Quick Answer — Elite Trader Funding Rules
- • Elite Trader Funding enforces different rule sets across its six evaluation models: 1-Step, EOD, Fast Track, Static, Diamond Hands, and Direct to Funded.
- • The trailing drawdown (ATD) is intraday on 1-Step and Fast Track, but end-of-day on EOD and Diamond Hands plans.
- • The safety net permanently locks your drawdown floor once realized profits reach your max drawdown amount plus $100.
- • Daily loss limits only apply to EOD (~2.2% of initial balance) and Diamond Hands (1.5%) plans—1-Step, Fast Track, and Static have no daily loss limit.
- • Common mistake: assuming all plans share the same drawdown type. The 1-Step trailing drawdown tracks unrealized equity intraday, while EOD trailing only updates at market close.
Learned the hard way: I've studied every rule change Elite Trader Funding has made since their September 2025 overhaul—trailing drawdown locks, the 35% loss rule, safety net mechanics, and the $25,000 payout cap. The details here come from cross-referencing their help center with real trader experiences and my own analysis.
The single most important rule at Elite Trader Funding is the trailing drawdown lock—once your safety net is reached, your floor stops moving permanently. I broke it down in my complete rules overview. For the full picture, read my complete Elite Trader Funding review. For the absolute latest, check Elite Trader Funding's website or their help center.
Elite Trader Funding's rules define how your evaluation account, sim-funded account, and eventual LIVE Elite account operate across six distinct plan types. As of April 2026, the firm offers 1-Step, EOD, Fast Track, Static, Diamond Hands, and Direct to Funded evaluations, each with different drawdown mechanics, position limits, and payout structures.
I've spent months dissecting every rule change Elite Trader Funding has rolled out since their September 2025 overhaul. Some of these rules are straightforward. Others have tripped up experienced traders who didn't read the fine print.
This is the pillar reference for every rule at Elite Trader Funding. I'll cover drawdown types, daily loss limits, consistency rules, the safety net, overnight restrictions, and every other rule that affects whether you pass or fail.
What Are the Six Evaluation Models at Elite Trader Funding?
As of April 2026, Elite Trader Funding offers six evaluation paths. Each model has its own drawdown type, position limits, and pricing structure. Understanding which model you're on determines which rules apply to you.
1-Step Evaluation uses an intraday trailing drawdown with no daily loss limit. It's the most popular plan and available in $50K, $100K, $150K, and $250K sizes.
EOD Evaluation uses an end-of-day trailing drawdown with a daily loss limit of approximately 2.2% of initial balance. Sizes: $50K, $100K, $150K.
Fast Track uses intraday trailing drawdown, no daily loss limit, and is the cheapest entry point at $75 for a $25K account. Also available at $50K.
Static uses a fixed drawdown floor that never moves. Available at $10K, $25K, $50K, and $100K (Elite only).
Diamond Hands uses EOD trailing drawdown with a 1.5% daily loss limit. It allows overnight and weekend holding. Available at $100K.
Direct to Funded skips the evaluation phase entirely and places you in a sim-funded account right away. Available at $50K and $100K.
How Does the Trailing Drawdown Work at Elite Trader Funding?
The trailing drawdown is the rule that ends more accounts than any other at Elite Trader Funding. It comes in two varieties: intraday trailing and end-of-day (EOD) trailing.
Intraday trailing drawdown (used on 1-Step and Fast Track) follows your highest unrealized equity during the session. If your account peaks at $103,000 in open P&L and your max drawdown is $3,000, your new floor becomes $100,000. It doesn't matter if you close the trade at $101,500. The floor already moved.
EOD trailing drawdown (used on EOD and Diamond Hands) only recalculates at market close. Your intraday peaks don't matter. Only the end-of-day balance determines the new floor. This gives you much more breathing room during live sessions.
I've written a dedicated deep dive on the trailing drawdown mechanics and a separate guide on EOD drawdown specifically if you want the full breakdown with numerical examples.
What Is the Safety Net at Elite Trader Funding?
The safety net is Elite Trader Funding's drawdown lock mechanism. Once your realized profits reach the maximum drawdown amount plus $100, your trailing drawdown floor permanently stops moving.
Here's how it works on a $100K 1-Step account with a $3,000 max drawdown:
- Starting balance: $100,000. Drawdown floor: $97,000.
- You grow your account to $103,000 through trades. Your trailing drawdown floor is now $100,000.
- Once you've banked $3,100 in realized (closed) profits, the safety net kicks in.
- Your drawdown floor locks permanently at whatever level it was when you hit that $3,100 threshold.
The $100 buffer is deliberate. Elite Trader Funding adds it to prevent traders from triggering the safety net at the exact dollar amount where the floor sits at break-even.
One critical detail: unrealized profits don't count toward the safety net. You need closed, booked gains. Sitting on a $5,000 winner that you haven't closed does nothing for your safety net progress.
What Are the Max Drawdown Amounts for Each Plan?
As of April 2026, here are the maximum drawdown values across all Elite Trader Funding evaluation models:
| Plan | Account Size | Max Drawdown | Drawdown Type | Daily Loss Limit | Safety Net Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Step | $50K | $2,000 | Intraday Trailing | None | $2,100 |
| 1-Step | $100K | $3,000 | Intraday Trailing | None | $3,100 |
| 1-Step | $150K | $4,500 | Intraday Trailing | None | $4,600 |
| 1-Step | $250K | $5,500 | Intraday Trailing | None | $5,600 |
| EOD | $50K | $2,500 | EOD Trailing | $1,100 | $2,600 |
| EOD | $100K | $3,500 | EOD Trailing | $2,200 | $3,600 |
| EOD | $150K | $5,000 | EOD Trailing | $3,300 | $5,100 |
| Fast Track | $25K | $1,500 | Intraday Trailing | None | $1,600 |
| Fast Track | $50K | $2,000 | Intraday Trailing | None | $2,100 |
| Static | $10K | $500 | Static (Fixed) | None | N/A |
| Static | $25K | $1,000 | Static (Fixed) | None | N/A |
| Static | $50K | $2,000 | Static (Fixed) | None | N/A |
| Static | $100K (Elite) | $625 | Static (Fixed) | None | N/A |
| Diamond Hands | $100K | $3,500 | EOD Trailing | $1,500 (1.5%) | $3,600 |
| Direct to Funded | $50K | $2,000 | Intraday Trailing | None | $2,100 |
| Direct to Funded | $100K | $3,000 | Intraday Trailing | None | $3,100 |
What Is the 35% Loss Rule at Elite Trader Funding?
The 35% loss rule is a consistency mechanism that prevents traders from passing an evaluation with a single lucky trade. As of April 2026, no single trading day's loss can represent more than 35% of your total realized profits at the time of the evaluation pass.
Here's what that means in practice. Say you pass your $100K 1-Step evaluation with $3,500 in total profit. If any single day's loss exceeds $1,225 (35% of $3,500), Elite Trader Funding won't approve your account advancement.
This rule applies at the point of evaluation completion, not during the evaluation itself. You can have a $2,000 loss day during week two, but if your total profits at the end are high enough that $2,000 falls below the 35% threshold, you're fine.
The 35% rule effectively forces you to trade with some consistency. One massive win followed by several sloppy losses won't cut it.
Does Elite Trader Funding Have a Consistency Rule?
Elite Trader Funding does enforce a consistency rule, but it's less rigid than what you'll find at firms like Topstep or FTMO. The 35% loss rule is the primary consistency mechanism. There's no separate requirement that your daily profits must fall within a certain percentage band.
What Elite Trader Funding does require: you must trade on a minimum number of days to pass the evaluation. The specific minimum varies by plan, but generally you need at least 5 trading days. One-day evaluation passes aren't possible regardless of your profit.
The consistency enforcement is moderate compared to the industry. You won't get flagged for having one very profitable day. But you will get flagged if that one big day is propping up multiple losing days that would otherwise breach the 35% loss threshold.
What Are the Overnight and Weekend Holding Rules?
Overnight and weekend holding restrictions at Elite Trader Funding depend entirely on your plan type. As of April 2026:
No overnight holding allowed: 1-Step, EOD, Fast Track, and Static plans all require positions to be closed before the daily session close. Holding a position through the overnight session will breach your account.
Overnight and weekend holding allowed: Diamond Hands is the only evaluation plan that explicitly permits holding positions overnight and through weekends. That's the plan's entire value proposition.
Direct to Funded accounts follow the standard sim-funded rules, which require closing before session end.
This is a hard rule, not a suggestion. I've seen traders lose funded accounts because they forgot about an open MES position at 4:59 PM CT. Set your platform to flatten positions automatically 5 minutes before close if your platform supports it.
What Are the Position Limits at Elite Trader Funding?
Position limits at Elite Trader Funding scale with your account size. As of April 2026, the maximum contracts you can trade are:
| Account Size | Max Contracts (Standard) | Max Contracts (Micro) |
|---|---|---|
| $10K (Static) | 2 | 20 |
| $25K | 3 | 30 |
| $50K | 5 | 50 |
| $100K | 10 | 100 |
| $150K | 15 | 150 |
| $250K | 25 | 250 |
These are hard caps enforced by the platform. If you try to place an order exceeding your contract limit, it will be rejected. The micro contract equivalents are 10:1 (10 micros = 1 standard contract).
Is Hedging Allowed at Elite Trader Funding?
Elite Trader Funding does not allow hedging on evaluation or sim-funded accounts. Hedging means holding simultaneous long and short positions in the same instrument. If you're long 2 ES contracts and you try to short 1 ES, that's a hedge and it'll flag your account.
Cross-instrument hedging (long ES, short NQ) isn't classified as hedging by Elite Trader Funding's rules. That's considered normal diversification. But within the same product, you need to be flat before going the other direction.
This rule catches traders who try to "lock in" a position by hedging before close. Don't do it. Close your position outright.
What Is the Minimum Hold Time at Elite Trader Funding?
Elite Trader Funding enforces a 10-second minimum hold time on all trades. Any trade held for less than 10 seconds risks being flagged and potentially voiding your account.
This rule exists to prevent high-frequency scalping and order manipulation. In practice, 10 seconds is barely a constraint for normal trading. If you're entering and exiting in under 10 seconds consistently, your strategy likely isn't compatible with prop firm rules in general.
The 10-second rule applies to both the evaluation and funded phases. It's measured from order fill to order fill.
What Is the Weekly Trading Requirement?
Elite Trader Funding requires you to place at least one trade per calendar week during both the evaluation and sim-funded phases. Missing a week without trading can lead to account inactivity warnings or eventual termination.
The trade doesn't need to be profitable. It just needs to exist. One micro contract trade on a Monday counts for the entire week.
This requirement exists to prevent people from sitting on passed evaluations indefinitely without trading. If you know you'll be away for a week, contact support beforehand.
Which Countries Are Restricted at Elite Trader Funding?
As of April 2026, Elite Trader Funding restricts traders from a list of sanctioned countries following U.S. OFAC guidelines. The restricted list includes countries like Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and certain regions under specific sanctions.
Elite Trader Funding requires KYC (Know Your Customer) verification before progressing to a funded account. Traders from restricted countries will be unable to complete the KYC process and therefore cannot receive payouts.
The full restricted countries list is maintained on their help center and updates periodically based on U.S. government sanctions changes. Always verify your country's eligibility before purchasing an evaluation.
How Do Resets Work at Elite Trader Funding?
If you breach your evaluation account, Elite Trader Funding offers account resets at a reduced fee rather than requiring a full new purchase. The reset fee is typically 40-60% of the original evaluation price, depending on the plan type.
A reset restores your account to its original starting balance and drawdown limits. Your trading history from the breached account is cleared. You start fresh.
As of April 2026, resets are available for 1-Step, EOD, Fast Track, and Static evaluations. The specific reset pricing varies by account size.
One thing to know: there's no limit on the number of resets you can purchase. But each reset is a separate charge. If you're resetting more than 2-3 times, reconsider whether the plan type matches your trading style before throwing more money at it.
How Do Rules Change After Reaching LIVE Elite Status?
After passing your evaluation and completing your sim-funded phase, Elite Trader Funding transitions you to a LIVE Elite account. The rules change at this stage:
The trailing drawdown still applies, but the safety net carries over. If you already locked your drawdown floor during the sim-funded phase, it stays locked on LIVE Elite.
The payout structure shifts. LIVE Elite accounts have a $25,000 maximum payout per withdrawal request. You receive 100% of profits up to that cap per payout cycle.
Position limits may increase on LIVE Elite accounts compared to evaluation phase. The daily loss limit, if applicable on your plan type, is removed once you reach the safety net.
The consistency expectations remain. Elite Trader Funding monitors trading patterns on LIVE Elite accounts and reserves the right to review accounts showing unusual behavior.
What Are the Most Common Rule Violations?
After reviewing hundreds of trader experiences with Elite Trader Funding, these are the rule violations I see most often:
Trailing drawdown breach during a winning streak. Traders let their unrealized P&L peak too high, the floor rises, and then a pullback before close takes them below the new floor. This is the number one killer on 1-Step accounts.
Forgetting to close before session end. Overnight holding on plans that don't allow it. It's immediate termination with no warning.
Exceeding position limits. Usually happens when traders scale into a position and lose count of open contracts.
Failing the 35% loss rule at evaluation completion. Traders pass the profit target but have one bad day that's too large relative to total profits.
Inactivity. Not trading for a full calendar week. Easy to avoid, easy to forget.
The bottom line: understanding which drawdown type your plan uses is the single most important piece of information. Intraday trailing punishes you for unrealized peaks. EOD trailing gives you breathing room. And static drawdown doesn't move at all. Choose the plan type that matches your trading style, and most rule violations become a non-issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Elite Trader Funding Use the Same Rules on All Plans?
Elite Trader Funding does not use the same rules across all plans. The six evaluation models (1-Step, EOD, Fast Track, Static, Diamond Hands, Direct to Funded) each have different drawdown types, daily loss limits, and overnight holding policies. The 1-Step uses intraday trailing drawdown with no daily loss limit, while the EOD plan uses end-of-day trailing with a daily loss limit of approximately 2.2%.
What Happens When the Safety Net Activates at Elite Trader Funding?
The safety net at Elite Trader Funding permanently locks your trailing drawdown floor in place. Once your realized (closed) profits equal the max drawdown amount plus $100, the floor stops moving forever. On a $100K 1-Step account with a $3,000 max drawdown, the safety net triggers at $3,100 in realized profits.
Can You Hold Positions Overnight at Elite Trader Funding?
Elite Trader Funding only allows overnight and weekend position holding on the Diamond Hands plan. All other plans (1-Step, EOD, Fast Track, Static, Direct to Funded) require you to close all positions before the daily session close. Violating this rule results in immediate account termination.
How Many Contracts Can You Trade on a $100K Elite Trader Funding Account?
Elite Trader Funding allows a maximum of 10 standard contracts (or 100 micro contracts) on a $100K account. This limit applies across all plan types at the $100K level. The position limit is a hard cap enforced by the trading platform.
What Is the 35% Loss Rule at Elite Trader Funding?
The 35% loss rule at Elite Trader Funding prevents any single trading day's loss from exceeding 35% of your total realized profits at the time you complete the evaluation. If you pass with $4,000 in total profits, no single losing day can exceed $1,400 (35% of $4,000). This rule enforces consistency.
Does Elite Trader Funding Require a Minimum Number of Trading Days?
Elite Trader Funding requires a minimum of 5 trading days to pass the evaluation phase. You also need to place at least one trade per calendar week during both evaluation and sim-funded phases. Missing a week without trading can trigger inactivity warnings or account termination.
Is There a Daily Loss Limit on Elite Trader Funding 1-Step Accounts?
Elite Trader Funding does not have a daily loss limit on 1-Step accounts. The only loss constraint on the 1-Step plan is the trailing drawdown. Daily loss limits are exclusive to the EOD plan (approximately 2.2% of initial balance) and the Diamond Hands plan (1.5% of initial balance).
How Does the EOD Drawdown Differ from the 1-Step Drawdown at Elite Trader Funding?
The EOD trailing drawdown at Elite Trader Funding only recalculates at market close based on your end-of-day balance. The 1-Step intraday trailing drawdown follows your highest unrealized equity throughout the entire trading session. EOD trailing gives significantly more breathing room during live trading since intraday peaks don't affect your floor.
What Happens if You Breach Your Elite Trader Funding Evaluation?
If you breach your Elite Trader Funding evaluation, you can purchase a reset at a reduced fee (typically 40-60% of the original evaluation price). The reset restores your account to its original starting balance and clears your trading history. There's no limit on the number of resets you can purchase.
Does Elite Trader Funding Allow Hedging?
Elite Trader Funding does not allow hedging on the same instrument. You cannot hold simultaneous long and short positions in the same futures contract. Trading different instruments at the same time (for example, long ES and short NQ) is permitted and not considered hedging under Elite Trader Funding's rules.
