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Prop Firms and EAs: What Automation Is Usually Allowed

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2026 8:38 pm
by FXS Prop Desk
Automation rules differ widely between firms. A short overview of what is usually checked:
  • Allowed: trade-management EAs (break-even, trailing stop, partial close), position-size calculators, custom indicators.
  • Often allowed with conditions: fully automated strategies you developed yourself.
  • Usually banned: off-the-shelf EAs sold to many traders, HFT/latency EAs, arbitrage tools.
The reason for banning commercial EAs: many accounts with identical trades create concentrated risk for the firm.

One practical habit: write down the margin required for your normal position on each instrument and leverage level. If that figure is more than a third of the account balance, several simultaneous trades can hit margin limits even while risk per trade is small.

If you use your own EA:
  • Keep the source and backtest results available.
  • Check maximum trades per day or minimum hold time rules.
  • Make sure it respects daily loss limits on its own.
Do you run any automation on a funded account, and did you have to clear it with the firm?