What is time limit?
A time limit is the deadline for passing an evaluation phase. Long fixed at 30 or 60 days, it has largely disappeared among recent firms, replaced by minimum activity requirements.
It is one of the few constraints in the industry to have loosened over time, and it is a real gain for traders.
How the market moved
Early challenges gave 30 days for the first phase and 60 for the second. That constraint invited mistakes: a trader behind target with a few days left would size up, and fail.
Competition has removed the rule at most firms. Almost none of the recent entrants impose any deadline at all: you pass when you pass.
What replaced it
Two mechanisms took over, less binding but perfectly real.
The inactivity clause closes an account that has gone without a single trade for a set period — often 14 to 30 consecutive days. It sometimes applies to funded accounts too, which penalises a trader going on holiday.
The monthly subscription, on the futures segment, produces an equivalent effect through cost: nothing forces you to pass quickly, but every extra month is paid for.
Why it matters by style
For a scalper or an active intraday trader, the absence of a limit changes little: the target plays out over a few weeks either way.
For a selective approach — swing trading, event trading, low-frequency strategies — it is decisive. Waiting three weeks for the right setup becomes possible, which is exactly what sound risk management asks for.
If your method produces few signals, the absence of a time limit should weigh heavily in your choice of firm.
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Related terms
- Challenge A challenge is the paid evaluation a prop firm sells. The trader must reach a profit target without crossing the imposed loss limits, on a simulated account. Passing it gives access to a funded account.
- Minimum trading days A minimum trading day requirement forces you to record a set number of active sessions before passing a phase. Generally 1 to 5 days, it rules out passes obtained on a single position.
- Profit target A profit target is the gain a trader must achieve to pass an evaluation phase. Expressed as a percentage of nominal capital, generally 6 to 10 % in the first phase, it is often halved in the second.
- Swing trading Swing trading holds positions for several days or weeks. On a prop firm account it requires overnight and weekend holding to be allowed, and it sits badly with an intraday trailing drawdown.