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Prop firms that require a stop loss on every trade

Some prop firms require a stop loss on every position. Others recommend it but don't enforce it. If yours requires it, the details matter.

The first question is timing. Does the stop have to be set when the order is placed, or within a certain time after? Some firms allow a short window, like a minute or two. Others check immediately. Market execution accounts sometimes don't allow a stop to be attached to the order itself, so you set it right after entry. That gap might or might not be acceptable.

The second is whether you can remove or widen the stop later. Some firms require a stop at all times, so moving it is fine but removing it isn't. Others might also have rules about how far away it can be.

The third is how they enforce it. Some firms automatically close positions without a stop. Others flag the account. A few treat it as a hard breach.

If you use an EA, make sure it sets a stop on every order and handles failures. If the stop modification fails, the EA should retry or close the position.

For manual traders, setting the stop in the order window before clicking buy or sell avoids most issues. It's a good habit anyway.

Mental stops are the common casualty here. Some traders prefer not to have a visible stop and manage exits by hand. On a firm that requires stops, that style needs adjusting. One option is a server side stop at the point where the trade is clearly wrong, wider than your mental exit, and then managing the trade by hand within that range. That satisfies the rule and still gives you discretion. The wider stop is a backstop, not the main exit. If the backstop is hit, the loss is larger than your usual exit, so sizing should be based on that distance, not the mental one.

Pending orders raise a question too. If you place a pending order with no stop attached, and it fills while you're away, the position is open without a stop until you notice. On a firm with a mandatory stop rule, that could count as a breach. Attaching the stop to the pending order itself avoids that. Most platforms let you set stop and target on pending orders, and they become active as soon as the order fills. Checking that setting before leaving the desk is a simple fix. For EAs, a check that every open position has a stop, run every few seconds, catches any order that slipped through without one.

Some firms require the stop within a short time after entry, for example 30 seconds or one minute. A trader who places the order first and then adds the stop needs to know that window.

Using an order template with the stop already set avoids the risk completely. In MT5, the one-click trading panel can be set up with default stop and target distances, which helps if speed matters.