Time limit — A maximum number of days in which an evaluation must be completed before the account expires.
How time limit works in prop trading
Older evaluation formats capped the time you had — commonly 30 days for phase 1 and 60 for phase 2 — and the account expired if the target was not met. The industry has largely abandoned this. Most futures programs now advertise no time limit, and several forex-style firms have followed.
Where no time limit exists, the recurring monthly fee usually replaces it as the pressure. An unlimited evaluation billed monthly costs you every month you take, which produces a softer version of the same incentive without the cliff edge. When comparing, treat 'no time limit' as meaning 'the deadline is now financial rather than absolute'.
Key points
- Most futures evaluations no longer impose a hard deadline.
- Monthly billing replaces the deadline with a running cost for slow progress.
- Inactivity rules still apply — no time limit does not mean you can leave an account dormant.
- Where a time limit does exist, it usually applies per phase rather than to the whole evaluation.
Also known as
- no time limit
- evaluation deadline
- challenge time limit
- unlimited challenge
Frequently asked questions
Do prop firms still have time limits?
Most futures firms have removed them, and unlimited evaluations are now the norm. Some forex-style two-step programs retain per-phase limits. The inactivity rule is separate and still applies to accounts left untraded.
Is a no-time-limit challenge better?
It removes the pressure to force trades against a deadline, which is a real benefit. Against that, a monthly-billed unlimited account can cost more than a time-limited one-off fee if you take several months. Price the expected duration.
Put this into practice
Time limit is described here as a plain-language educational definition. Firms, platforms, and account programs may apply different conditions or calculations. Verify the current official terms before using this definition to make an account decision.