FTMO Challenge & Verification
FTMO Challenge Rules: Two-Stage Eval, 5% Daily Loss & Instrument Guide
Almost every failed FTMO Challenge ends the same way: one oversized losing day that blows through the 5% daily loss limit. Fixed-risk entries with bar-close confirmation remove that failure mode outright — here's how FTMO's specific rule set works and what a Pine Script needs to respect it.
FTMO evaluation rules — Challenge and Verification
FTMO runs a two-phase process: a Challenge at a 10% profit target, followed by a Verification at 5%. Both phases share identical risk rules. Clear both and FTMO funds the account at an 80-90% profit split.
| Rule | Challenge | Verification | Funded account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit target | 10% of balance | 5% of balance | None — just avoid breaching limits |
| Max daily loss | 5% of balance | 5% of balance | 5% of balance |
| Max total loss | 10% of balance | 10% of balance | 10% of balance |
| Minimum trading days | 4 days | 4 days | None |
| Time limit | None | None | None |
The detail most traders miss: the 5% daily loss is measured against the initial balance of that phase, not current equity. On a $10,000 Challenge, a single day can't lose more than $500 — regardless of how far up the week has been. Someone up $900 for the week still fails if one session loses $501.
Why the 5% daily loss ends most FTMO evals
It's rarely the size of the loss that matters — it's the behavior it triggers. A stop-out costs $150, the trader feels the need to recoup it, takes a second trade without a real setup, loses another $200. Now down $350 with time pressure building, the next trade gets sized up to "make it back" — and the account is done, all in one morning.
A script breaks every link in that chain. There's no emotional response to a loss because there's no decision point — it fires when conditions are met and stays flat when they're not. A losing trade is just a losing trade; the next valid signal is what matters, not what just happened.
FTMO account sizes and what they mean for position sizing
| Account | Profit Target | Max Drawdown (Static) | Daily Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10k | — | $1,000 | $500 |
| 25k | — | $2,500 | $1,250 |
| 50k | — | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| 100k | — | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| 200k | — | $20,000 | $10,000 |
Two-phase structure: Challenge phase target is 10% of initial balance; Verification phase target is 5% of initial balance. No profit target on the funded account.
Drawdown type
Static
Fixed at 10% of the initial balance of that phase (not floating equity) — same across Challenge, Verification, and funded.
Daily loss limit
5% of initial balance, same across all phases (see per-size figures above).
Consistency rule
No formal percentage rule. FTMO’s "Account MetriX" system reviews funded-account equity curves for unusual/erratic behavior — a soft, subjective review rather than a hard numeric cap.
Min trading days
4 days minimum
4 days minimum on both the Challenge and Verification phases; no maximum time limit on either phase.
Payout split
80–90%
Automation policy
EAs and automated strategies are allowed on the evaluation, provided the strategy is the trader’s own logic rather than a shared public signal used by many traders simultaneously.
At 1% risk per trade, five consecutive losses in a single day would be needed to breach the daily limit. A strategy that fires 2-3 signals per session on index instruments makes a daily-limit breach from normal behavior close to impossible.
Instruments — what to trade on FTMO with a Pine Script
FTMO trades CFDs, not direct futures contracts, so the instrument mapping matters:
| Strategy built for | FTMO equivalent | Session | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NQ (Nasdaq futures) | NAS100 / US Tech 100 | 9:30 AM–4:00 PM ET | Closest direct analogue — same underlying, CFD pricing. |
| ES (S&P 500 futures) | US500 / SP500 | 9:30 AM–4:00 PM ET | Lower volatility than NAS100, steadier intraday ranges. |
| YM (Dow Jones futures) | US30 | 9:30 AM–4:00 PM ET | Works with the index strategies; thinner liquidity than NAS100. |
| GC (Gold futures) | XAUUSD | London + NY overlap | The Gold strategy maps directly — the most volatile of the group. |
| Custom FX pairs | EURUSD, GBPUSD, etc. | London + NY overlap | Custom plan only — specify pair and session. |
For most off-the-shelf setups, NAS100 is the primary recommendation — it mirrors NQ behavior, trades tight spreads on FTMO's platform, and has the deepest backtest history of any supported instrument.
FTMO's news trading restriction
FTMO permits EAs and automated strategies on the eval as long as the logic is the trader's own — not a shared public signal running across thousands of accounts simultaneously. Scripts sold as individual private licenses per buyer satisfy that policy; confirm current terms before connecting automation to a funded account.
The two-stage structure — passing Challenge then Verification
Most traders treat Verification as a formality and undercut themselves by changing their approach — the Challenge is behind them, they feel pressure to "prove" something on the near-funded stage, and they take risks they wouldn't have taken before. Verification runs under the exact same risk rules as the Challenge; only the target changes, from 10% to 5%.
Running the identical strategy, size, and session filter through both phases is the safest path. A script makes that automatic by default — the parameters don't shift, and there's no decision point for pressure to attach to.
How our Pine Scripts handle every FTMO rule
- Fixed risk per trade. Stop-loss size is pre-coded and scaled to account size, so the strategy can't snowball into a daily-limit breach.
- Bar-close entries only. No repainting, no false signals from an intrabar wick — backtest matches live execution.
- One entry per signal. No averaging down, no re-entry on the same setup.
- Daily kill switch. A configurable loss threshold stops new entries once cumulative session losses hit it; open positions still reach their natural stops.
- News blackout filter. Pauses entries during configurable windows around high-impact releases.
- TradersPost webhook alerts. Fires to TradersPost for hands-off execution into an FTMO MT4/MT5 or cTrader account.
Which plan fits an FTMO trader?
The Pro plan ($29/mo) covers NAS100, US500, and US30 — the index CFDs closest to the NQ and ES strategy logic — and includes the Gold strategy for XAUUSD. For FX pairs or a fully custom entry model, the Custom plan ($250 one-time) lets you specify the exact pair, session, and risk parameters, delivered in 3-5 business days.