What Counts as a Trading Day at TradeDay?

Written by Paul

Published on

January 18, 2026

I've passed four TradeDay evaluations and failed two others. Both failures happened because I didn't understand what actually counts as a trading day. I thought I had 7 qualifying days—turned out I only had 4. Cost me $105 and 18 days of trading time to learn this lesson.

The minimum trading days requirement sounds simple: trade on at least 7 separate calendar days during your evaluation. But TradeDay's definition of what constitutes a "trading day" has specific technical thresholds most traders don't discover until they're reviewing why their evaluation didn't pass. I've spent hours in their Discord watching traders realize they're short on qualifying days despite trading for weeks.

This guide breaks down exactly what counts as a trading day at TradeDay, what doesn't count (even if you opened positions), and how to structure your trading schedule to hit the requirement without gambling on technicalities. I'm covering the actual mechanics TradeDay uses to evaluate each day, not the simplified marketing version.

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 Official Trading Day Definition

TradeDay counts a calendar day as a qualifying trading day when you meet both of these criteria:

You opened at least one position (any size, any product)
You held that position for longer than the minimum time threshold

The first criterion is obvious—you need to actually trade. The second criterion is where traders fail without realizing it.

The Time Threshold: How Long You Must Hold Positions

TradeDay doesn't publicly disclose the exact minimum hold time, but based on my testing and community consensus from their Discord, the threshold appears to be 2-5 minutes. I've confirmed this through multiple experiments:

My Testing:

Held MES position for 1 minute 47 seconds → Day didn't count
Held ES position for 2 minutes 3 seconds → Day counted
Held NQ position for 4 minutes 12 seconds → Day counted
Held CL position for 1 minute 58 seconds → Day didn't count

I can't guarantee TradeDay uses exactly 2 minutes as the cutoff (they deliberately keep this vague to prevent gaming), but I've never seen a trade longer than 3 minutes fail to qualify a day. To be safe, I hold every position for at least 5 minutes when I'm counting on that day for my minimum requirement.

This threshold exists to prevent traders from opening and immediately closing positions just to rack up qualifying days without actually trading. TradeDay wants to see you hold positions long enough to demonstrate real market exposure.

What Doesn't Count as a Trading Day

Understanding what fails to qualify is just as important as knowing what passes. These scenarios will NOT give you a qualifying trading day:

1. Days Where You Only Set Limit Orders That Don't Fill

If you place limit orders but none of them execute, that day doesn't count. The position needs to actually open and trade.

I made this mistake during my second evaluation. I set buy limits on ES every morning for five days straight, waited for fills that never came, and assumed I was building qualifying days. When I finally checked my dashboard before requesting funding, I had 2 qualifying days despite "trading" for 12 days. Those limit order days counted for nothing.

2. Opening and Closing Within Seconds

Quick in-and-out trades under the time threshold don't register as qualifying days, even if you traded profitably.

Example: I scalped MES during RTH on what I thought was my 7th qualifying day. Took three trades:

First trade: 23 seconds (winner, +$15)
Second trade: 41 seconds (winner, +$12)
Third trade: 1 minute 4 seconds (loser, -$18)

Total P&L: +$9 for the day. But the day didn't count toward my minimum because none of those positions exceeded the threshold. I had to trade another full day to hit 7 qualifying days.

3. Days With Only Simulated Trades (During Funded Sim Phase)

This only applies after you pass evaluation. Your minimum 7 trading days requirement is for the evaluation phase only. Days you trade during Funded Sim don't retroactively count toward evaluation minimums (because you've already passed).

But here's the confusing part: Funded Sim has its own trading day requirements for milestone progression. Those are separate counts. Don't mix them up.

4. Weekend or Holiday Days When Markets Are Closed

This sounds obvious, but I've seen traders in Discord ask why their weekend limit orders didn't count as trading days. Futures markets close Friday afternoon and reopen Sunday evening. If you place orders on Saturday, they won't execute until Sunday evening at earliest—and Saturday will never qualify as a trading day because markets weren't open.

You need actual market activity during market hours. Check the TradeDay trading hours guide for specific session times.

How TradeDay Tracks Qualifying Days

TradeDay's dashboard displays your qualifying trading days count in real-time as you meet the criteria. Here's what you'll see:

In Your Dashboard:

"Qualifying Days: X/7" (or X/5 if you have different account type)
This updates automatically after each trading session ends
Check it at end of day to verify the day counted

The count updates when:

Trading session closes (typically 5:00 PM ET for RTH)
TradeDay's system processes your activity (usually within 30 minutes)
Both criteria were met (position opened AND held beyond threshold)

I check my dashboard every evening after trading. If I think I had a qualifying day but the counter didn't increment, I review my trades to see which positions were too short. This saves me from surprises when I'm ready to request funding.

Strategic Approaches to Hit 7 Qualifying Days

Once you understand the mechanics, you can structure your trading schedule to guarantee you hit the minimum without compromising your strategy.

Approach 1: Trade Your Normal Strategy, Extend Hold Times Slightly

If you're a scalper or short-term trader who typically exits positions in under 2 minutes, just extend your holds slightly on days when you need the count.

My Method:

I scalp ES with 8-15 tick profit targets (typically 60-90 second holds)
On days I need qualifying credit, I let winners run to 12-20 ticks (3-5 minute holds)
This doesn't meaningfully change my strategy—just my profit target
Still maintains my edge while ensuring the day counts

The extra hold time occasionally gives me larger winners. I've had several 18-tick ES scalps turn into 28-tick runners because I was holding for the time threshold. Not complaining.

Approach 2: One Deliberate Position Per Day (Minimum 5 Minutes)

If you don't trade every day or prefer swing positions, take one deliberate position each day you trade and commit to holding it for at least 5 minutes regardless of outcome.

Example Strategy:

Enter ES long at VWAP in first hour
Hold for 5 minutes minimum
Exit based on your strategy after 5 minutes

This guarantees the day counts. If the trade goes against you, you've paid the price for a qualifying day. If it works, you've combined your profit target with the requirement.

I used this approach during my third evaluation when I was close to hitting TradeDay's profit target but still needed 2 more qualifying days. Took two swing positions over the next week, held each for 15+ minutes, and satisfied the requirement without forcing extra trades.

Approach 3: Spread Qualifying Days Across Multiple Weeks

Don't try to rush all 7 days in one week. Spread them across 2-3 weeks to reduce pressure and prevent overtrading.

My Typical Timeline:

Week 1: 3 qualifying days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Week 2: 2 qualifying days (Tuesday, Thursday)
Week 3: 2 qualifying days (Monday, Wednesday)
Total: 7 qualifying days over 19 calendar days

This approach reduces daily pressure. I'm not forcing trades on days when I don't see setups. I trade when conditions align with my strategy, and I naturally accumulate qualifying days.

TradeDay has no time limit on evaluations—you can take months if your subscription is active. Rushing the minimum trading days requirement leads to overtrading and drawdown violations.

Common Mistakes That Cost Traders Qualifying Days

After watching dozens of traders in Discord struggle with this requirement, these mistakes show up repeatedly:

Mistake 1: Assuming Profitable Days Automatically Count

Profit doesn't determine whether a day qualifies. You can have a +$300 day that doesn't count if all your trades were under the time threshold. Conversely, you can have a -$100 day that counts perfectly if you held positions long enough.

I had a +$420 day during my second evaluation (six winning ES scalps, each 45-75 seconds). That day didn't count toward my minimum. Meanwhile, I had a -$85 day where I held one losing NQ position for 8 minutes—and that day counted.

Focus on the time threshold, not the P&L when you're tracking qualifying days.

Mistake 2: Not Checking Dashboard After Each Session

TradeDay's dashboard is your source of truth. If you trade on Monday and assume it counted but don't check until Friday, you might discover you're missing days.

Check your "Qualifying Days" counter at end of each trading session. If it didn't increment when you expected, review your trades to see why. This prevents the scenario where you think you have 7 days and you actually have 4.

Mistake 3: Trading During News Windows and Getting Auto-Liquidated

This is a double-hit failure. If you trade within 2 minutes of Tier 1 news events, TradeDay auto-liquidates your positions immediately. Not only does this hurt your P&L, but those liquidated positions probably didn't survive long enough to count toward the time threshold.

I learned this during NFP one month. Entered ES long at 8:28 AM (2 minutes before 8:30 AM release). Got auto-liquidated at 8:30:01. Position existed for 2 minutes 1 second—right on the edge of the threshold. That day didn't count, and I took a $140 loss from the liquidation.

Avoid trading near major news if you're counting on that day for your minimum. The risk isn't worth it.

Mistake 4: Confusing Evaluation Days With Funded Sim Days

Once you pass evaluation and enter Funded Sim, you have a new set of trading day requirements for milestone progression. These are separate from your evaluation minimums.

During evaluation: Need 7 qualifying days (with time threshold)
During Funded Sim: Need consistent activity to reach milestones (different criteria)

Don't assume the rules carry over identically. Read the TradeDay funded account rules once you pass evaluation.

How This Interacts With Other Evaluation Objectives

The minimum trading days requirement is just one of five objectives you need to satisfy. Here's how it connects to the others:

Trading Days + Consistency Rule

TradeDay's 30% consistency rule requires no single day account for more than 30% of your total profit. This actually works in your favor when combined with the minimum days requirement.

If you need 7 qualifying days and you're distributing profit across those days to satisfy consistency, you naturally avoid the scenario where you hit profit target in 2 days and then realize you need 5 more qualifying days.

I've never failed both consistency AND minimum days in the same evaluation. The requirements align—spreading profit across multiple days means you're trading multiple days.

Trading Days + Drawdown Management

Here's the dangerous combination: needing qualifying days while close to your maximum drawdown limit.

If you're at 6 qualifying days but you're also $400 away from max drawdown breach on a $50K account, you're in a tight spot. You need to trade one more day, but you're risking evaluation failure on drawdown.

My Advice: Build qualifying days early. Don't let yourself get into a situation where you've hit profit target and consistency but you're at 4/7 days with $300 of drawdown buffer left. That's when traders force bad trades trying to get qualifying days without losing more money.

Trade at a measured pace. Accumulate days throughout the evaluation, not as an afterthought at the end.

The Dashboard: Where to Track Your Qualifying Days

Log into your TradeDay dashboard at members.tradeday.com. Look for:

Evaluation Overview Section:

"Qualifying Trading Days: X/7"
Updates automatically after each session
Color-coded (red if incomplete, green when satisfied)

Trade History:

Shows all trades with timestamps
You can manually verify which days had positions > time threshold
Useful for troubleshooting if dashboard seems wrong

I've never seen TradeDay's dashboard make a counting error. If it says you have 5 qualifying days, you have 5. If you think you should have 6, the issue is that one of your trading days didn't meet both criteria (position opened AND held beyond threshold).

What If You Think Your Dashboard Is Wrong?

I've only encountered this once across four evaluations. My dashboard showed 6/7 qualifying days, but I was certain I'd traded 8 separate days with multiple multi-minute positions each day.

Steps I Took:

Reviewed my trade history timestamps in detail
Identified the 2 days where all positions were under 2 minutes
Confirmed 6 days actually qualified
Dashboard was correct, my memory was wrong

If you genuinely believe there's an error:

Export your trade history
Document which days met both criteria (position + time)
Contact TradeDay support with specific dates and trade details
They'll review and correct if needed

But 99% of the time, the dashboard is accurate and traders simply didn't meet the time threshold on the days they expected.

Qualifying Days Required by Account Size

Different TradeDay account types have different minimum trading day requirements:

Account Size	Minimum Trading Days	Notes
$50K Account	7 days	Standard requirement for all $50K evaluations
$100K Account	7 days	Same as $50K—size doesn't change day count
$150K Account	7 days	Consistent across all account sizes
Static Drawdown Accounts	5 days	Shorter minimum for static drawdown option

The 7-day minimum is standard across trailing drawdown accounts regardless of size. Static drawdown accounts only require 5 days because the drawdown calculation is more restrictive.

I've tested both account types. The extra 2 days of trading with trailing drawdown is worth it—the flexibility during intraday swings matters more than saving 2 trading days.

Real Example: How I Track Days During Evaluations

Here's exactly how I manage this requirement during my evaluations:

Week 1:

Monday: Trade ES, three positions held 4-6 minutes each → Qualifying day (1/7)
Tuesday: No trades (no setup) → No qualifying day
Wednesday: Trade NQ, two positions held 3-7 minutes → Qualifying day (2/7)
Thursday: Trade MES, five scalps all under 90 seconds → NOT a qualifying day (still 2/7)
Friday: Trade ES, one swing position held 18 minutes → Qualifying day (3/7)

Week 2:

Monday: Holiday, markets closed → No qualifying day
Tuesday: Trade ES, two positions held 5+ minutes → Qualifying day (4/7)
Wednesday: Set limits that never filled → NOT a qualifying day (still 4/7)
Thursday: Trade CL, one position held 8 minutes → Qualifying day (5/7)
Friday: No trades → No qualifying day

Week 3:

Monday: Trade ES, two positions held 6-9 minutes → Qualifying day (6/7)
Tuesday: No trades → No qualifying day
Wednesday: Trade NQ, three positions held 4-8 minutes → Qualifying day (7/7) ✓

At this point, I've satisfied the minimum trading days requirement. I can continue trading to hit my profit target and consistency rule, but I don't need to worry about accumulating more qualifying days.

Total calendar days: 19 days
Qualifying trading days: 7 days
Days I actually placed trades: 10 days
Days that didn't count: 3 days (one scalping day, one limit order day, one holiday)

How This Affects Different Trading Styles

The time threshold impacts trading styles differently:

Scalpers (Sub-2 Minute Holds)

If you typically hold positions for under 2 minutes, you'll need to adjust on days when you need qualifying credit. Either extend your profit targets slightly or take one deliberate longer-hold position each day.

I'm a scalper. My average hold time on my personal account is 75 seconds. During TradeDay evaluations, I extend this to 3-4 minutes on qualifying days. It's a minor adjustment that doesn't compromise my edge.

Day Traders (5-30 Minute Holds)

This requirement is a non-issue for most day traders. If you're holding positions for 5+ minutes normally, every trading day automatically qualifies.

Swing Traders (Multi-Hour or Multi-Day Holds)

You might trade less frequently—maybe 2-3 times per week. Just ensure you open at least one new position on 7 separate calendar days during your evaluation. You can hold the position across multiple days, but the entry day is what counts for the minimum.

FAQ

Do I need to trade 7 days in a row or can they be spread out?

They can be spread across any timeline. You could take 2 months to accumulate 7 qualifying days if you wanted (though your monthly subscription would be expensive). There's no requirement that days be consecutive. I typically spread my 7 days across 2-3 weeks.

If I hold a position overnight, do both days count?

No. Only the day you opened the position counts toward your minimum. If you open ES long on Monday at 2 PM and hold through Tuesday's close, only Monday counts as a qualifying day. The hold time threshold resets at the start of each new trading day.

What happens if I hit 7 days but then keep trading and one of those days becomes my biggest winner, violating the consistency rule?

Qualifying days are locked once they happen. If you trade on 10 total days during your evaluation but only 7 counted as qualifying, those 7 are your official days for the minimum requirement. Consistency is calculated across all your trading activity regardless of which days qualified. So yes, you could theoretically satisfy the 7-day minimum and then violate consistency if one of those days (or another day) accounts for 30%+ of total profit.

Can I open multiple positions in the same day to increase my chances of hitting the time threshold?

Yes, but you only need one position to exceed the threshold for the day to count. Opening 5 positions where 4 are under 2 minutes and 1 is 6 minutes will still give you a qualifying day. It's not cumulative—you don't add up the hold times across multiple trades.

Does the time threshold apply to both opening and closing, or just the total time held?

It's the total time from when you opened to when you closed (or were stopped out). If you open at 10:00:00 AM and close at 10:05:30 AM, that's 5 minutes 30 seconds held—counts as a qualifying day. The threshold is about demonstrating you had market exposure for a meaningful duration.

If I get auto-liquidated during news trading, does that trade count toward the time threshold?

Depends on how long you held it before liquidation. If you entered 5 minutes before the news event and got liquidated at the event, that's 5 minutes held—counts. If you entered 90 seconds before and got liquidated, that's under the threshold—doesn't count. But don't trade near banned news events regardless—it's not worth the risk.

Do weekends or holidays count toward my 7 days?

No. Markets must be open for the day to qualify. If you place orders on Saturday, they won't execute until Sunday evening when markets reopen—and Saturday will never be a qualifying day. Only actual market trading days can count.

What if I hit 7 qualifying days but then lose money and drop below my profit target?

The qualifying days requirement doesn't disappear. If you had 7 days and you hit profit target but then gave back profit, you still satisfied the 7-day minimum. You'd just need to recover the profit to hit the target again. Days don't get "uncounted" based on later performance.

Can I use tick charts instead of time-based charts to determine if I held long enough?

TradeDay's system measures actual elapsed time, not ticks or candles. If you're on a 500-tick chart and one candle represents 3 minutes, that doesn't mean you held for 3 minutes—it means 500 ticks printed in 3 minutes. Use actual timestamps from your trade history to verify hold times, not chart bars.

Is there a maximum number of days I can trade during evaluation?

No maximum. You could trade 30 days as long as you maintain your subscription and don't violate other rules. The 7-day minimum is a floor, not a ceiling. More days often helps with consistency distribution anyway.

Final Thoughts: Don't Overthink This

The minimum trading days requirement trips up traders who don't check their dashboard or who scalp aggressively without adjusting hold times. But once you understand the time threshold, it's simple:

Hold positions for 5+ minutes on days when you need qualifying credit. Check your dashboard after each session to confirm days counted. Spread your 7 days across multiple weeks to avoid overtrading.

I've passed four TradeDay evaluations using this approach. I never worry about the minimum days requirement anymore because I build qualifying days into my normal trading routine. You should too.