Prop firm news trading rules explained

Two well-documented examples, read on each firm's own pages on 1 November 2026. For any other firm, read its current terms; news rules change more often than drawdown rules.

FTMO's window is 2 minutes before and 2 minutes after the release. Other firms use different windows, or none. Do not assume one firm's window applies to another: write the window, the list of events and the instruments for your exact program into your plan.

Read this part carefully. FTMO's restriction applies to any order execution, including your stop loss, take profit or other pending orders, so a stop that fills inside the window can count, not only a trade you open. If a firm's rule covers all executions, remove or move pending orders on the targeted instruments before the window opens.

At FTMO, yes: you may hold open positions on the targeted instruments if they were opened more than 2 minutes before the restricted event. The risk is the fill, not the rule: a stop can slip far past its price in the seconds after a release, and on an equity-based daily limit the open loss counts immediately.

• Time zones: the calendar, the broker's server time and your computer clock can differ by hours, so the filter pauses the wrong window.
• Changed release times: a rescheduled event is still in the old slot in a cached calendar.
• Pending orders: a filter that blocks new entries does not stop an existing stop or limit order from filling.
• Wrong instruments: a release can move indices, gold and every pair in that currency, not only the one symbol you set.
• Impact level: some firms restrict only selected events; a filter on every medium-impact event pauses you too often, and one on too few misses a restricted release.

Often, yes. FTMO is the clearest example: its news restriction does not apply to accounts in the Challenge or Verification phase, or to Swing accounts, and applies to Standard FTMO Accounts. A strategy that trades every release can pass the evaluation and then break the rules on the funded account without changing anything.

So test the funded-account rules, not only the evaluation rules. If your strategy depends on news, choose a program whose funded account allows it, or remove the news trades from your backtest and see whether the strategy still works without them.

• The day's restricted releases, their times in your broker's server time, and the instruments each one targets.
• What you do with open positions before each window: hold (if allowed), reduce or close.
• What you do with pending orders: cancel, move outside the window, or leave if the rule allows it.
• A smaller risk per trade for the rest of the day, because spreads and slippage stay wide after big releases.
• The first time you are allowed to enter again, and the spread you need to see before you do.

1. List the events your firm restricts and the instruments each one targets.
2. Set an entry window around each release at least as wide as the firm's (wider is safer).
3. Before the window, close, move or cancel pending orders if the firm counts their fills.
4. Check the calendar's time zone against your broker's server time once a week.
5. After the release, wait for the spread to return to normal before the first entry.

On MetaTrader 5, Elave Guardian has a high-impact news rule: by default it holds new entries from 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after high-impact news, and you can set each side from 0 to 240 minutes. It holds new entries; plan your pending orders yourself if your firm counts their fills. Guardian is free; live enforcement is MT5 only.

• Prop-firm risk managementSize, daily stop and news rules, enforced on MT5.
• Prop firm rules compared
• Prop firm rules directory
• Elave Guardian for MT5

• FTMO — FAQ: Can I trade news? · checked 1 Nov 2026
• Topstep — Prohibited trading strategies · checked 1 Nov 2026

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Elave (elavefx.com) is a free trading platform for retail and prop-firm traders: an auto-synced trading journal, Guardian rule checks on MetaTrader 5, an AI Coach that reads your own trades, a report for TradingView Strategy Tester backtests, a Telegram trading desk and application-only coaching (Elave Bootcamp). The platform is free with no subscription and no card; Elave is funded by partner-broker (introducing-broker) relationships.

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