stop on Quote orders are not permitted during the Extended Hours Trading Sessions, including the pre-market, post-market, and overnight trading sessions.

Stop Limit on Quote Orders

A Stop Limit on Quote order is an order that turns into a Limit order if the bid price (for sell orders) is equal to or lower than the specified stop price, or the ask price (for buy orders) is equal to or higher than the specified stop price.

Like Stop on Quote orders, triggers for Stop Limit on Quote orders may vary for OTC securities due to the absence of a published national best bid and offer. Triggers for OTC securities may be based on the last sale price, external dealer quotations, or displayed interest on an ATS, among other events.

Triggers for Options Stop Limit orders may also vary depending on the venue to which the order is routed, and may be based on the last sale price, a same side national best bid or offer quotation, or a same side exchange bid or offer quotation, among other events.

In the above example, if the Stop Limit on Quote order is placed with a stop price of $50 and a limit price of $50, and the bid price moves to $50, then the $50 Limit order to sell would trigger when the bid is $50. The shares would sell at $50 or higher (i.e., the limit price), but not lower than the $50 limit price. Notably, if the bid price were to hit $50 before the order executes and continues to move lower, then the order would remain in the market as an open Limit order for the specified order duration selected until it either executes or expires. Like any other Limit order, although the price of a Stop Limit on Quote order is guaranteed, execution is not.

Stop Limit on Quote Order Risks

Like other types of Limit orders, Stop Limit on Quote orders carry execution risk because they are not guaranteed execution and may not execute if the stock does not reach the order's specified limit price or if the price moves away from the limit price before the order can be filled. In some cases, Limit orders may be partially executed if there is not enough liquidity at the limit price or better.

Stop Limit on Quote Order Entry Restrictions

Stop Limit on Quote orders may not be always available on all trading platforms, during all trading sessions, or in all security types or individual securities due to market conditions or other scenarios that present risks to the Firm or its customers. Stop Limit on Quote orders are not permitted during the Extended Hours Trading Sessions, including the pre-market, post-market, and overnight trading sessions.

Stop Limit on Quote orders that exceed certain notional, share, or contract size limitations may be manually reviewed before routing or rejected by the Firm or a market center. In addition, E*TRADE may reject Stop Limit on Quote orders that are priced too aggressively or too far inside the quoted spread in order to help ensure execution quality. While E*TRADE will use reasonable efforts to communicate order type restrictions to customers in advance, E*TRADE reserves the right to restrict the use of Stop Limit on Quote orders in any security, at any time, with or without notice, to protect the Firm or its customers.

Stop and Stop Limit Order Entry Requirements

Stop prices for buy orders must be at least $0.01 above the current ask price (or $0.01 above the most recent closing price if the market is closed). Stop prices for sell orders must be at least $0.01 below the current bid price (or $0.01 below the most recent closing price if the market is closed).

Stop and Limit prices may be entered in dollars and cents, and fractions of a cent for certain price levels. Prices above $1.00 for listed stocks can only be entered in increments of $0.01 (maximum of two decimal places), but prices below $1.00 for listed stocks can be entered in increments of $0.0001 (maximum of four decimal places).

Options Stop, Stop Loss, or Stop on Trade Orders

Options Stop orders function slightly different than equity Stop on Quote and Stop Limit on Quote orders. Rather than triggering off of the quote on the opposite side of the market as with equities orders, options stop orders may trigger off the national best bid or offer quote on the same side of the market (i.e., the bid price for buy orders and the ask price for sell orders), the exchange best bid or offer, or off of the last sale price, depending on the rules of the exchange to which the order is routed. This difference can cause a larger discrepancy in execution from the stop price.

Triggering Conditions for Stop Orders

Security Type	Stop Order Price Type	Action	Triggering Condition
Equities (i.e., stocks, ETFs, ETNs)	Stop on Quote Stop Limit on Quote	Buy or Buy to Cover	Ask price is equal to or higher than the stop price specified
Equities (i.e., stocks, ETFs, ETNs)	Stop on Quote Stop Limit on Quote	Sell or Sell Short	Bid price is equal to or lower than the stop price specified
Options	Stop Stop Limit	Buy to Open or Buy to Close	Bid price or last trade price is equal to or higher than the stop price specified¹
Options	Stop Stop Limit	Sell to Open or Sell to Close	Ask price or last trade price is equal to or lower than the stop price specified²

¹ Options Stop and Stop Limit buy order triggers may vary depending on the rules of the specific exchange to which the order is routed (and rests) and may be based on either the national best bid, the exchange best bid, the last trade price market wide, the last trade price on the exchange, or other trigger event as specified in the rules of each exchange.

² Options Stop and Stop Limit sell order triggers may vary depending on the rules of the specific exchange to which the order is routed (and rests) and may be based on either the national best ask, the exchange best ask, the last trade price market wide, the last trade price on the exchange, or other trigger event as specified in the rules of each exchange.

Price Requirements for Stop Orders

Type of Security	Type of Order	Valid Price Requirement for Order Entry
Equities (Stocks, ETFs, ETNs)	Buy Stop on Quote/Stop Limit on Quote orders	Stop price must be at least $0.01 above the current ask price or $0.01 above the most recent closing price if the market is closed.
Equities (Stocks, ETFs, ETNs)	Sell Stop on Quote/Stop Limit on Quote orders	Both the stop and limit price (if applicable) must be at least $0.01 below the current bid price or $0.01 below the most recent closing price if the market is closed.
Options	Buy Stop /Stop Limit orders	Both the stop and limit price (if applicable) must be $0.01 below the current ask price or $0.01 below the most recent closing price if the market is closed.
Options	Sell Stop /Stop Limit orders	Both the stop and limit price (if applicable) must be $0.01 above the current bid price or $0.01 above the most recent closing price if the market is closed.

Hidden Stop Orders

A Hidden Stop order is a fixed stop order that is held at E*TRADE and sent to a market center only upon being triggered, which happens when the security's bid or ask crosses the stop price. The order then becomes a Market order and will execute at the prevailing market price. E*TRADE may reject hidden stop orders in particular securities at any time to protect the Firm or its customers.

A Market-Held Stop order, on the other hand, is sent to the market center as soon as it passes E*TRADE's order vetting and acceptance routines and edits and resides at the market center until it is eventually triggered and executed. Like Hidden Stops, Market-Held Stops are also fixed. For more information on market-held stop orders, access the section on Stop on Quote and Stop Limit on Quote Orders.

When placing a Hidden Stop or Market-Held Stop order at E*TRADE, the stop price must be at least $0.01 away from the stock's current bid or ask price.

Hidden Stop and Market-Held Stop Order Risks: In most situations, when a Hidden Stop order becomes a Market order, it will execute at a price equal to or very close to the bid or ask price at the time the order was triggered. For thinly traded securities, however, market centers may require additional time for order execution. In these cases, it is possible that orders will be executed higher or lower than the price that triggered the order.

Hidden and Market-Held Stop Order Entry Restrictions: Hidden Stops can only be placed on exchange-listed securities trading at $1 or more per share. The $1 minimum applies to the bid price for sell orders and the ask price for buys. If the price falls below $1 after order submission, the Hidden Stop will remain valid. Hidden Stops are not accepted for OTC securities or for preferred stocks, rights, or warrants. Also, some securities will occasionally be restricted due to trading halts or unusual market conditions.

Note: Hidden Stop and Market-Held Stop orders are only available on the Power E*TRADE and E*TRADE Pro platforms and are not available on etrade.com.

Trailing Stop and Stop Limit Orders

Trailing Stop orders allow you to buy or sell a security when its market price reaches a trailing stop price in order to lock in profits or limit losses as the price of a security moves. The trailing stop price trails the market price of the security by a specified trailing stop point value or fixed percentage above or below the market price—the bid price for sell orders and the ask price for buys. Trailing stop values may be set to trigger either a Market or Limit order as selected.

A Trailing Stop to sell or sell short raises the stop price as the market price increases but does not lower the stop price as the price decreases. A Trailing Stop to buy or buy to cover lowers the stop price as the market price decreases but does not increase as the market price increases. This is in contrast to a regular Stop on Quote order explained above where the stop is set as a fixed price.

After a Trailing Stop order is submitted, the stop price adjusts itself automatically, following or "trailing" the stock's bid or ask price, but moving only in a favorable direction in accordance with the parameters defined in the order. All Trailing Stop orders are held at E*TRADE until triggered. Once the bid, ask, or last price (as selected) crosses the current stop price, the order is triggered and sent to the market center for execution as a Market or Limit order (as applicable) and will execute at the prevailing market price or the set limit price if reached.

Trailing Stop Order Risks

In most situations, when a Trailing Stop order becomes a Market order, it will execute at a price equal to or very close to the bid or ask price at the time the order was triggered. For securities with low trading volumes, the applicable market center may require additional time for order execution. In these cases, it is possible that orders will execute higher or lower than the price that triggered the order.

Trailing Stop Limit orders carry execution risk in that they are not guaranteed execution and thus, may not execute if the stock never reaches the order's specified limit price or the price moves away from the limit price before the order can be filled, among other things. In some cases, Limit orders may be partially executed if there is not enough liquidity at the limit price or better to execute the order in full.

Trailing Stop Order Example

Consider shares of XYZ stock currently trading at $15. A Trailing Stop order is placed with a trailing stop value of $1 to sell the shares of XYZ when the bid price falls $1 from the highest point reached after the order is placed. In other words, $1 is the maximum trailing stop level away from the prevailing bid price that the stock may move before triggering the order; in this case, if the bid price were to reach $14 or $1 below the current bid without trading higher after the order is placed, the order will trigger and a Market or Limit order will be sent to the market for execution as specified in the order instructions.

In contrast, if the stock price rises, the trailing stop would climb in tandem with the rising stock price. If XYZ increases to $18, without falling $1 at any point along the way, the trailing stop level will rise to $17, increasing in lock step with the bid price. If the bid price of XYZ then falls to $17 or lower (or $1 or more below the high bid of $18), the order would trigger and be sent to the market for execution as a Market or Limit order as specified in the order instructions. In the same way, when the stock immediately fell from $15 to $14, the order would trigger and route for execution at that time.

When placing a stock order with a Trailing Stop, the trailing stop value must be at least $0.01. Trailing Stop values entered as a percent must also meet the same $0.01 minimum value requirements.

Trailing Stop and Stop Limit Order Entry Restrictions

Trailing Stops can only be placed in listed securities trading at $1 or more per share. The $1 minimum applies to the bid price for sell orders and the ask price for buys. If the price falls below $1 after order submission, the Trailing Stop will remain valid. Trailing stops are not available in OTC securities or for preferred stocks, rights, or warrants. Also, some securities will occasionally be restricted due to trading halts or unusual market conditions.

Day, GTC and GTD Orders

One of the material terms of any order is order duration. Order duration refers to the term of the order or the amount of time the order will remain open and active before it expires. E*TRADE offers multiple order duration choices for most price types with the exception of Market orders, which can only be placed as Day orders since Market orders, by definition, are designed to execute immediately upon receipt absent order handling or systems issues. The three main order durations offered at E*TRADE include:

Good for day ("Day"),
Good for 60 days ("Good-Til-Canceled" or "GTC"), or
Good until date specified ("Good-Til-Date" or "GTD").

Additional order duration selections are also available for Limit orders, including Immediate-or-Cancel and Fill-or-Kill, both of which are discussed in detail below. Subject to certain criteria, customers may also choose to submit orders in the Extended Hours trading sessions, the details of which are also discussed below.

Day Orders

Day orders are exactly what the term implies. They are good for one day. If a Day order does not fill by the end of the trading day, it will be canceled. If a Day order is placed after market close, it will be queued for the next trading day and remain active only for that day.

Extended Hours Day Orders

Extended Hours Day orders are also exactly as the term implies. They are good for one day, spanning the Regular Trading Session, extended hours pre-market, and extended hours post-market sessions on that day only, subject to when the order was submitted. If an Extended Hours Day order does not fill by the end of the after-market extended hours trading session for that day (typically 8 PM ET on non-holidays), it will be canceled. Extended Hours Day orders will not remain active for the Overnight Trading Session (typically 8 PM – 4 AM ET on non-holidays). Please note that the Extended Hours market is generally not as liquid as the Regular Trading Session, and execution prices in the Extended Hours market may vary widely from prices available during the Regular Trading Session.

Good for 60 Days (Good-Til-Canceled or GTC)

GTC orders remain open for up to 60 calendar days until they are filled completely or canceled by you or E*TRADE. Investors will place a GTC order when they want an order to remain open for a longer period of time. An alert posts the applicable account to notify the investor the day before a GTC order expires.

Absent receipt of contrary instructions, E*TRADE is required to automatically modify or reduce the price of open GTC Limit orders in the event of certain corporate actions and dividend payments. However, E*TRADE may opt to cancel any order in connection with certain corporate actions that may require an order adjustment in accordance with applicable regulations. E*TRADE reserves the right to not adjust orders that may be subject to a corporate action adjustment and may instead cancel the orders prior to the time the adjustment is required. On a reasonable-efforts basis, E*TRADE will notify customers of its intent to cancel such orders prior to adjustment via an alert notification.

Good-Til-Date (Specified) (GTD)

GTD orders allow you to select any term less than two years and will remain open for whatever time period is selected, until they are filled completely, are canceled, or E*TRADE opts to cancel the order in connection with certain corporate actions requiring the order be adjusted in accordance with applicable regulations.

A GTD duration may be selected by an investor when the traditional 60 days offered by a GTC orders is not sufficient, or the investor wants to specify a custom date for order expiration. A specific duration may also be desired in connection with a particular future event such as earnings or scheduled corporate action. GTD orders are subject to the same general rules as GTC orders and may be adjusted, as stated, in connection with corporate actions in accordance with applicable regulations. E*TRADE reserves the right not to adjust the order and instead cancel it prior to the time an adjustment would be required

Immediate-or-Cancel (IOC) and Fill-or-Kill (FOK) Orders

Limit orders can be placed with other term selections in addition to Day, GTC, and GTD, including Immediate-or-Cancel (IOC) and Fill-or-Kill (FOK).

Immediate-or-Cancel (IOC)

An IOC order is a special duration instruction specifying that the order should either be immediately filled in its entirety or partially at the Limit order price or better upon receipt or canceled. To the extent that only a partial execution is received, any portion of the order not immediately filled is canceled. IOC orders are only available for Limit order price types and are not permitted for short sales.

Fill-or-Kill (FOK)

FOK orders are similar to IOC orders, except that they require immediate full, not partial, execution. FOK term orders instruct the order to either be executed in full immediately upon receipt or canceled. Like IOC orders, FOK orders are only available for Limit order price types and are not permitted for short sales.

All-or-none (AON) Orders

AON orders are orders with special order handling instructions indicating that the order should not be executed unless it can be filled in its entirety in a single transaction. In other words, if the number of shares available is less than the quantity indicated on the order, the order will not execute and instead remain open until it executes in full, expires, or is canceled. Unless otherwise directed, AON orders are handled on a "held" basis, meaning that they must be executed promptly according to their terms. To the extent that time and/or price discretion is exercised on an AON order, it will be promptly processed and executed.

AON orders are not represented in the market until fully executable and will not execute until all other similarly priced orders in the book, with no special conditions, are executed. AON orders are not price protected and may not execute even if marketable. E*TRADE does not accept AON orders for fewer than two shares, units, or contracts and marketable AON orders may not be submitted to the opening auction or MOO.

Reserve Orders

A Reserve order enables a customer to divide a large order into smaller limit orders to avoid shocking the market and possibly causing prices to move against them. Orders are directed to either Nasdaq or NYSE Arca as extended hours, day orders, that are live from 7 AM – 8 PM ET. This order type is provisioned by an automated program to hide the actual order quantity and is also called "iceberg" because visible lots are just the "tip of the iceberg" given the greater number of limit orders ready below. Reserve orders are available only for stocks and basic options.

Reserve Order Entry Requirements and Restrictions

Complex options, bonds, and mutual funds are not eligible. Conditional orders cannot be placed as reserve orders.

Reserve orders for equities and ETFs must be for a total quantity or size of 200 shares or greater (including odd lots) with a reserve quantity at least 100 shares, placed in multiples of 100 and at least 100 shares less than the total Reserve order quantity—for example, the highest reserve quantity a Reserve order for 422 shares could have would be 300 (because the reserve quantity must be in multiples of 100 and be for at least 100 shares less than the total Reserve order quantity (in this case 322, which is not a multiple of 100 and thus, must be reduced to at most 300 shares)).

For basic options orders, the total order quantity must be at least two contracts with a reserve quantity of at least one contract and at least one contract less than the total Reserve order quantity. Accordingly, an options Reserve order for two contracts must have a reserve quantity of one contract and a Reserve order for 422 contracts can have a reserve quantity of one to 421 contracts.

Reserve Orders Placed on E*TRADE Pro

Reserve orders for equities and ETFs on E*TRADE Pro must be directed to NYSE Arca or Nasdaq, otherwise the Reserve selection in the menu will be disabled.

Sell-short and Buy-to-cover Orders

Just as buying a stock allows an investor to profit when the price of an equity rises, selling short makes it possible to profit from the stock price's decline. The traditional way to trade a stock is to buy the stock to own, hold it, and then sell it at a later date, hopefully at a higher price. Selling short involves the opposite; first, shares are sold that are not owned by borrowing from a broker, and then buying them back later, hopefully, at a lower price. To open a short position, a Sell Short order is entered; to close the order, a Buy-to-Cover order is entered as opposed to a regular buy order. The Buy-to-Cover order effectively returns the borrowed shares to the broker.

Short Sale Margin Requirements and Interest Charges

A margin account is required in order to place short sales. When margin is used, money is borrowed from E*TRADE based on the value of the cash and securities currently held in the account. The account holdings serve as collateral to secure the loan with interest charged on the amount borrowed to secure the short position. Shares or units can be held short provided the margin requirements for the borrowed position are met and provided E*TRADE is able to continue to borrow the shares.

Hard-to-Borrow Charges

Securities with high demand to borrow and limited lending availability may be classified as "hard-to-borrow." The ability to borrow a security to short it-and at what cost-varies based on the level of supply and demand in the marketplace (i.e., how many shares are available for borrowing and how sought-after the security is among short sellers). As demand increases relative to supply, a particular security may become "hard-to-borrow" and therefore carry an interest rate payable by the short seller. Securities that are not hard-to-borrow are called easy-to-borrow.

When you hold a short position in a hard-to-borrow security, you'll be billed a fee to borrow the security. These aggregated fees will be billed to you monthly but will accrue daily. Note that although fees are billed monthly, fees are recorded and accounted for daily. Interest doesn't start accruing until settlement of the opening transaction, and when you close your position, the interest continues to accrue until settlement of the closing.

Short Selling Risks

There are certain unique risks involved in selling short, and it is important to know what they are before placing this kind of order. As opposed to long equity positions, which have a defined risk threshold equal to the original investment amount, the risk of selling short is theoretically unlimited. If the stock continues to rise, the short seller will bear responsibility for all of the upward price movement. The higher the stock price moves, the greater the loss.

In addition, whenever a stock is sold short, the funds or purchasing power in the account must be sufficient at all times to be able to place a Buy-to-Cover order if necessary. To the extent that the cash buying power in the account is insufficient to cover the short position and the stock moves in an unfavorable direction, the need to borrow funds on margin will increase along with the risk of a margin call. Such situations may cause significant margin interest to accrue in the account and may subject the account holder to trading and account restrictions.

For more information on margin risks for short selling, access the Help topic Understand how margin works for short positions.

Short Selling Restrictions

While E*TRADE will use reasonable efforts to communicate order type restrictions to customers in advance, E*TRADE reserves the right to restrict short sales of any security, at any time, with or without notice, to protect the Firm or its customers. Before a stock can be sold short, E*TRADE must first have access to the shares to borrow. To the extent that shares cannot be located to borrow, it will not be possible to sell short a security. Affiliates, Control Persons, and Insiders of an issuer are prohibited from selling short the issuer's securities. In addition, E*TRADE reserves the right to restrict short selling on any security at any time, with or without prior notice, for the protection of the Firm or its customers.

Understand and use conditional orders

Access the Help topic on Understand and use conditional orders to learn about conditional orders.

Orders on Fractional Shares

Fractional Buys

Buy orders on fractional shares are not permitted on E*TRADE's platforms at this time.

Fractional Sells

Orders containing fractional quantities must be a closing sell order. Opening short sell orders with fractional quantities are not permitted on E*TRADE's platforms.

If the closing sell order contains a fractional quantity, it must be the entire fractional (decimal) quantity owned. For example, if the customer owns 100.77 shares, they could sell 0.77, 2.77, 50.77, etc., but they cannot sell 0.25, 2.50, 50.33, etc. Further, if the quantity is greater than one share (e.g., 2.77, 50.77, etc.), then the Price Type may be either "Market" or "Limit." If the quantity is less than one share (e.g., 0.77), then the Price Type must be "Market."

Fractional Share Order Entry Requirements and Restrictions

Fractional share orders must be Day orders and can only be traded during the Regular Trading Session. Fractional share orders are not available and cannot be placed during the Extended Hours Trading Sessions (after 4 PM ET and before 9:30 AM ET).

Fractional shares cannot be part of a stock + option spread order and cannot be part of a conditional order. In addition, fractional share orders can only be placed for a single account only; block orders or multi-account orders (available on Power E*TRADE) cannot contain fractional quantities.