TradeDay Evaluation Rules 2026: Complete Objectives Guide

Written by Paul

Published on

January 8, 2026

You're staring at TradeDay's evaluation dashboard trying to figure out exactly what you need to do to pass. The website mentions profit targets, trading days, consistency rules, and drawdown limits, but how do they all work together? And which one is most likely to trip you up?

I've passed four TradeDay evaluations and failed three others. Every failure taught me something about how these rules actually work in practice versus how they sound in theory. The consistency rule isn't just "don't make more than 30% in one day" — there's math involved. The 5-day minimum has specific definitions. And the drawdown limits work completely differently depending on which type you chose.

This is your complete breakdown of every evaluation objective at TradeDay. Not the marketing version, not the FAQ snippets — the actual rules you need to follow to get funded, with real examples of how they play out when you're in the middle of trading.

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TradeDay and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.

For the absolute latest, check TradeDay´s website or their faq page.

The Five Core Objectives You Must Hit

TradeDay evaluations aren't pass/fail on just one metric. You need to satisfy all five objectives simultaneously to qualify for funding:

Profit Target: Hit your required profit amount based on account size
Minimum Trading Days: Trade on at least 5 separate days (with specific criteria for what counts)
Consistency Rule: No single day can account for more than 30% of your total profit
Maximum Drawdown: Stay within your drawdown limit (varies by type you chose)
Trading Rules Compliance: Follow all position limits, product restrictions, and prohibited practices

Fail any one of these and your evaluation is over. You can't pass with 4 out of 5. They're all mandatory.

The good news? Once you understand what each objective actually requires, they're all achievable. The bad news? Most traders fail on technicalities, not because their strategy doesn't work.

Objective #1: Profit Targets by Account Size

Your profit target is the easiest objective to understand but not always the easiest to hit.

The Target Amounts

Here's what you need to make based on which account size you picked:

$50K account: $1,500 profit (3% of starting balance)
$100K account: $2,500 profit (2.5% of starting balance)
$150K account: $3,750 profit (2.5% of starting balance)

Notice the $50K requires a higher percentage return than the larger accounts. That's intentional — TradeDay wants to make sure $50K traders can handle the smaller position limits before getting funded.

How Profit Is Calculated

Your profit is measured from your starting balance to your closed balance at the time you request evaluation review. Unrealized profit doesn't count until you close the position.

So if you started at $100,000, made $2,200 in closed trades, and have a position open with $400 unrealized profit, your actual profit toward the target is $2,200. Not $2,600.

This matters because some traders think they've hit their target when they're including open positions. Close everything first, then check if you're actually there.

Can You Go Over the Target?

Yes, and you should. There's no penalty for exceeding your profit target. In fact, going a few hundred dollars over is smart because it gives you buffer room if you need to take one more trade to hit your 5-day minimum and that trade ends up being a small loser.

Example: You hit $2,600 on a $100K account (target is $2,500). You have 4 trading days completed. You need one more day to satisfy the minimum. If you take a trade and lose $150, you're still at $2,450 — above your target and good to pass.

For specific strategies on hitting different profit targets efficiently, check the profit target guide.

Objective #2: Minimum 5 Trading Days

This is where it gets technical. You can't just hit your profit target in 2 days and call it done. TradeDay wants to see you trade on at least 5 separate days.

What Actually Counts as a Trading Day

A day counts toward your minimum if you meet both of these criteria:

You opened at least one position (any size)
You held that position for longer than the minimum time threshold (typically a few minutes — exact threshold isn't publicly disclosed but appears to be 2-5 minutes)

Opening a position, immediately closing it, and walking away doesn't count. You need to have actual market exposure.

Real Examples of Valid vs Invalid Days

Valid Day #1: You trade 2 contracts of NQ, hold for 8 minutes, close for +$300 profit. This counts.

Valid Day #2: You trade 1 micro ES, hold for 20 minutes, close for -$80 loss. This counts. Losing days count toward your minimum.

Invalid Day #1: You open 1 NQ, immediately realize you hit the wrong button, close it 30 seconds later for -$10. This probably doesn't count — too short.

Invalid Day #2: You don't trade at all that day. Obviously doesn't count.

Invalid Day #3: You only hold an overnight position you opened the previous day, don't open any new positions today. Doesn't count — you need to open a position on that calendar day for it to count.

The Calendar Day Rules

Trading days are based on Central Time calendar days, not 24-hour periods from when you opened your account. So:

Day 1: Monday, January 6, 2026
Day 2: Tuesday, January 7, 2026
Day 3: Wednesday, January 8, 2026
etc.

If you trade Monday morning and Monday evening, that's one trading day, not two. If you trade Monday evening at 11:00 PM CT and then Tuesday at 12:30 AM CT, that's two trading days.

Weekend and Holiday Trading

Futures markets are open Sunday evening through Friday afternoon. If you trade on a Sunday evening (after 5:00 PM CT), that counts as Monday's trading day in TradeDay's system — because it's part of Monday's trading session.

Holidays when futures markets are closed don't count toward anything. You can't trade, so you can't create a trading day.

Completing Your 5 Days Efficiently

Most traders spread their 5 days across a week or two. But you could technically complete all 5 days in 5 consecutive trading sessions if you want — Monday through Friday of one week.

The key is making sure you're actually opening positions on 5 separate calendar days and holding them long enough to register. Don't try to game it with 1-minute trades. Just trade normally and the days will accumulate.

For the full technical definition and edge cases, see what counts as a trading day.

Objective #3: The 30% Consistency Rule

This is the objective that catches the most traders off guard. You can't just hit your profit target and call it done — you need to distribute your profit across multiple days so no single day accounts for more than 30% of your total.

The Formula

The math is simple:

Single Day Profit ÷ Total Profit = Percentage for That Day

If that percentage exceeds 30%, you fail the consistency objective — even if you've hit your profit target.

Example: Passing Consistency

You're trading a $100K account (need $2,500 profit):

Day 1: +$600
Day 2: +$400
Day 3: +$700
Day 4: +$300
Day 5: +$500
Total: $2,500

Your biggest day was Day 3 at $700. That's 700 ÷ 2,500 = 28% of your total profit. You pass consistency because 28% is under the 30% threshold.

Example: Failing Consistency

Same account, different distribution:

Day 1: +$1,200
Day 2: +$400
Day 3: +$600
Day 4: +$100
Day 5: +$200
Total: $2,500

Your biggest day was Day 1 at $1,200. That's 1,200 ÷ 2,500 = 48% of your total profit. You fail consistency even though you hit your profit target.

How Losing Days Affect Consistency

This is where it gets interesting. Losing days reduce your total profit, which increases the percentage contribution of your winning days.

Example:

Day 1: +$800
Day 2: +$1,000
Day 3: -$300 (losing day)
Day 4: +$600
Day 5: +$400
Total: $2,500 (after the -$300)

Your biggest day is Day 2 at $1,000. But now that's 1,000 ÷ 2,500 = 40% of your total profit. You fail, even though Day 2 was only $1,000 — because the losing day reduced your denominator.

This is why consistency is tricky. Big losing days hurt you twice: they reduce your profit AND they make it harder to stay under 30% on your winning days.

For a detailed calculator and strategy guide, check the consistency rule breakdown.

Strategies to Stay Consistent

The easiest way to pass consistency is to spread your profit evenly across multiple days. Aim for roughly equal-sized winners every day you trade.

If you're going for $2,500 on a $100K account and you trade 7 days, that's ~$357 per day. No single day would be anywhere close to 30%.

Avoid the temptation to "lock in" a big day early. If you make $1,500 on Day 1, you now need to make at least $3,500 total profit to keep Day 1 under 30% (because 1,500 ÷ 5,000 = 30%). That's double your original target.

Objective #4: Maximum Drawdown Limits

Your max drawdown is the line you can't cross. Hit it and your evaluation fails instantly — no warning, no grace period, account over.

Drawdown Amounts by Account Size

These are the maximum drawdown limits for each account size:

$50K account: $2,000 max drawdown
$100K account: $3,000 max drawdown
$150K account: $4,000 max drawdown

But how this drawdown is calculated depends entirely on which drawdown type you chose when you signed up.

Intraday Trailing Drawdown

Calculated in real-time during the trading session based on unrealized profit and loss. Resets to your closed balance at market close (4:10 PM CT).

If you're trading a $100K account and you make $500 on Trade 1, then take Trade 2 which goes against you by $800 unrealized, your drawdown is $800 from your peak. If that trade goes another $2,200 against you (for $3,000 total unrealized loss), you hit max drawdown and fail.

The killer here is unrealized losses count immediately. You don't get to see if the trade comes back.

End-of-Day (EOD) Trailing Drawdown

Calculated only at market close. What happens during the session doesn't matter — only where you end the day.

Same scenario: You make $500, then take a trade that goes -$3,000 unrealized. Under EOD, your drawdown isn't triggered until 4:10 PM CT. If you fight your way back and close the day at +$200 total, you never hit drawdown. The -$3,000 unrealized didn't count because it recovered before close.

This is why EOD is way more forgiving for most traders.

Static Drawdown

Fixed limits that never change. You get a maximum total drawdown and a maximum daily loss:

$50K Static:

Max total drawdown: $2,000 (account can drop to $48,000)
Max daily loss: $500 (can't lose more than this in any single day)

$100K Static:

Max total drawdown: $3,000 (account can drop to $97,000)
Max daily loss: $750

$150K Static:

Max total drawdown: $4,000 (account can drop to $146,000)
Max daily loss: $1,000

The daily loss limit is what kills most static traders. You could be up $2,000 overall, but if you lose $800 in one day on a $100K account, you fail — even though your total drawdown is fine.

For a complete comparison of how these work in practice, see the drawdown types comparison.

Objective #5: Trading Rules Compliance

Beyond the big four objectives, you need to follow TradeDay's operational trading rules. Violate any of these and you fail, regardless of your profit or consistency.

Position Limits

You're restricted on how many contracts you can trade at once based on account size:

Standard Futures Contracts:

$50K: 1 contract max
$100K: 2 contracts max
$150K: 3 contracts max

Micro Futures Contracts:

$50K: 10 micros max (equals 1 standard)
$100K: 20 micros max (equals 2 standard)
$150K: 30 micros max (equals 3 standard)

Ten micros = one standard contract. So on a $100K account, you could trade 2 ES (standard) OR 20 MES (micros) OR 1 ES + 10 MES. As long as the total doesn't exceed 2 standard-equivalent contracts.

If you accidentally enter a trade with 3 contracts on a $100K account, your evaluation fails immediately. The platform should prevent this, but some trading platforms don't have TradeDay's limits built in — so you need to manage it yourself.

Full details in the position limits guide.

Permitted Products

You can trade any futures contract offered through your trading platform, with some restrictions:

Fully Permitted: ES, NQ, YM, RTY (equity indices), CL (crude oil), GC (gold), SI (silver), HG (copper), NG (natural gas), ZB/ZN/ZF (bonds/notes), 6E (Euro), 6J (Yen), and most other standard futures.

Not Permitted: Some obscure or illiquid futures may be restricted. If you're trading anything beyond the major contracts, double-check with TradeDay support first.

Micro Contracts: MES, MNQ, M2K, MYM, and all other micro versions are fully permitted and count toward position limits as described above.

See the complete permitted products list.

Trading Hours

You can trade during normal futures market hours, but you must close all positions by 4:10 PM CT (the official futures market close for most contracts).

If you have an open position at 4:10 PM CT and it's not closed, TradeDay may close it for you or your evaluation may be flagged for review. The safest approach: close everything by 4:00 PM CT to avoid any risk.

Exception: Some traders hold overnight positions that were opened during permitted hours and closed the next day. This is generally allowed as long as the position was opened during the normal trading session and your drawdown type accommodates overnight holds.

For exact trading windows and edge cases, see the trading hours guide.

Prohibited Practices

These will get you banned even if you hit all five objectives:

Tier 1 News Trading: You cannot trade within 2 minutes before or after major economic news releases (NFP, FOMC, CPI, etc.). TradeDay may auto-liquidate your positions if you're in a trade during a restricted news event.
Hedging Across Accounts: You can't be long on one TradeDay account and short on another simultaneously.
Gaming the Algorithm: Attempting to exploit TradeDay's simulated trading environment, order routing, or evaluation rules will get you permanently banned.
Using Prohibited Software: Some commercial copy-trading platforms and certain EAs/bots are not allowed.

For the complete prohibited practices list, see the prohibited practices guide.

Putting It All Together: What a Successful Evaluation Looks Like

Let's run through a realistic passing evaluation on a $100K EOD account:

Starting Balance: $100,000
Profit Target: $2,500
Max Drawdown: $3,000 (EOD trailing)
Drawdown Type: EOD

Day 1 (Monday): Trade 2 MNQ contracts, hold overnight. Close next morning for +$450 profit. Closed balance: $100,450.

Day 2 (Tuesday): Day trade 1 ES contract. In and out three times. End the day +$320. Closed balance: $100,770.

Day 3 (Wednesday): Terrible day. Take two losing trades, down -$480 for the day. Closed balance: $100,290.

Day 4 (Thursday): Good morning session. Up +$610 for the day. Closed balance: $100,900.

Day 5 (Friday): Moderate day. Up +$380. Closed balance: $101,280.

Day 6 (Monday): Strong session. Up +$680. Closed balance: $101,960.

Day 7 (Tuesday): Solid morning. Up +$580. Closed balance: $102,540.

Evaluation Complete:

✅ Profit Target: $2,540 (target was $2,500)
✅ Trading Days: 7 days (minimum was 5)
✅ Consistency: Biggest day was $680, which is 680 ÷ 2,540 = 26.8% (under 30%)
✅ Max Drawdown: Worst day was -$480, well within the $3,000 trailing limit
✅ Rules Compliance: No position limit violations, no prohibited practices

You pass. Account goes to review, then you're funded within 24-48 hours.

Notice this wasn't perfect trading. Day 3 was a loser. Most days were moderate wins. The key was consistent execution without violating any rules.

For proven strategies to pass evaluations like this, see the evaluation strategies guide.

What Happens When You Pass All Five Objectives

Once you've satisfied all five objectives, you don't automatically get funded. You need to request evaluation review from your TradeDay dashboard.

TradeDay's team reviews your trading activity to verify:

All objectives were met legitimately
No rule violations occurred
Your trading was consistent with normal market behavior
No signs of gaming or exploiting the system

This review typically takes 24-48 hours. If everything checks out, you're moved to Funded Sim status (or Funded Live if you upgrade). That's when you start trading real capital and earning payouts.

If they find issues during review, they'll contact you or deny the funding request. Most denials happen due to prohibited practices violations that traders weren't aware of — like trading during restricted news windows.

For what happens after you pass, see the after passing evaluation guide.

Complete Evaluation Requirements Table

Here's every requirement across all account sizes in one place:

Objective	$50K Account	$100K Account	$150K Account
Profit Target	$1,500 (3%)	$2,500 (2.5%)	$3,750 (2.5%)
Minimum Trading Days	5 days	5 days	5 days
Consistency Rule	Max 30% per day	Max 30% per day	Max 30% per day
Max Drawdown (Trailing)	$2,000	$3,000	$4,000
Max Daily Loss (Static Only)	$500	$750	$1,000
Position Limits (Standard)	1 contract	2 contracts	3 contracts
Position Limits (Micros)	10 micros	20 micros	30 micros
Trading Hours Requirement	Close by 4:10 PM CT	Close by 4:10 PM CT	Close by 4:10 PM CT
Permitted Products	Most futures contracts	Most futures contracts	Most futures contracts
News Trading Restriction	No Tier 1 news trading	No Tier 1 news trading	No Tier 1 news trading

Notice how most rules stay the same across account sizes. The main differences are profit targets, drawdown limits, and position sizing — everything else is consistent.

Common Ways Traders Fail Evaluations

Here are the most common failure points:

Failure #1: Hitting Max Drawdown (35-40% of failures)Usually happens because traders don't understand how their drawdown type calculates. Intraday trailing users get wrecked by unrealized losses. Static users get killed by one big losing day.

Failure #2: Violating Consistency Rule (20-25% of failures)Traders hit a huge day early, then can't make enough additional profit to keep that day under 30%. Or they take several losing days which inflate their winning day percentages.

Failure #3: Position Limit Violations (15-20% of failures)Accidentally trading 3 contracts on a $100K account or not realizing that 25 micros = 2.5 standard contracts and exceeding limits.

Failure #4: News Trading Violations (10-15% of failures)Having an open position during NFP or FOMC without realizing those are restricted Tier 1 events. TradeDay may auto-liquidate or fail the account.

Failure #5: Not Hitting 5 Days (5-10% of failures)Traders hit their profit target in 3-4 days and think they're done, but they haven't satisfied the minimum trading days requirement. Or they're only holding positions opened on previous days rather than opening new positions.

For specific mistakes and how to avoid them, see the common drawdown mistakes guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to complete my evaluation?

There's no time limit. Your evaluation stays active as long as you maintain your monthly subscription. You could take 6 months to pass if you wanted (though that would be expensive). Most traders complete evaluations in 2-4 weeks.

Can I reset if I fail an objective?

Yes. If you hit max drawdown or violate a rule, you can immediately pay the reset fee and start a fresh evaluation with a new account. Reset fees range from $75-189 depending on account size and drawdown type.

Do I need to trade every single day to hit 5 trading days?

No. You just need to trade on 5 separate calendar days total. You could trade Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Monday, Wednesday — that's 5 days spread across 10 calendar days. There's no requirement to trade consecutively.

What happens if I'm at $2,499 profit on Day 5 and my next trade loses?

You're still fine as long as you don't hit max drawdown. You just need to keep trading until you get back above $2,500. The profit target is cumulative — you don't need to stay above it continuously.

Can I trade on weekends?

Futures markets don't trade on Saturdays. They open Sunday evening at 5:00 PM CT, and that session counts as Monday. So yes, you can trade Sunday evenings, and it will count toward your trading days.

Does passing faster look better to TradeDay?

No. TradeDay doesn't care if you pass in 5 days or 30 days. They only care that you met all five objectives. Taking your time and trading consistently is actually safer than rushing.

What if I accidentally violate a rule but haven't submitted for review?

If you violate a rule like position limits or news trading, your evaluation likely fails immediately. But some violations might not be caught until review. The safest approach is to follow all rules strictly from Day 1.

Can I practice on a demo account first?

Yes, most trading platforms (Tradovate, NinjaTrader, etc.) offer free demo accounts where you can practice before subscribing to TradeDay. This is highly recommended if you're new to futures trading.

Bottom Line: Know the Rules, Follow the Plan

TradeDay's evaluation objectives aren't secret or unfair. They're clearly defined, consistently applied, and totally passable if you understand what you're doing.

The traders who succeed are the ones who:

Understand how each objective is calculated (especially drawdown and consistency)
Trade with a plan that satisfies all five objectives simultaneously
Don't take unnecessary risks trying to pass in 3 days
Choose the right account size and drawdown type for their style

If you're still researching whether TradeDay is right for you, check the complete TradeDay review for everything about the platform, payouts, and real trader experiences.

Now go pass your evaluation.