Stop Out Violation

What a stop out is, why it causes a hard breach, and how to avoid it

A Stop Out Violation occurs when your account’s margin level falls to 100% and cTrader automatically closes your open positions. On PipFarm, this is treated as a hard breach — your account is terminated immediately, regardless of where you stand against your max loss or daily loss limits.

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

🚨 A Stop Out Violation is irreversible. It cannot be overturned, appealed, or protected by Power-Ups. Once triggered, your account is terminated.

Why this rule exists

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