Topstep Rules: Combine, Funded, and Live Explained
20 min read
Understanding Topstep rules before you start trading can save you from account violations that are easy to avoid but painful to learn the hard way. Topstep has one actual rule at every stage of the program, but the objectives, payout requirements, and prohibited practices around that rule are where most traders get tripped up.
This guide covers every topstep rule and objective across all three program stages, from the Topstep Trading Combine evaluation through the Live Funded Account.
Topstep Program Overview: Account Sizes and Evaluation Path
Topstep is a futures prop firm that lets traders prove their skills in a simulated environment before trading the firm's capital in live markets. The program has three stages:
Trading Combine (evaluation): Trade in a simulated environment, hit your profit target, and follow the rules to earn funding.
Express Funded Account (XFA): A simulated funded account where you can earn real payouts based on your performance.
Live Funded Account: Trade with real capital from Topstep's prop firm.
All trading happens on TopstepX, Topstep's proprietary platform. You can trade futures products listed on the CME, COMEX, NYMEX, and CBOT exchanges. Stocks, options, forex, spot crypto, and CFDs are not available.
Topstep Trading Combine Rules and Objectives
The Trading Combine is Topstep's evaluation stage. There is no minimum number of days required to pass. Some traders pass in as few as two days. There are three account sizes:
$50K | $100K | $150K | |
|---|---|---|---|
Profit Target | $3,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
Max Position Size | 5 mini / 50 micro | 10 mini / 100 micro | 15 mini / 150 micro |
Max Loss Limit | $2,000 | $3,000 | $4,500 |
Each size is available through two pricing paths:
Standard path: Lower monthly subscription, plus a one-time activation fee after passing.
No Activation Fee path: Higher monthly subscription, no activation fee.
Both paths have the same rules, profit targets, and loss limits. The Standard path is best for newer traders who are still learning and working on their strategy. The No Activation Fee path is best for traders who are more dialed in with their strategy.
The Daily Loss Limit is an optional safety net you can add to your Trading Combine or Express Funded Account on either path. On the No Activation Fee path, opting in qualifies you for Topstep's Responsible Trading Program, which discounts your monthly subscription. DLL amounts are $1,000 for the $50K, $2,000 for the $100K, and $3,000 for the $150K. If you hit it, your trading is paused for the rest of the session, not a rule violation.
The One Rule
Do not let your account balance hit or go below the Maximum Loss Limit. That's it. This is the only rule in the Trading Combine. The topstep maximum loss limit is the single rule that can fail your account at every stage of the program. If you break it, your account becomes ineligible for funding and must be reset to continue toward funding.
The MLL is a trailing drawdown based on your highest end-of-day balance. It rises as your account grows but never drops back down. For a $50K account, the MLL starts at $48,000 ($50,000 starting balance minus the $2,000 drawdown). If you make $500 on Day 1 (balance: $50,500), your MLL moves up to $48,500. If you lose $500 on Day 2 (balance: $50,000), the MLL stays at $48,500. Once the MLL reaches your starting balance, it locks there permanently.
Both realized and unrealized P&L count toward the topstep drawdown, and it's monitored in real time. If an open trade pushes your balance to the MLL, your account is liquidated immediately.
Objectives
Objectives are goals you need to hit to pass, but breaking them doesn't end your account the way breaking the rule does.
Profit Target: Reach and maintain the net profit target for your account size: $3,000 for the $50K, $6,000 for the $100K, and $9,000 for the $150K.
Consistency Target: Your single best trading day cannot account for more than 50% of your total profits. That means your best day should stay below $1,500 on the $50K, below $3,000 on the $100K, and below $4,500 on the $150K.
If your best day exceeds 50%, your profit target increases. Your best day is locked into your account history and can't be changed, even if you're in a drawdown. The only way to get the ratio back below 50% is to keep trading and earn additional profits. For example, if you make $1,700 on your best day in a $50K account, your new profit target becomes $3,400 ($1,700 ÷ 0.50) instead of the original $3,000. You'd need that extra $400 in profits from other days to bring your best day percentage below 50%.
Passing the Combine
When you hit the profit target while meeting the Consistency Target and staying above the Maximum Loss Limit, you pass. Profits from the Trading Combine do not transfer to your Express Funded Account. After passing, you have 30 days to activate your Express Funded Account. There is no limit on the total number of Trading Combines you can have active at once.
Resets
If you break the Maximum Loss Limit or simply want a fresh start, you can reset your Trading Combine. A reset returns your account to the original starting balance with all parameters cleared.
You have two options for a topstep reset. You can purchase one at any time for the same cost as your monthly subscription, or you can wait for your next monthly rebill. Each rebill adds a Reset Credit to your Reset Bank, which you can use at any time. You can purchase up to 2 resets per day per account.
Express Funded Account Rules and Payout Paths
After passing the Trading Combine, you earn an Express Funded Account (XFA). This is a simulated funded account where you can earn real payouts. Your XFA starts with a $0 balance, and you build it up through trading.
The One Rule
Same as the Combine: do not hit or go below the Maximum Loss Limit. The MLL carries over from the Trading Combine you passed: $2,000 for the $50K, $3,000 for the $100K, and $4,500 for the $150K. After your first payout, the MLL locks at $0 permanently. In the XFA, breaking this rule permanently closes the account.
The MLL trails the same way as the Combine, but your account starts at $0. For a $50K XFA, your MLL begins at -$2,000. As your balance grows, the MLL trails up. Once you take your first payout, the MLL locks at $0 and stays there. From that point, your balance must stay above $0. Both realized and unrealized P&L count, including open trades.
The MLL cannot be adjusted or changed by Topstep for any account. Tools like Tanto can help you track your drawdown across accounts by auto-syncing trades from TopstepX or ProjectX.
Key Differences from the Combine
No profit target. There's no set balance you need to reach to stay funded.
No Consistency Target in XFA Standard. (XFA Consistency has its own 40% target, covered below.)
Scaling Plan replaces Maximum Position Size. Your contract limit is tied to your account balance and updates at the end of each trading day. As your balance grows, you can trade more contracts. If it drops (say, after a payout), your contract limit may decrease. Full scaling tiers are in the Scaling Plan section below.
Two Payout Paths
When you activate your XFA, you choose between two payout structures. Once selected, it cannot be changed for that account.
XFA Standard | XFA Consistency | |
|---|---|---|
Payout Eligibility | 5 winning days of $150+ | 3 trading days with 40% consistency |
Max Per Payout ($50K / $100K / $150K) | $2,000 / $3,000 / $5,000 | $3,000 / $4,000 / $6,000 |
Payout Amount | Up to 50% of account balance | Up to 50% of account balance |
Profit Split | 90/10 (you keep 90%) | 90/10 (you keep 90%) |
XFA Standard: You need five non-consecutive winning days where your net P&L is $150 or more. After your first payout, you must also be profitable since your last payout (even by $0.01) before requesting the next one. This is called the Eligible Payout Balance requirement.
XFA Consistency: You need a minimum of three trading days with at least one trade per day. Your largest single trading day cannot exceed 40% of your total net profit during the payout window. After a payout, the consistency calculation resets and applies only to profits earned after that payout.
On both paths, once you take your first payout, your Maximum Loss Limit locks at $0 permanently. That means your balance can never go negative from that point forward. Any money in your XFA is always at risk and can be lost through trading.
Scaling Plan
The topstep scaling plan determines how many contracts you can trade based on your XFA account balance. On TopstepX, micros and minis use a 10:1 ratio (1 mini = 10 micros).
Account Size | $0-$1,500 Balance | $1,500-$2,000 Balance | $2,000-$3,000 Balance | $3,000-$4,500 Balance | $4,500+ Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$50K | 2 Lots | 3 Lots | 5 Lots | — | — |
$100K | 3 Lots | 4 Lots | 5 Lots | 10 Lots | — |
$150K | 3 Lots | 4 Lots | 5 Lots | 10 Lots | 15 Lots |
Account Limits
You can have up to 5 active Express Funded Accounts at one time. You can mix account sizes and payout types (Standard and Consistency). If no trades are placed on an XFA for more than 30 days, it may be closed due to inactivity.
Back2Funded
Topstep Back2Funded is a reactivation option for traders who lose an Express Funded Account before their first payout. Instead of going back through the Trading Combine, you can pay a fee to reactivate the same account with the same size and payout policy.
To be eligible, your account must have been closed due to a Maximum Loss Limit breach, and you must be in good standing with Topstep. You can reactivate the same XFA up to 2 times. You have 7 calendar days from account closure to decide. If you don't act within that window, the offer expires automatically.
Back2Funded is not available after you've taken a payout from that account.
Topstep Live Funded Account Rules and Payout Policy
The Live Funded Account (LFA) is where you trade real capital, and where topstep funded account rules carry the most weight. Topstep's Risk Team decides when to call you up, typically between your 3rd and 5th Express Funded Account payout, based on factors like consistency, risk management, position sizing, and use of stops. You cannot decline the call-up. When you're moved to Live, all your Express Funded Accounts are closed.
Starting Balance and Unlock Structure
When you're called up to Live, Topstep calculates two things:
Your Live account size is based on the average account size of your eligible XFAs (those with at least one payout), rounded up to the nearest tier ($50K, $100K, or $150K).
Your actual starting balance equals the combined total balance of your eligible XFAs, capped at your Live account size. At activation:
20% of your starting balance is available for trading. The remaining 80% is held in reserve.
The reserve unlocks in 4 equal increments as you hit profit milestones.
Those milestones are the same profit targets as the Trading Combine ($3,000 / $6,000 / $9,000, based on your Live account size).
Net profits are measured after market close on Friday. The Risk Team reviews each Monday after market close, and if you qualify, funds are typically deposited by Tuesday.
The table below shows how the unlock structure works by account size. Each unlock requires hitting the net profit target for your Live account size:
$50K Account | $100K Account | $150K Account | |
|---|---|---|---|
Starting Balance (20%) | Up to $10K | Up to $20K | Up to $30K |
1st Unlock | Up to $10K | Up to $20K | Up to $30K |
2nd Unlock | Up to $10K | Up to $20K | Up to $30K |
3rd Unlock | Up to $10K | Up to $20K | Up to $30K |
4th Unlock | Up to $10K | Up to $20K | Up to $30K |
Net Profit Target Per Unlock | $3K | $6K | $9K |
The amounts shown are maximums based on a full starting balance at each account size. Your actual amounts depend on what you built up across your eligible XFAs.
For example, if you have four XFAs averaging $87.5K in account size, your Live account size rounds up to $100K. If your combined XFA balances total $75K, your starting balance is $75K. At activation, $15K (20%) is available for trading and $60K is held in reserve. Each time you hit $6,000 in net profit (the $100K profit target), another 25% increment unlocks from your reserve. This continues until 100% of your starting balance has been made available for trading.
If your 20% starting amount would be below $10,000, Topstep may provide additional capital from your reserve to bring it up to $10,000. Any combined XFA balance exceeding your Live account size does not transfer.
The One Rule
In the Live Funded Account, your balance cannot drop below $1,000. If it does, the account is permanently closed at the end of the trading day. The remaining balance is sent to you as a final payout before the account is closed. Both realized and unrealized P&L count, including open trades.
One thing to watch: NFA and exchange fees don't hit your account in real time. They post around 2:00 AM CT the next day. If you end the day right above $1,000 and those fees push your balance below it overnight, your Live Funded Account will be closed.
Live Account Expectations
You are expected to place a protective stop on every open position and be reachable at your registered phone number while actively trading. If no trades are placed for 90 days, your Live account is permanently closed.
Daily Loss Limit in Live
The topstep daily loss limit is an objective, not a rule. It is automatically applied in the Live Funded Account. In the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account, it is optional. Breaking the DLL does not close your account.
If your net P&L hits or exceeds the DLL during the trading day (5:00 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT), your positions are flattened, pending orders are canceled, and you're locked out until the next session at 5:00 PM CT.
Live accounts start with the following limits based on account size:
$50K Account | $100K Account | $150K Account | |
|---|---|---|---|
Daily Loss Limit | $2,000 | $3,000 | $4,500 |
Starting Contract Limit | 5 Lots | 10 Lots | 15 Lots |
If your tradable balance drops to $10,000 or below (regardless of account size), the Daily Loss Limit is reduced to $2,000 with a maximum position size of 5. If it drops to $5,000 or below, the DLL is further reduced to $1,000 with a maximum position size of 3.
Dynamic Risk Expansion
As you profit in your Live Funded Account, Topstep's Dynamic Risk Expansion system increases your Daily Loss Limit and buying power tier by tier. Your net profit determines your tier, and you must spend 10 active trading days at each tier before your DLL increases. Only profits made in the Live Funded Account count. Your XFA transfer balance and any payouts do not affect your tier.
Your DLL increases at the end of the trading day after you've completed 10 active days in a tier. If your net profit drops below your current tier at the end of the day, your DLL scales back down that same day. If you reach a tier but don't hold it for 10 active days and your balance drops, the counter resets the next time you re-enter that tier.
An active trading day has no minimum P&L or trade size requirement. Even a single micro contract trade qualifies. You must move one tier at a time. Skipping tiers is not allowed.
At higher profit levels, your buying power also expands:
Buying Power (minis) | Profit | Daily Loss Limit* |
|---|---|---|
Up to 100 lots | $1M | Up to $100,000 |
Up to 70 lots | $550K | Up to $50,000 |
Up to 50 lots | $200K | Up to $20,000 |
Up to 30 lots | $100K | Up to $10,000 |
— | $50K | Up to $6,000 |
— | $20K | Up to $5,500 |
— | $15K | Up to $5,000 |
*DLL amounts reflect a $150K account size and will vary for smaller accounts.
Traders in Tier 4 or higher with a minimum account balance of $100,000 can request expanded contract sizing beyond the standard limits. This is not automatic and requires Risk Team approval.
The Risk Team may also adjust your DLL and contract limits outside of the tier system based on your net equity. These adjustments can happen once your Live account reaches $10,000 net equity for a $50K account, $15,000 for a $100K, or $20,000 for a $150K. These are discretionary and can go in either direction, higher or lower.
Payout Rules in Live
You need 5 Benchmark Trading Days (days where you earn $150+ in net P&L) before your first topstep payout and between each subsequent payout. Winning days earned in an Express Funded Account do not count toward your Live total.
Payouts are limited to 50% of your share of Trading Profits until you reach 30 Benchmark Trading Days in your Live account.
After 30 Benchmark Trading Days, you can request up to 100% of your share and can request one payout per business day.
The profit split is 90/10 (you keep 90%).
Total payouts cannot exceed 90% of your starting balance plus net trading profits. Topstep monitors this and may adjust amounts to stay within the limit.
Minimum payout request is $125.
Performance Bonuses
Topstep offers a Live Performance Bonus program where consistently profitable Live traders can earn over $250,000 in cash bonuses. Bonuses unlock one level at a time, with a maximum of one bonus per calendar month. If you qualify for multiple levels in the same month, only the first is paid. These are independent of payouts and balance expansion. Full details are available in Topstep's help center.
Path to Reduction and Shoulder Tap
If your Live account experiences a significant drawdown from your starting balance, Topstep's Risk Team may initiate a Shoulder Tap. This is a review of your trading behavior where the Risk Team may adjust your contract size or Daily Loss Limit to help you stabilize.
If the drawdown continues, you may be "called down" to a Shoulder Tap Express Funded Account, a single simulated account with your remaining Live capital. There is no warning before a call-down. Back2Funded is not available for Shoulder Tap accounts. If you lose the Shoulder Tap XFA, any remaining Live reserve is forfeited.
You can be called back up to Live once you demonstrate consistent performance again, but it's not guaranteed.
Topstep Trading Rules: Hours, Commissions, and Limits
Commissions and Fees
Starting April 12, 2026, commissions apply to all trades across the Trading Combine, Express Funded Account, and Live Funded Account:
Minis: $0.50 per side ($1.00 round turn)
Micros: $0.25 per side ($0.50 round turn)
Commissions are automatically deducted from each trade. You can see a breakdown in your TopstepX dashboard.
Trading Hours
All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT Monday through Friday, or by the product's market close, whichever comes first. Trading resumes at 5:00 PM CT. After the weekend, trading resumes Sunday at 5:00 PM CT. No swing trading or overnight holds are allowed.
Some futures products close before 3:10 PM CT (for example, CBOT grains close at 1:20 PM CT). If you're trading one of those, you need to exit before that product's close.
Holiday trading schedules are published by Topstep. Topstep will attempt to send email reminders, but it's your responsibility to check the schedule.
Copy Trading
Copy trading across multiple accounts is allowed using Topstep's trade copier. You can duplicate trades across up to 5 Express Funded Accounts. However, you are responsible for all activity across your accounts, including positions created by copy trading software or automated systems. If a payout is processing on an XFA with copy trading active, the connection is automatically disabled. You'll need to manually re-enable it after the payout is processed.
Automated Trading
Automated trading strategies are allowed at all stages of the Topstep program. Topstep will not help set up or troubleshoot automated strategies and will not make exceptions for errant trades or malfunctions. Automated trading through the ProjectX API is prohibited in the Live Funded Account.
Account Limits
Trading Combines: No limit on the number of active accounts, but you can purchase a maximum of 10 new subscriptions per month.
Express Funded Accounts: Up to 5 active at one time.
Live Funded Accounts: 1 at a time.
Single profile policy: You can only have one Topstep profile. Multiple profiles for a single user is a Terms of Use violation that can result in account closure or suspension.
Prohibited Trading Practices
Topstep has a list of Prohibited Conduct that applies at all program levels. Violations are handled on a case-by-case basis. Consequences range from a warning, to deletion of the impacted trading day, to a reset, to permanent account closure, to denial of a payout request. Prohibited Conduct does not result in a fee to reset your account.
Key prohibited practices include:
Account stacking: Aggressively trading to blow one account, then switching to another and repeating until you get a big win.
Cross-account hedging: Taking opposite positions across multiple accounts (your own or in coordination with others).
Sim exploitation: Running scalping algorithms for unrealistic fills, making hundreds of rapid trades for preferential queue position, exploiting stray fills in gapped markets, or using tight brackets and auto-breakeven strategies designed to take advantage of the simulated environment.
Trading within 2% of a price limit: You cannot trade a product when its net change on the day is within 2% of the CME price limit. For example, if a product has a 7% price limit, you should stop trading once the net change exceeds 5% in either direction.
Max position into major news events: Intentionally loading up your full position size going into a news release.
Using external or slow data feeds to gain an execution advantage.
Trading on behalf of others or sharing incentives as part of a business arrangement.
Spoofing and other disruptive market practices.
Trading outside the best bid or offer: Executing trades at prices outside the current best bid or offer.
Circumventing geographical restrictions: Bypassing location-based availability restrictions for Topstep's services.
Intentionally depleting a Live Funded Account balance to force a failure.
If Topstep sees patterns of reckless or irresponsible trading (like blowing multiple accounts in a day, maxing position size on most trades, or never using stops), you may be placed in the Responsible Trading Program (RTP). Topstep's Risk Team makes this decision based on your trading behavior over time, and placement can happen with or without prior warning. When placed in RTP, all new Express Funded Accounts must use the Consistency payout path, and a Daily Loss Limit is added to your accounts. You can still have up to 5 XFAs and purchase any Combine type. After 6 months, Topstep reviews your account for graduation.
For more serious or repeated issues, you may be placed in the Focused Trader Plan (FTP). FTP places you on one of two paths based on the reason for your placement:
Corrective Path: For traders who have repeatedly violated the Terms of Use after multiple warnings. All current accounts are closed, pending payouts are denied, and you're limited to one active $50K account at a time for six months. After six months of consistent trading and $10K in net Live Funded Account profits (or demonstrated good trading behavior), you can request a Risk Team review.
Slowdown Path: For traders who follow the Terms of Use but show patterns of unsustainable trading, like activating and losing many XFAs in a short period, overtrading, or excessive resets. You can keep trading existing accounts, but you cannot purchase new Trading Combines, Resets, or Back2Funded reactivations. If all your accounts close or expire, you're moved into the full Focused Trader Program structure: one active $50K account at a time, with the same review requirements as the Corrective Path.
A review on either path does not guarantee approval to rejoin the regular program.
Bottom Line
The topstep rules come down to one rule at every stage: don't hit the Maximum Loss Limit. It trails your highest end-of-day balance, it counts open trades, and it can't be adjusted. Everything else, the Consistency Target in the Combine, the Scaling Plan in the XFA, the Daily Loss Limit in Live, is an objective with softer consequences. The real complexity is in the payout mechanics, which differ between the XFA Standard, XFA Consistency, and Live account levels. Topstep updates their rules regularly, so check the help center for the latest.
By Team Tanto · Last updated: May 3, 2026