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Tradeify Rules Overview (2026): The Definitive Guide to Every Rule That Matters
Tradeify Rules Overview (2026): The Definitive Guide to Every Rule That Matters
The single fastest way to fail a Tradeify account isn't a catastrophic trade. It's misunderstanding which rule applies to which account type and in which phase. I've seen traders breach accounts that were otherwise profitable because they applied Growth funded rules to a Lightning account, or didn't know the Select eval consistency rate was 40% not 35%. This guide is the complete reference — every rule, every account type, every phase.
EOD Trailing Drawdown: The Foundation of Everything
Every Tradeify account type — Lightning, Growth, Select, Elite — runs on end-of-day trailing drawdown. Understanding exactly how this works is prerequisite to understanding every other rule.
The EOD drawdown is not an intraday measure. It trails upward based on your closing balance at the end of each trading day (5:00 PM ET), not based on your highest intraday equity. This distinction is enormous. During a session, your account can swing $5,000 in either direction without affecting the drawdown floor — as long as you close the session at or above the previous day's floor trigger level.
How the EOD Trailing Drawdown Mechanics Work
The trail process: Your drawdown floor equals your highest historical end-of-day closing balance minus the drawdown amount for your account. Every time you close a session with a new equity high, the floor rises. It only moves in one direction — up.
The intraday enforcement: Even though the drawdown is EOD-calculated, it's enforced in real time during trading hours. If your live equity drops below the current floor at any point during a session — even momentarily — the account is breached. "EOD trailing" means the floor updates EOD, not that it's checked EOD.
The lock mechanics: On funded accounts, the drawdown permanently locks as a static floor once your balance reaches starting balance + drawdown amount + $100. For a $50K Growth account with a $2,000 drawdown, that trigger is $52,100. After that point, no matter how high your balance grows, the floor stays at $50,000. You can't lose more than $2,000 of starting capital ever again on that account.
On Select Flex funded accounts, the lock triggers immediately on your first approved payout request — regardless of equity level. The moment you submit your first payout, the floor freezes permanently.
Consistency Rules by Account Type and Phase
The consistency rule is the most misunderstood mechanic in the Tradeify ecosystem. It's applied differently across evaluation and funded phases, and it's completely absent on certain account types. Getting this wrong is the most common cause of payout rejection.
| Account Type | Evaluation Phase | Funded Phase | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | 35% max (best day ≤ 35% of total) | 35% max per payout cycle | Resets after each approved payout |
| Select (Eval) | 40% max (best day ≤ 40% of total) | N/A — see funded pathways | 3-day minimum regardless of profits |
| Select Flex (Funded) | N/A | None | Zero consistency restrictions in funded phase |
| Select Daily (Funded) | N/A | None noted (continuity rule from payout 2) | Net positive balance required from payout 2 |
| Lightning (Funded) | N/A (no evaluation) | Escalating: 40%/20% → 35%/25% → 30%/30% | Window tightens every 2 payout cycles |
| Elite Live | N/A | None noted | Live capital, managed by personal risk manager |
The Lightning Escalating Consistency System Explained
Lightning's consistency rule tightens progressively across your funded payout history:
- Payouts 1–2: Best day max 40% of cycle profit, minimum 20%
- Payouts 3–4: Best day max 35%, minimum 25%
- Payout 5+: Best day max 30%, minimum 30% — an exact 30% band
The payout 5+ window is the hardest to hit naturally. Your best session needs to represent exactly 30% of total cycle profits. If you run a 40-point ES day in cycle 6, you'll need to engineer your remaining sessions so that the total cycle profit is at least 3.33x that day's profit. That means either waiting for more qualifying days or managing your position size downward in remaining sessions.
Daily Loss Limit: Soft Pause, Not Account Killer
Tradeify's DLL is a soft breach mechanism. When you hit it, trading pauses for the rest of the day. The account isn't failed. The evaluation isn't over. You simply can't place new trades until the next session opens at 6:00 PM ET.
DLL amounts by account type:
- Growth (50K/100K/150K): $1,250 / $2,500 / $3,750 (eval and funded)
- Lightning 25K: No DLL
- Lightning 50K/100K/150K: $1,250 / $2,500 / $3,750
- Select Flex (funded): No DLL
- Select Daily (funded): $1,000 / $1,250 / $1,750
The DLL upgrade mechanic: once a Growth or Lightning account reaches 6% profit above starting balance, the DLL increases to match the full drawdown amount and activates at the start of the next session. For a $50K Growth account, that means the DLL goes from $1,250 to $2,000 once you're $3,000 in profit. This effectively gives you more daily breathing room as your funded account grows.
Trading Hours, Session Structure, and Position Close Rules
Tradeify follows the CME Globex schedule with one critical rule layered on top.
Trading hours: 6:00 PM ET (Sunday–Thursday) through 5:00 PM ET (Monday–Friday). The 5:00–6:00 PM ET window is a daily maintenance break. No trading occurs during this window.
The hard close rule: All positions must be flat at 4:59 PM ET every day, without exception. Any open position at 5:00 PM ET will be automatically closed by the system. If your position is forcibly closed by the platform at an unfavorable price, the resulting P&L is real and counts against your account. This is enforced and there's no grace period after 4:59 PM.
A Tradeify trading day spans 6:00 PM to 5:00 PM the following calendar day. Your Monday trading session technically started Sunday at 6:00 PM ET. This matters for drawdown floor tracking — your EOD balance calculation is based on the 5:00 PM ET close, not midnight.
Holiday sessions: When US exchanges have early closes, Tradeify's cutoff shifts to 12:59 PM ET on those days.
Hedging Prohibition and the Household Rule
Hedging is prohibited on all Tradeify accounts at the household level. The restriction goes beyond what most traders initially expect.
What counts as hedging:
- Opposing long and short positions on the same instrument within a single account
- Opposing positions across different Tradeify accounts held in the same household
- Simultaneous trading of both mini and micro versions of the same underlying contract (e.g., ES and MES at the same time, across any accounts)
What doesn't count as hedging: trading ES on one account and NQ on another. Sequential trading where you close a position on one account before opening an opposing position on another. Trading different products (ES futures and gold) in the same session.
There's a 10-second grace period if you accidentally open a conflicting position — you have 10 seconds to close it before it triggers a rule violation. This exists because fat-finger errors happen. But intentional hedging strategies, including household-level offsets, are a rule violation regardless of which platform or account holds which side.
The Rules Traders Miss Most
| Rule | What Traders Get Wrong | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Consistency calculation | Calculated per trading session | Calculated across the full payout cycle |
| DLL breach | Fails the account | Pauses trading for the day only |
| EOD enforcement | Only checked at session close | Enforced in real time during session |
| Hedging rule | Per account only | Household level — across all accounts |
| Drawdown lock | Doesn't exist on sim accounts | Triggers at starting balance + drawdown + $100 |
| Select Flex lock | Same as Growth lock trigger | Locks immediately on first payout request |
| News trading | Restricted or blackout required | Fully permitted on all account types |
| Session cutoff | 5:00 PM ET is fine to hold | Must be flat at 4:59 PM; 5:00 PM auto-close |
Payout Rules and Cycle Structure by Account Type
| Account Type | Payout Cycle | Payout Caps | Processing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth (funded) | 5 qualifying days, ~3x/month windows | Escalating per payout number | Rise: 24-48hr; Plane: 3-7 days |
| Select Flex (funded) | 5-day cycles | 50% of cycle net, hard cap $3K/$4K/$5K | Rise: 24-48hr; Plane: 3-7 days |
| Select Daily (funded) | Daily requests allowed | $1K/$1.5K/$2.5K per request | Rise: 24-48hr; Plane: 3-7 days |
| Lightning (funded) | 5-day cycles with escalating profit goals | Per cycle structure | Rise: 24-48hr; Plane: 3-7 days |
| Elite Live | Daily (no cycle) | Managed by personal risk manager | Rise: 24-48hr; Plane: 3-7 days |
Tradeify processes payouts 7 days a week — including weekends. The Rise processor (primary) runs same-day to 48-hour approvals. Plane (international) runs 3–7 business days. KYC triggers on first payout request through Rise — a standard ID verification that typically completes in under 15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tradeify Rules
How exactly does the EOD drawdown work?
Your drawdown floor equals your highest end-of-day closing balance minus your account's drawdown amount. It updates after every session close when you set a new equity high. It only moves up, never down. It's enforced in real time — not just at session close. If your live equity drops below the current floor at any second during trading, the account is breached.
Can I hold positions overnight on Tradeify?
No. All positions must be flat by 4:59 PM ET every day. The 5:00 PM ET close triggers automatic liquidation of any open positions. This applies to every account type, every instrument, every day including weekends when the 5:00 PM close falls on a Friday. Overnight holds are not permitted under any circumstances.
Can I trade news events?
Yes — Tradeify permits news trading with zero restrictions. FOMC, NFP, CPI, PPI, and all other scheduled releases can be traded freely. There are no mandatory position-close windows before events, no blackout periods, and no restrictions on holding through announcements.
What happens when I hit the DLL?
Trading pauses for the rest of the session. The account is not failed, the evaluation is not over, and your payout history isn't reset. The DLL is a soft mechanic — it's designed to protect you from compounding a bad day, not to eliminate accounts that have one rough session.
What triggers the drawdown lock on funded accounts?
On Growth and Lightning: when your account balance reaches starting balance + drawdown amount + $100, the floor locks permanently. On Select Flex: the floor locks immediately on your first approved payout request, regardless of account equity level. On Select Daily: similar mechanics apply around the buffer above starting balance.
Can I run ES and MES simultaneously across different accounts?
No. Trading both the mini and micro version of the same underlying index simultaneously — even across different Tradeify accounts in the same household — violates the hedging prohibition. You can trade ES on one account and NQ on another. You cannot trade ES long on one account and MES short on another, or ES and MES simultaneously on different accounts even in the same direction.
How does the consistency rule work exactly?
The consistency rule looks at your best single trading day's profit as a percentage of total cycle profits. For Growth funded: that best day can't exceed 35% of total cycle P&L at payout time. For Lightning: depends on which cycle you're in (40/20, 35/25, or 30/30 windows). Select Flex funded: no consistency rule. The calculation includes all qualifying days in the cycle, not just days with positive P&L.
How does Tradeify's payout schedule work?
Tradeify processes payouts 7 days a week. Growth accounts have three scheduled payout windows per month (approximately 1st–4th, 11th–14th, and 21st–24th) and require 5 qualifying funded trading days per cycle. Lightning and Select Flex run 5-day cycles. Select Daily allows daily requests. Rise processes in 24–48 hours; Plane runs 3–7 business days for international.
Does the DLL ever increase?
Yes — once a Growth or Lightning funded account reaches 6% profit above starting balance, the DLL increases to match the full drawdown amount starting from the next session open. On a $50K Growth, that means the DLL goes from $1,250 to $2,000 once you're $3,000 in profit. This increase is automatic and provides more daily buffer as the account grows.
What are the specific payout cycle structures for Select Flex?
Select Flex payout cycles run 5 calendar days. You can request a payout once per 5-day window. The payout cap is 50% of your net cycle profits, with hard dollar caps of $3,000 (50K), $4,000 (100K), and $5,000 (150K) per request. There's no minimum profit to request a payout, but you must have net positive P&L for the cycle. No consistency rule applies in the funded phase.
Can automated trading strategies run on Tradeify accounts?
Tradeify permits automated trading, but any strategy that appears to exploit the simulation rather than trade actual market structure is a violation. This means fully automated arbitrage, latency-based strategies, or strategies specifically designed to game the sim environment are prohibited. Standard algorithmic strategies that trade based on market signals are permitted. When in doubt, ask in Tradeify's Discord before running an automation.