Order Types

Limit - One of the most basic order types, a Limit order is an order to buy or sell a contract at a specified price or better. For more information, see the Limit Orders page.

MidPrice - The MidPrice order attempts to fill at the current midpoint of the NBBO or better. Set an optional price cap to define the highest price (for a buy order) or the lowest price (for a sell order) you are willing to accept.For a more detailed description of MidPrice orders and the products and exchanges on which they're supported, visit the MidPrice Orders information page.

Market - A market order is an order to buy or sell an asset at the bid or offer price currently available in the marketplace. When you submit a market order, you have no guarantee that the order will execute at any specific price. For more information, see the Market Orders page.

Market-to-Limit - A market-to-limit order is sent in as a market order to execute at the current best price. If the entire order does not immediately execute at the market price, the remainder of the order is re-submitted as a limit order with the limit price set to the price at which the market order portion of the order executed. For more information, see the Market to Limit Orders page.

Stop - An instruction to submit a buy or sell market order if and when a user-specified stop trigger price is attained or penetrated. A Sell Stop order is always placed below the current market price and is typically used to limit a loss or protect a profit on a long stock position. A Buy Stop order is always placed above the current market price. It is typically used to limit a loss or help protect a profit on a short sale. For more information, see the Stop Orders page.

Stop Limit - An instruction to the system to submit a buy or sell limit order when the user-specified stop trigger price is hit. The order has two components: the stop price and the limit price. When a trade has occurred at or through the stop price, the order becomes executable and enters the market as a limit order, which is an order to buy or sell at a specified price or better. For more information, see the Stop Limit Orders page.

Note: You can enable the system to automatically adjust the limit price if you change the stop price. To activate this feature, on the Edit menu select Global Configuration and then select Order in the left pane. Check Auto-adjust limit price for STP LMT and LIT orders. The limit price will move based on the offset implied when you set the original limit and stop election prices.

Trail - A Trailing Stop order is available for U.S and certain Non-US Products on the Pro platform. Accessible through both Mosaic, Classic TWS, and Mobile. For more information, see the Trail Stop Orders page.

Trail Limit - A Trailing Stop Limit order is available for U.S and certain Non-US Products on the Pro platform. Accessible through both Mosaic, Classic TWS, and Mobile. For more information, see the Trail Limit Orders page.

Relative - A Relative order is an advanced order type whose price is dynamically derived from a combination of the best bid/ask and a user-defined offset amount. The order is submitted as a limit order and modified according to the pricing logic until it is executed or you cancel the order. You can also set an optional price cap, which keeps your order from executing at a price inferior to the cap. For more information, see the Relative/Pegged-to-Primary Orders page.

Retail Price Improvement - This order is similar to a Relative order, but requires an offset greater than zero (which may be submitted in sub-pennies). RPI orders are routed to a separate book at the NYSE to trade against qualified orders. For more information, see the Retail Price Improvement (RPI) Orders page.

PEG Best - Pegged-to-Best gives your IBKR ATS an advantage by pegging the price one tick higher than the best bid (for a sell) and one tick lower than the best ask (for a buy) to help ensure a faster fill against incoming orders. For more information, see the IBKR ATS Pegged-to-Best page.

Market-On-Close - A Market-on-Close (MOC) order is submitted to execute as close to the closing price as possible. For more information, see the Market-on-Close Orders page.

Limit-On-Close - An order that executes at the closing price if the closing price is at or better than the submitted limit price, according to the rules of the specific exchange. If the closing prices is not at or better than the submitted limit price, the Limit-on-Close (LOC) order will be canceled. For more information, see the Limit-on-Close Orders page.

Adaptive - This algo can be used with a limit or market order, and is designed to achieve better than average cost efficiency over basic limit and market orders by attempting to trade market and aggressive limit orders between the spread. You can specify how urgently you want the order to fill using the "priority/urgency" selector in the algo window. For more information, see the Adaptive Algo page.

IBAlgo - IBAlgos are a category of algo used to implement optimal trading strategies which help balance market impact with risk to achieve the best execution for larger orders.

Limit if Touched - An order to buy (or sell) an asset below (or above) the market at the defined limit price or better. A Limit if Touched (LIT) order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a limit order. For more information, see the Limit if Touched Orders page.

Market if Touched - An order to buy (or sell) an asset below (or above) the market. A Market if Touched (MIT) order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a market order. For more information, see the Market if Touched Orders page.

MidPrice Orders - The MidPrice order attempts to fill at the current midpoint of the NBBO or better. Set an optional price cap to define the highest price (for a buy order) or the lowest price (for a sell order) you are willing to accept. For more information, see the MidPrice Orders page.

Auto Trailing Stop - A limit order with a trailing stop order attached to set the initial stop price at a fixed amount below the market price. The attached trailing stop order is automatically activated when the order is filled. For more information, see the Auto Trailing Stop Order page.

Basket - TWS BasketTrader can be used to manage baskets of securities or other asset classes. Portfolio managers and investors can build a spreadsheet of tickers for import to TWS or simply add directly to a TWS page and save as a basket. For more information, see the BasketTrader page.

Bracket - An order type designed to help limit your loss and lock in a profit by “bracketing” an order with two opposite-side orders. A buy order is bracketed by a high-side sell limit order and a low-side sell stop order. A sell order is bracketed by a high-side buy stop order and a low side buy limit order. For more information, see the Bracket Orders page.

Box Top - A market order that is automatically changed to a limit order if it doesn’t execute immediately at the market price. If the entire order does not immediately execute at the market price, the remainder of the order is re-submitted as a limit order with the limit price set to the price at which the market order portion of the order executed. For more information, see the Box Top Orders page.

Conditional - An order that will automatically be submitted or cancelled ONLY IF specified criteria for one or more defined contracts are met. For more information, see the Conditional Orders page.

Currency Conversion - Easily convert cash from one currency to another using the Currency Conversion tool. Simply pick a currency you have, then enter the amount of the currency you want. The system sets up the market order for the conversion. For more information, see the Currency Conversation Orders page.

Direct Routing - Customers can give specific instructions for an order to be routed to a particular exchange or venue for execution instead of using IBKR's SmartRouting technology. For more information, see the Direct Routing Orders page.

Fractional Shares - Allows clients to build their portfolio components based on dollar amount, not shares. If the purchase price doesn't result in a whole number of shares, IBKR will buy or sell fractional shares. For more information, see the Fractional Shares Order page.

Funari Orders - Available on the TSE (Tokyo Stock Exchange), this order is submitted at the user-specified limit price. Any unfilled portion is then resubmitted as a Market-on-Close Order order at the end of trading. For more information, see the Funari Orders page.

IBKRATS Orders - Non-marketable U.S. stock orders routed to IBRKATS are held in IBKR's order book where incoming Smart-Routed orders from other IBKR clients are eligible to trade against them. For more information, see the IBKRATS Orders page.

IBKR ATS Pegged-to-Best - Pegged-to-Best gives your IBKR ATS an advantage by pegging the price one tick higher than the best bid (for a SELL) and one tick lower than the best ask (for a BUY) to help ensure a faster fill against incoming orders. For more information, see the IBKR ATS Pegged-to-Best Orders page.

IBKR ATS Pegged-to-Midpoint - The IBKR ATS Pegged-to-Midpoint (w/optional offsets) seeks to fill by resting liquidity at the midpoint of the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO). Unlike the standard Pegged-to-Midpoint order, the IBKR ATS Pegged-to-Midpoint order type also lets you compete for liquidity by applying an optional offset to the NBBO midpoint. For more information, see the IBKR ATS Pegged-to-Midpoint page.

Iceberg/Reserve - An Iceberg/Reserve order allows you to submit an order (generally a large volume order) while publicly disclosing only a portion of the submitted order at a time. For more information, see the Iceberg/Reserve page.

Limit + Market - The LMT + MKT order type is available for certain multi-leg combinations, and when used with a non-guaranteed combination order it could help to increase the chances of all legs in the order being filled. Initially one or more legs are submitted as limit orders, but if the first leg fills or partially fills, the remaining legs are resubmitted as market orders.

Market with Protection - A Market with Protection order is a market order that is cancelled and resubmitted as a limit order if the entire order does not immediately execute at the market price. The order’s limit price is set by the exchange to be close to the current market price, slightly higher for a sell order and lower for a buy order. For more information, see the Market with Protection Orders page.

Minimum Quantity - Use the Minimum Quantity order attribute to ensure that the minimum specified number of units is filled for your order.

NYSE Closing Auction D-Quote - IBKR’s enhanced execution services for clients seeking greater flexibility, execution speed and enhanced representation during the NYSE closing auction. This allows clients to send discretionary quote orders (D-quotes) electronically to IBKR’s designated NYSE floor broker. For more information, see the NYSE Closing Auction D-Quote Orders page.

Passive Relative - A Passive Relative order derives its price from a combination of the market quote and a user-defined offset amount. While similar to a Relative order, a Passive Relative order applies the offset in the opposite direction to make the order less aggressive; a Relative order applies the offset to become more aggressive. For more information, see the Passive Relative Orders page.

Pegged to Market - Submit an aggressive order that is pegged to buy on the best offer and sell on the best bid. For more information, see the Pegged to Market Order page.

Pegged to Midpoint - An order that is pegged to buy or sell at the midpoint of the NBBO. For more information, see the Pegged to Midpoint Orders page. For more information, see the Pegged to Midpoin page.

Pegged to Stock - This order specifies that the option price will adjust automatically relative to the stock price, using a calculated value based on data you enter. For more information, see the Pegged-to-Stock Orders page.

Pegged to Benchmark - A Pegged to Benchmark order specifies that the order price will adjust automatically relative to changes in the price of a user-specified reference asset. To determine whether the reference asset price has changed, the system monitors changes to the Last price for indexes, and changes to the Bid (for buy orders) and to the Ask (for sell orders). For more information, see the Pegged to Benchmark Order page.

Price Improvement Auction - For option orders routed to the Boston Options Exchange (BOX) you may elect to participate in the BOX’s price improvement auction in pennies. All BOX-directed price improvement orders are immediately sent from Interactive Brokers to the BOX order book, and when the terms allow, IBKR will evaluate it for inclusion in a price improvement auction based on price and volume priority. For more information, see the Price Improvement Auction Orders page.

Relative/Pegged-to-Primary - The relative order provides a means for traders to seek a more aggressive price than the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO). By becoming liquidity providers, and placing bids or offers into the book that are more aggressive than what is currently quoted, traders increase their odds of execution. For more information, see the Relative/Pegged-to-Primary Orders page.

Relative + Market - An order type available for certain multi-leg combinations, and when used with a non-guaranteed combination order it could help to increase the chances of all legs in the order being filled. Although the order type uses the term “Relative,” this refers to the behavior of the limit order initially submitted, which is pegged to the bid for a buy and to the ask for a sell similar to a Relative order, in an attempt to add rather than remove liquidity. Initially one or more legs are submitted as limit orders, but if the first leg fills or partially fills, the remaining legs are resubmitted as market orders.

Request for Quote - Use the RFQ (Request for Quote) feature to request data for US Corporate and Municipal bonds, and for non-U.S. options. For more information, please see our RFQ User Guide page.

Retail Price Improvement Orders - The Retail Price Improvement (RPI) order is a liquidity-adding order that works within the parameters of the NYSE Retail Price Improvement program. This program allows qualified stock orders to fill against eligible, hidden RPI orders that offer price improvement over the current best bid and offer. For more information, see the Retail Price Improvement (RPI) Orders page.

Snap to Market - The Snap to Market order is similar to a pegged order, as the original order price is determined by the current bid/ask plus or minus an offset. But unlike the pegged order price, the “snap to” order price doesn’t continue to peg as the price moves. A Snap to Market BUY order snaps to the ask minus an offset, to set the order price. For a SELL order, it snaps to the bid plus the offset. For more information, see the Snap to Market Order page.

Snap to Midpoint - The Snap to Midpoint order is similar to a pegged order, as the original order price is determined by the current bid/ask plus or minus an offset. But unlike the pegged order price, the “snap to” order price doesn’t continue to peg as the price moves. A Snap to Midpoint BUY order snaps to the midpoint of the bid/ask minus the offset to set the order price. For a SELL order, it snaps to the midpoint of the bid/ask plus the offset. For more information, see the Snap to Midpoint Order page.

Snap to Primary - The Snap to Primary order is similar to a pegged order, as the original order price is determined by the current bid/ask plus or minus an offset. But unlike the pegged order price, the “snap to” order price doesn’t continue to peg as the price moves. A Snap to Primary BUY order snaps to the bid plus the offset to set the order price. A SELL order snaps to the ask minus the offset. For more information, see the Snap to Primary Order page.

Spread - A spread order is a combination of individual orders (legs) that work together to create a single trading strategy. Spread types include futures spreads, and combinations of option/option, option/stock and stock/stock on the same or multiple underlyings. For more information, see the Spread Orders page.

Stop - Adjustable - You can attach one-time adjustments to stop, stop limit, trailing stop and trailing stop limit orders. When you attach an adjusted order, you set a trigger price that triggers a modification of the original (or parent) order, instead of triggering order transmission. For more information, see the Stop-Adjustable Order page.

Stop Order with Protection - A Stop with Protection order combines the functionality of a stop limit and market with protection order. This order is used only for Futures orders on Globex. The order triggers at a set stop price and fills within a specified protected price set by Globex. For more information, see the Stop with Protection Orders page.

T + 0 Stock Settlement - Clients who write covered calls can elect to purchase shares that settle in T+0 to satisfy their delivery obligations, instead of using existing shares and potentially incurring a higher tax liability. For more information, see the T + 0 Stock Settlement page.

Trailing Stop - A trailing stop sell order sets the initial stop price at a fixed amount below the market price as defined by the Trailing Amount. As the market price rises, the sell stop price rises one-to-one with the market but always at the interval set initially by the trailing amount. If the stock price falls, the stop price remains the same. When the stop price is hit, a market order is submitted. Reverse this for a buy trailing stop order. This strategy may allow an investor to limit the maximum possible loss without limiting possible gain. For more information, see the Trailing Stop Orders page.

Trailing Stop Limit - An order designed to allow an investor to specify a limit on the maximum possible loss without setting a limit on the maximum possible gain. A Trailing Stop Limit sell order sets the stop price at a fixed amount below the market price and defines a limit price for the sell order. If the market price rises, the stop loss price rises by the increased amount, but if the stock price falls, the stop loss price remains the same. When the order triggers, a limit order is submitted at the price you defined. The reverse is true for a trailing stop limit buy order. For more information, see the Trailing Stop Limit Orders page.

Trailing Market if Touched - A Trailing Market-if-Touched (TRAIL MIT) order is is similar to a trailing stop order, except that in a Trailing Market if Touched order, a sell order sets the initial stop price at a fixed amount above the market price instead of below. This order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a market order. For more information, see the Trailing Market if Touched Orders page.

Trailing Limit if Touched - A Trailing Limit if Touched (TRAIL LIT) order is similar to a trailing stop limit order, except that in a Trailing Limit if Touched order, a sell order sets the initial stop price at a fixed amount above the market price instead of below. This order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a limit order. For more information, see the Trailing Limit if Touched Orders page.

Trailing Limit + Market - This order type is available for certain multi-leg combinations. You define the trailing amount, and when the order triggers it behaves the same as the Limit + Market order.

Trailing Relative + Market - This order type is available for certain multi-leg combinations. You define the trailing amount, and when the order triggers it behaves the same as the Relative + Market order.

Attach a Beta Hedge Order - Attached hedge order to a stock with an ETF. Used to reduce risk systematically by purchasing stock with offsetting betas.

Attach a Delta Hedge Order - Attach a delta hedge order to an options order, and as an alternative to setting a hedge order attribute in the original Volatility order line.

Attach an FX Order - You can elect to attach an FX Order in cases where you are buying a contract in a currency other than your base, and want to convert base currency to the currency of the contract to cover the cost of the trade.

Attach a Pair Trade - The attached Pair Trade can be used to hedge one contract against another, generally in the same industry. Offset a price discrepancy between the two contracts with a ratio.

Auto Combo Limit Order - Attach an opposite-side limit order to a complex multi-leg combination order. The limit price is determined using the Combo Order Preset values for the "Target Order." The attached order is a child order and will be linked to the parent order automatically with the OCA (one-cancels-other) tag. This order will be auto-submitted when the parent order fills.

Auto Combo Market Order - Attach an opposite-side market order to a complex multi-leg combination order. The attached order is a child order and will be linked to the parent order automatically with the OCA (one-cancels-other) tag. This order will be auto-submitted when the parent order fills.

All or None (AON) - An order that will remain at the exchange (or in the IBKR system) until the entire quantity is available to be executed. For more information, see the All or None Orders page.

Block - A large volume limit order with a minimum of 50 contracts. In TWS, selecting the Block attribute makes the order a block order. For more information, see the Block Orders page.

Discretionary - A limit order for which you define a discretionary amount (which is added to or subtracted from the limit price) that increases the price range over which the order is eligible to execute. The original limit price is displayed to the market. Adding a discretionary amount to a smart-routed limit order makes it a Discretionary Order. For more information, see the Discretionary Orders page.

Hidden - An order (generally a large volume order) that shows no evidence of its existence in either the market data or the deep book. For more information, see the Hidden Orders page.

One Cancels Other - A pair of orders stipulating that if one order is executed, then the other order is automatically cancelled. It is a combination of stop and limit order that is used by traders to mitigate risk.

One-Cancels-All (OCA) - A group of orders linked by a client-created title for each order. By default, once an order in the group fills, all other linked orders are canceled. If an order is partially filled, the remaining orders will be reduced proportionately to the remaining quantity of the unfilled order. If an order is canceled by the client before execution, all remaining orders in the OCA group will automatically be canceled, but if one of the orders is rejected or canceled by the system, the remaining order(s) WILL NOT automatically be canceled. For more information, see the One-Cancels-All (OCA) page.

Sweep-to-Fill - An order that identifies the best price and the exact quantity offered/available at the price, and transmits the corresponding portion of your order for immediate execution. Simultaneously it is identifying the next best price and quantity offered/available, and submits the matching quantity of your order for immediate execution. For more information, see the Sweep-to-Fill page.

Pegged to Primary Volatility Order - Pegs the starting price of the order to the same side volatility, for example a buy order (for both puts and calls) will peg to the volatility bid and a sell order (for both puts and calls) will peg to the volatility ask. This order allows a positive offset or no offset to the volatility. For more information, see the Pegged to Primary Volatility page.

Pegged to Market Volatility Order - Pegs the starting price of the order to the opposite side volatility. For example, a buy order (for both put and calls) will peg to the volatility ask and a sell order (for both put and calls) will peg to the volatility bid. This order requires a positive offset to the volatility. For more information, see the Pegged to Market Volatility Order page.

Pegged to Midpoint Volatility Order - Pegs the starting price of the order to the midpoint of the bid/ask volatility, specifically the bid volatility + ask volatility / 2. This order allows a positive offset, negative, or no offset to the volatility. For more information, see the Pegged to Midpoint Volatility Order page.

Pegged to Surface Volatility Order - Pegs the starting price of the order to the implied volatility. For calls, buy orders will peg to the volatility bid and sell orders to the volatility ask. For puts, a buy order will peg to the volatility bid and a sell to the volatility ask. This order allows a positive, negative or no offset to the volatility. For more information, see the Pegged to Surface Volatility Order page.

Volatility Trading - The VOL order type allows you to trade volatility, and provides ways to dynamically manage your options orders. For more information, see the Volatility Trading Order page.

At Auction - An auction order is entered into the electronic trading system during the pre-market opening period for execution at the Calculated Opening Price (COP). If your order is not filled on the open, the order is re-submitted as a limit order with the limit price set to the COP or the best bid/ask after the market opens. For more information, see the Auction Order page.

Fill or Kill - An order with the Fill or Kill (FOK) Time in Force setting applied. Typically used for options orders, Fill or Kill specifies that the order must execute immediately and in its entirety or be canceled. For more information, see the Fill or Kill Orders page.

Good After Time - An order held in the system and sent to the exchange on the date and time you enter. For more information, see the Good After Time (GAT) Orders page.

Good-Til-Canceled - This time in force will continue to work until the order fills or is canceled. The ability to enter a bid well below the prevailing trading price for most asset classes, or an offer higher than its current level, allows an investor to place a resting order for days, weeks or months in advance without having to repeat the process each day. For more information, see the Good Til Canceled Orders page.

Good-Til-Date/Time - The GTD (Good-til-Date/Time) time in force lets you select an expiration date and time up until which an order will continue to work. For more information, see the Good Til Date/Time Orders page.

Immediate or Cancel - The Immediate-or Cancel (IOC) time in force applied to an order dictates that any portion of the order that does not fill immediately will be canceled. For more information, see the Immediate or Cancel Orders page.

Limit-On-Open - A Limit-on-Open (LOO) order is a limit order that is executed at the market’s open if the opening price is equal to or better than the limit price. For more information, see the Limit-on-Open Orders page.

Market-on-Open - A Market-on-Open (MOO) order is a market order that is executed at the market’s open at the market price. For more information, see the Market-on-Open Orders page.

Overnight Trading - All clients with US Stock trading permission have access to US Overnight Trading and free overnight market data. Overnight Trading Hours for US stocks and ETFs are from 8:00 pm ET to 3:50 am ET, with the first session beginning on Sunday at 8:00 pm ET and the last session ending on Friday at 3:50 am ET. For more information, see the Overnight Trading Orders page.

Regular Trading Hours - The term Regular Trading Hours (RTH) is generally used to refer to the primary trading session for a particular exchange or region. For example, in the case of US equity markets, the RTH are from 09:30 to 16:00 ET. This designation is relevant as many exchanges offer pre- and post-market trading sessions which are referred to as extended trading hours or trading outside of RTH. For more information, see the Regular Trading Hours page.

OVERNIGHT + SMART - This order type allows you to submit orders in the OVERNIGHT session that will also work the order the following day (starting at 4am) as a SMART order, until the end of trading at 8pm.

Time in Force for Orders - The time in force for an order defines the length of time over which an order will continue working before it is canceled. We support many times in force which are described below. For more information, see the Time in Force for Orders page.