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Stop Out Violation

A cTrader stop out event is an immediate hard breach that terminates your Challenge or Funded Account.

Updated this week

Stop Out Violation

A Stop Out Violation occurs when your margin level falls to 100%, and cTrader automatically closes your open positions. On PipFarm, this is a hard breach — your account is terminated immediately.

ℹ️ This rule applies to all Challenge and Funded Accounts created on or after 9 March 2026, regardless of when the Challenge was purchased.

What happens when a Stop Out triggers

When cTrader triggers a stop out on your account:

  • All remaining open positions are closed (if not already closed by cTrader)

  • Your account is marked as Breached with the reason: Stop Out Violation

  • You will receive an email confirming the breach

Why do we have this rule

Margin usage and losses are separate aspects of risk management. Max Loss, Max Daily Loss, and Pip Protector all govern your losses. The Stop Out Violation governs your margin usage. Because these measure different things, they operate entirely independently:

  • You can breach via Stop Out Violation while well within your Max Loss and Max Daily Loss limits

  • A Stop Out Violation does not consume a Pip Protector strike, and Pip Protector does not need to be active or enabled for a Stop Out Violation to fire

How to avoid a Stop Out

The Stop Out Violation is based on your total account margin level — we don't monitor how your margin is distributed across individual instruments or assets. This means that concentrating large positions in a single instrument carries the same risk as spreading them across many.

cTrader allows you to set up margin level alerts to warn you before your margin becomes critical — we recommend configuring these as part of your risk management routine.

  • Don't over-leverage — be aware of your margin requirements before opening positions

  • Monitor your margin level while trades are open, and use cTrader's margin level alerts as an early warning

  • Close or reduce positions if your free margin is running low

  • Avoid holding large positions through high-volatility events (news releases, market opens)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this apply to my Funded Account too?

Yes. A Stop Out Violation is a hard breach on both Challenge and Funded Accounts.

Can a Power-Up protect me from a stop out?

No. Stop Out Violation triggers independently of Power-Ups and cannot be prevented by them.

What if I was nowhere near my Max Loss or Max Daily Loss?

It doesn't matter. A Stop Out Violation triggers the moment your margin level hits 100%, regardless of where you stand against any other rule.

I purchased my Challenge before 6 March 2026 — does this rule apply to me?

This rule applies to all accounts created on or after 6 March 2026. If your current account was created before that date, this rule does not apply to it. However, if you pass your Challenge and a new account is created after 6 March 2026, that account will be subject to this rule.

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