Minimum Trading Days
The minimum number of calendar or trading days a trader must be active in the market before being allowed to pass a challenge phase, even if the profit target is already met.
What are Minimum Trading Days?
Minimum trading days is a rule that prevents traders from passing an evaluation by making one lucky trade on Day 1. It ensures a sample size of real trading behaviour before a firm allocates real capital.
Common requirements
- Most firms: 4–5 minimum trading days per phase
- Some firms: 0 (no minimum)
- A 'trading day' typically means at least one trade was opened and closed on that day
Interaction with profit target
If you hit your profit target on Day 2 of a phase with a 5-day minimum, you must continue trading (but not lose your gains!) for 3 more days before you can submit for review.
Risk of the minimum days rule
Traders who hit their target early sometimes overtrade during the remaining mandatory days and accidentally violate a drawdown rule — effectively failing a challenge they had already 'won'.
How Firms Apply This Rule
FTMO: 4 minimum trading days per phase. FundedNext: 5 minimum trading days. Funding Pips: 3 minimum trading days.
Related Terms
Profit Target
The minimum profit percentage a trader must earn to pass each phase of a prop firm challenge before moving to the next stage or receiving a funded account.
Evaluation Phase
The trading test period(s) a trader must pass — hitting profit targets while respecting all risk rules — before receiving a live funded account.
Consistency Rule
A rule requiring that no single trading day generates more than a set percentage of your total profits, preventing traders from 'getting lucky' on one big day.