Challenge rules

COMPLETE RULES
EXPLAINED CLEARLY

Every rule. Every limit. Every formula. Written in plain English by a 25-year futures trader who knows exactly what traders need to understand before placing their first evaluation trade.

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THE 5 RULES YOU MUST KNOW COLD

These five rules govern every evaluation account. All five are enforced automatically in real time. There are no exceptions — not for market conditions, not for platform issues, not for personal circumstances. Know them before your first trade.

Pro tip from the founder: The traders who fail almost always fail on a rule they knew but forgot in the heat of a trade. Read this page. Check your dashboard before every session. Know your numbers.

Rule	Limit	Type	Resets?
1. Profit target	6% of starting balance	Goal to reach	N/A — hit it to pass
2. Daily loss limit	2% per calendar day	Daily guard	Yes — resets midnight ET
3. Max trailing drawdown	EOD trailing floor	Account guard	Never — floor only moves up
4. Minimum trading days	5 calendar days	Minimum threshold	N/A — accumulates until met
5. Consistency rule	Max 50% from any one day	Payout guard	Managed over the full evaluation

Rule 1

PROFIT TARGET

You must grow your account balance by 6% of the starting balance to pass the evaluation. This is calculated on your running balance — not on individual trades or daily profits.

The profit target is the only performance threshold you need to reach. There is no second phase, no second challenge step. Pass this one evaluation and you move directly to a funded Performance Account.

Example — $100K account

Starting balance: $100,000 · Profit target (6%): $6,000 · Your account must reach: $106,000

Example — $50K account

Starting balance: $50,000 · Profit target (6%): $3,000 · Your account must reach: $53,000

✓ There is no time limit to reach the profit target. Take as many trading days as your strategy requires — as long as you maintain all other 4 rules simultaneously.

Rule 2

DAILY LOSS LIMIT

2%/day

You cannot lose more than 2% of your starting account balance in a single calendar day. A calendar day runs from midnight to midnight Eastern Time — not per session or per trade.

What happens when you hit the daily limit: Your account pauses for the remainder of that day. No more trades can be placed. At midnight ET your account unlocks automatically at your full balance. This is NOT a breach — it is a safety stop that protects your evaluation.

What causes a breach: The daily loss limit is separate from the max drawdown rule. Hitting the daily limit repeatedly until your account drops below the max drawdown floor — that combination causes a breach.

Example — $100K account

Starting balance: $100,000 · Daily limit (2%): $2,000 · If you lose $2,000 in one day, trading halts until midnight ET. The next morning you start fresh with your remaining balance.

Important: open positions count

Unrealized losses on open positions count toward your daily loss limit in real time. If you have a $1,800 open loss and the limit is $2,000 — you only have $200 of daily limit remaining. Monitor your dashboard continuously.

⚠ The daily loss limit is calculated on your starting balance — not your current balance. On a $100K account it is always $2,000 regardless of whether your account is at $98K or $104K.

Rule 3 — most important

MAX TRAILING DRAWDOWN

EOD

This is the most important rule to understand. Your account has a trailing drawdown floor that moves upward based on your end-of-day equity. If your account balance ever drops to or below this floor — your evaluation ends immediately.

What "End-of-Day" means: Your drawdown floor moves at market close based on your closing equity — not your intraday high. Unrealized profits that you give back during the session do NOT raise your floor. Only the equity you close the day at matters.

The floor only moves up, never down. Once your floor is established, it stays there forever — even if your account draws down below that day's starting point.

Step-by-step example — $100K account ($4,500 drawdown)

Day 1 start: Balance $100,000 · Floor: $95,500 · Day 1 intraday high: $102,000 · Day 1 close: $101,000 · Floor moves to: $96,500 (based on $101K close, not $102K intraday high)

Why EOD is better than intraday trailing

With intraday trailing (used by some competitors), if you spike to $102,000 mid-session your floor immediately moves to $97,500 — even if you give back all those gains before close. With our EOD model, that intraday spike never hurts you. Only your closing equity counts.

⚠ If your account balance reaches or drops below the trailing floor at any point — intraday or end of day — your evaluation terminates immediately and automatically. There is no warning before this happens.

Rule 4

MINIMUM TRADING DAYS

5 days

You must trade on at least 5 separate calendar days before your evaluation can pass — regardless of how quickly you hit the profit target. Even if you reach 6% profit on Day 2, the system will not flag your account as passed until Day 5 minimum.

What counts as a trading day: Any calendar day on which you open and close at least one futures position. A day where you only look at charts but place no trades does not count. The 5 days do not need to be consecutive.

Why this rule exists: The minimum day requirement confirms that your performance represents consistent skill across multiple sessions — not a single lucky trade or a one-day outlier. It is the simplest and most honest indicator of repeatable edge.

Timeline example

You hit your 6% profit target on Day 3. Your account shows the target reached but evaluation cannot pass until you complete 2 more trading days (Days 4 and 5). Continue trading conservatively — protect your gains, complete the minimum days, then your evaluation auto-passes.

✓ If you reach the profit target early, the best strategy is to size down significantly for the remaining minimum days — small trades, protect the buffer, complete the requirement.

Rule 5

CONSISTENCY RULE

50%

At the time you request a payout, no single trading day can account for more than 50% of your total profit. This rule applies during the evaluation and on your Performance Account.

This rule does NOT terminate your account. It only affects payout eligibility. If you trigger the consistency rule, you simply continue trading — spread your profits across more days — then request your payout once the ratio is corrected.

Example — rule triggered

$100K account · Total profit: $5,000 · Best day: $3,200 · 3,200 ÷ 5,000 = 64% — consistency rule triggered. You cannot request a payout yet. Continue trading to earn more profit on other days until your best day falls below 50%.

Example — rule satisfied

$100K account · Total profit: $7,000 · Best day: $3,200 · 3,200 ÷ 7,000 = 46% — consistency rule satisfied. You can now request a payout.

✓ Most disciplined traders who trade consistently across multiple sessions never trigger this rule. It only catches outlier days — large lucky trades, news spikes, or single-session blow-outs that are unlikely to be repeatable.

Trading style

ALLOWED & PROHIBITED

We give traders maximum freedom. The prohibited list is short and exists only to prevent strategies that exploit the evaluation model rather than demonstrate genuine trading skill.

✓ Allowed strategies

•Day trading — intraday entries and exits
•Swing trading — multi-day positions
•Scalping — short duration trades
•Algorithmic trading — NinjaScript EAs and bots
•Overnight holds — no forced close at session end
•Weekend holds — positions held over Saturday/Sunday
•News trading — no restrictions around economic events
•Multiple positions simultaneously
•Hedging within the same account
•All CME futures instruments (ES, NQ, YM, RTY, CL, GC, SI, 6E, and micros)

✗ Prohibited strategies

•Martingale strategies — doubling down on losing positions
•Grid trading — systematic price grid entries
•Latency arbitrage — exploiting data feed delays
•Tick scalping under 5-second hold time
•Copy trading or signal mirroring across multiple accounts
•Coordinated group trading (passing services)
•Strategies designed to exploit platform errors
•Any approach that manipulates the evaluation rather than demonstrating skill

When in doubt: If a strategy is profitable on a real funded account under real market conditions — it is almost certainly allowed here. If it only works because of evaluation mechanics or platform quirks — it is probably prohibited. Post in our Discord #challenge-rules channel before trading if unsure.

Funded accounts

PAYOUT RULES

Once you pass your evaluation and your Performance Account is live, these are the rules that govern when and how you get paid.

14 calendar days minimum

Your Performance Account must be active for at least 14 calendar days before you can request your first payout. The 14-day clock starts the day your PA goes live — not the day you pass the evaluation.

Minimum 1% profit earned

You must have earned at least 1% profit on your PA balance at the time of your payout request. On a $100K account that is $1,000 minimum. On a $25K account that is $250 minimum.

Minimum payout amount: $100

Individual payout requests must be for at least $100. Smaller amounts accumulate until they reach the minimum threshold.

Consistency rule must be satisfied

No single trading day can account for more than 50% of your total profit at the time of your request. Check your daily P&L breakdown before submitting.

How to request: dashboard button

Log into your trader dashboard and click "Request payout." Select your payment method (ACH bank transfer or cryptocurrency — USDC or Bitcoin). Payment processes within 1–3 business days after approval. You receive an email confirmation when sent.

Profit split by account size

$25K accounts: 80% to trader. $50K accounts: 80% to trader. $100K accounts: 85% to trader. $150K accounts: 90% to trader. Splits apply to net profit at the time of each payout request — not on gross trading volume.

Violations

BREACH & VIOLATION GUIDE

Understanding what causes a breach — and what does not — is critical before you start trading. Read this section carefully.

Situation	Result	What happens next
Daily loss limit hit You lose 2% of starting balance in one day	Account pauses for the day	Trading halts until midnight ET. Account unlocks automatically next morning at full remaining balance. Evaluation continues. This is NOT a breach.
Max drawdown breached Account falls to or below the trailing floor	Evaluation ends immediately	Account is locked permanently. Evaluation fee is non-refundable. You can purchase a reset at a discounted rate or buy a new evaluation.
Prohibited strategy detected Martingale, latency arb, coordinated trading	Account terminated	Account is closed without payout. Prohibited strategy violations on funded accounts result in termination without payout regardless of profitability.
Consistency rule triggered at payout One day is over 50% of total profit	Payout request denied	Account continues. Continue trading until the ratio is corrected — earn more profit on other days — then resubmit your payout request.
KYC not completed Identity verification outstanding	Payout held	All payouts are held until identity verification is complete. Complete KYC in your dashboard — takes under 2 minutes.
Chargeback/dispute filed Payment disputed with bank or card	Immediate account suspension	Filing a chargeback before contacting support results in immediate and permanent account suspension. Always contact support first — disputes@verifiedtradercapital.com.

Breaches are final. There are no exceptions for market conditions, broker errors, personal circumstances, or misunderstanding of the rules. If you believe a breach was caused by a genuine platform error — contact support within 24 hours with your trade logs and we will investigate. Verified platform errors are corrected. Rule violations are not reversed.

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COMPLETE RULESEXPLAINED CLEARLY