Inactivity rule

An inactivity rule closes or suspends a prop-firm account when no trade has been placed for a given number of consecutive days. It exists to stop traders from parking accounts, and it applies to evaluations and funded accounts alike unless the contract says otherwise.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

What triggers it

The rule counts consecutive days without an executed trade. Reaching the threshold usually ends the account; some firms send a warning first, others suspend the account until the trader contacts support. The threshold and the consequence are program-specific and can differ between the evaluation and the funded stage.

The rule is unrelated to profitability. A funded account with a comfortable buffer can still be closed for inactivity, and the trader then has to start from a new evaluation. On the evaluation, inactivity can also stop the minimum trading days counter from ever completing.

Strategies it hurts most

  • Event-driven or seasonal strategies that wait weeks for a setup.
  • Traders who pass the profit target early and stop trading while waiting for the minimum days.
  • Accounts held as a reserve while another account is being traded.
  • Automated strategies whose filters reject every bar for long stretches.

In Senzoukria

The Automatic backtest on the Replay page can run a strategy through the full prop-firm cycle. Among its gate criteria, "Prop-firm cycle: lock reached, inactivity respected" checks that the simulated path both reached the drawdown lock and never went long enough without a trade to trip the rule. It is a pass/fail criterion on the path, not a forecast.

The "Prop firm rules" form does not have a dedicated inactivity field; a breach that fits no listed rule is filed under "Other rule" in the "Why accounts died" breakdown. The threshold itself has to be read in your firm's contract.

Ways traders get caught

  • Assuming a funded account can sit idle indefinitely.
  • Counting calendar days when the firm counts trading days, or the reverse.
  • Relying on a notification email that arrives after the account has already been closed.

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Frequently asked questions

Does a tiny trade keep the account alive?
A tiny trade keeps the account alive at most firms, because the rule only asks for an executed trade. Firms that also enforce a consistency rule or a minimum profit per trading day may treat such trades differently, so read the definition of a trading day in your contract before relying on it.
Does the inactivity rule apply during an evaluation?
The inactivity rule usually applies during an evaluation, often with the same threshold as on the funded stage. On subscription evaluations the account may also lapse simply because the monthly fee stopped, which is a separate mechanism with a similar result.

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