Prop firm news trading rules: windows, events and penalties

What restricted news trading means at 12 futures prop firms: the events, the time windows and the penalty.

Allowed on every plan: 7 of 12
Restricted on some plan or stage: 5 of 12
Usual window: 1 to 2 minutes each side

Rules checked on September 26, 2026 · By helloweekends Editors

Prop firm news trading rules decide whether you may hold positions or place orders around scheduled economic releases such as CPI, the jobs report and FOMC statements. Seven of the 12 futures prop firms we track allow news trading on every plan. Five restrict it on some plans or stages, usually for one or two minutes before and after the release.

What "restricted" means

An evaluation is a paid test with simulated trading, and news rules are part of its terms. "Restricted" covers three different rules.

Be flat. No open positions and no working orders inside a window around the release. Take Profit Trader, Lucid and MyFundedFutures use this form.
No orders or no new trades. Alpha Futures bars executing any order in its window. Topstep bars new opening trades in equity index minis during a 10-minute CPI window.
Banned tactics. Trading is allowed, but some methods are not. Apex bans news straddles, meaning orders placed on both sides of the price before a release. Topstep bans trading your full maximum position size into a major scheduled release.

Which releases count

Firms name the events in different ways.

High-impact or "red-folder" events. Alpha Futures uses the red-folder (high-impact) label of the ForexFactory economic calendar. Lucid also uses the red-folder term and limits it to US dollar news.
Tier 1 events. MyFundedFutures lists FOMC meetings and minutes, the Employment Report and CPI, plus EIA reports for energy and agricultural reports for agricultural futures.
A named list. Take Profit Trader names FOMC statements (Wednesday 2:00 p.m. ET), nonfarm payrolls (Friday 8:30 a.m. ET) and CPI. Crude oil inventories apply to crude, and bond auctions to 10-Year Note and 30-Year Bond futures. Fed speakers and FOMC minutes are allowed.

Evaluation vs funded

At four of the five firms that restrict news, the rule starts only after you pass. Alpha Futures applies it to Zero, Standard and Direct funded accounts. Lucid applies it to funded LucidDaily accounts. MyFundedFutures applies it to Rapid and Pro sim funded accounts. Take Profit Trader applies it to PRO and PRO+. Topstep's CPI restriction applies at every stage.

Worked example: a release at 8:30 a.m. ET

With a 2-minute rule, as at MyFundedFutures Rapid funded accounts, you must be flat with no orders from 8:28 to 8:32 a.m. ET.
With a 1-minute rule, as at Take Profit Trader PRO, the window runs from 8:29 to 8:31 a.m. ET.

The penalty differs. Alpha Futures gives a warning for a first violation and breaches the account for repeats. On a funded LucidDaily account, holding through the window is a hard breach that fails the account.

News trading rules by firm

Rules checked on September 26, 2026. "None stated" means the firm allows news trading and we found no window on its official pages.

Funded = the simulated funded account you get after passing. Firms in alphabetical order. Source: firms' official rules pages, checked September 26, 2026.
Firm	Evaluation	Funded	Window, events and penalty
Alpha Futures Alpha Futures rules	Allowed	Zero, Standard, Direct: restricted. Advanced: allowed.	No orders from 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after high-impact (red-folder) events. First violation is a warning; repeats breach the account.
Apex Trader Funding Apex Trader Funding rules	Allowed	Allowed	No window. News straddles (orders on both sides) and chasing the market are banned; directional trades only.
Bulenox Bulenox rules	Allowed	Allowed	No blackout windows or forced closing, including CPI, FOMC and NFP.
Earn2Trade Earn2Trade rules	Allowed	Allowed	None stated
FundedNext Futures FundedNext Futures rules	Allowed	Allowed	None stated
Lucid Trading Lucid Trading rules	Allowed	LucidDaily: restricted. Other plans: allowed.	Flat from 1 minute before to 1 minute after high-impact USD news. A breach is a hard breach.
MyFundedFutures MyFundedFutures rules	Allowed (all evaluations)	Rapid and Pro: restricted. Builder: allowed.	No positions or orders 2 minutes before or after Tier 1 events: FOMC meetings and minutes, the Employment Report, CPI; EIA reports for energy; agricultural reports for agricultural futures.
Phidias Propfirm Phidias rules	Allowed	Allowed	None stated
Take Profit Trader Take Profit Trader rules	Allowed (Test)	PRO and PRO+: restricted	Flat with no working orders from 1 minute before to 1 minute after FOMC statements, NFP and CPI; crude oil inventories for crude; 10-Year Note and 30-Year Bond auctions for those contracts. Fed speakers and FOMC minutes are allowed.
The5ers Futures The5ers Futures rules	Allowed	Allowed	None stated
Topstep Topstep rules	Restricted	Restricted	No new opening trades in equity index minis (and some metals) in a 10-minute CPI window; micros capped. Trading your full maximum size into a major scheduled release is banned.
Tradeify Tradeify rules	Allowed	Allowed	None stated

Firms change news rules often. Changes are logged in prop firm rule changes. For the other rules that can end an account, see prop firm rules.

Know the riskA prop firm evaluation is a paid service with simulated trading. Most people who buy one do not pass it, and firms change their rules, pause payouts and close. Not investment advice.

Questions

Can you trade the news with a futures prop firm?

At most firms, yes. Seven of the 12 firms we track allow it on every plan. Alpha Futures, Lucid, MyFundedFutures, Take Profit Trader and Topstep restrict it on some plans or stages.

What is a red-folder news event?

It is a release marked high impact on an economic calendar. Alpha Futures names the ForexFactory calendar's red-folder events; Lucid uses the term for high-impact US dollar news.

Do news rules apply during the evaluation?

Usually not. Alpha Futures, Lucid, MyFundedFutures and Take Profit Trader restrict news only on funded accounts. Topstep's CPI restriction applies at every stage.

What happens if I break a news rule?

It depends on the firm. Alpha Futures warns you the first time and breaches the account for repeats. On a funded LucidDaily account, holding through high-impact USD news is a hard breach.

Sources

All checked on September 26, 2026.