How to fix a price-band rejection on Zerodha
A price-band rejection on Kite occurs when the limit price you have specified in a buy or sell order falls outside the daily price range permitted by NSE or BSE for that instrument. Exchanges impose these price bands (also called circuit filters or circuit breakers) to limit extreme intraday price swings and protect market integrity.
The rejection message typically reads: “Order price is outside the allowable price band” or “Price is out of the DPR (Daily Price Range)” at the exchange level.
Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes only. WebNotes has no commercial relationship with Zerodha, NSE, or BSE.
Prerequisites
- An active Zerodha account with Kite access.
- Knowledge of how to place and modify orders on Kite.
Step 1: Confirm the rejection is price-band related
Open the Orders tab on Kite and expand the rejected order. The reason field shows one of these messages:
| Exchange error message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Order price is outside the allowable price band” | Limit price exceeds upper or lower circuit |
| “Price out of DPR” | Daily Price Range violation |
| “17095: Order price outside price band” | NSE exchange error code for price-band breach |
| “Price out of range” | BSE equivalent |
If the message contains “RMS” instead of an exchange error code, the rejection is at the Zerodha level, not the exchange level. See How to fix an RMS rejection on Zerodha.
Step 2: Find the valid price range for the instrument
On Kite market watch
On Kite web, hover over the instrument in the market watch to see the depth panel. Click the instrument to open the full scrip detail. The Upper Circuit and Lower Circuit prices are displayed, usually in the form:
- Upper Circuit (UC): the maximum price at which a buy order is accepted today.
- Lower Circuit (LC): the minimum price at which a sell order is accepted today.
On NSE or BSE website
Navigate to nseindia.com > Market Data > Equity and search for the symbol. The price band is listed as a percentage of the previous day’s closing price (e.g., “10% band” means the price can move from minus 10% to plus 10% of yesterday’s close).
Common price band percentages in India:
| Category | Band width |
|---|---|
| Nifty 50 component stocks | 20% (circuit filter may be narrower for specific stocks) |
| Mid-cap and small-cap stocks | 5% or 10% |
| Very small-cap / illiquid stocks | 2% |
| F&O stocks | Typically no daily price band (circuit applies only at exchange-level index halt) |
| SME IPO stocks | 20% on listing day; narrower thereafter |
| Freshly listed stocks (T-group) | 5% for some post-listing periods |
Stocks under surveillance measures (ASM, GSM) may have reduced band widths (2% or 5%) imposed by the exchange.
Step 3: Revise the limit price to within the valid band
For a buy order rejected at the upper circuit. The price you specified is at or above the upper circuit price. The maximum limit price you can specify for a buy order is the upper circuit price itself. Revise your limit price to the upper circuit price or below.
For a sell order rejected at the lower circuit. The price you specified is at or below the lower circuit price. The minimum limit price for a sell order is the lower circuit price. Revise your limit price to the lower circuit price or above.
Place a new order or modify the rejected order with the corrected price.
Step 4: Understand circuit-locked instruments
If the instrument is already trading at the upper circuit (hitting the max price), all available sell orders have been absorbed and only buy orders exist. In this state:
- You can place a buy limit order at the upper circuit price.
- There may be no sellers; your order may not fill until the exchange relaxes the circuit or sellers emerge.
- The exchange may relax the band (move the UC to a higher level) intraday if trading activity warrants it.
Similarly, if the instrument is at the lower circuit:
- You can place a sell limit order at the lower circuit price.
- There may be no buyers until circuit relaxation.
A market order in an instrument locked at the upper or lower circuit will typically be rejected or result in no fill because there are no counterparty orders at any price within the band.
Step 5: Special cases
Pre-open session (9:00 AM to 9:07 AM)
During the pre-open call auction, a separate price range applies. Orders placed in the pre-open that fall outside the expected auction price range may be rejected. The valid range is typically the previous day’s closing price plus or minus the applicable band.
Newly listed stocks on listing day
On the day of a company’s stock-exchange listing (IPO listing), NSE and BSE apply special price bands. For mainboard IPOs, a ±20% band typically applies on listing day relative to the issue price. For SME IPOs, the band may differ. Market orders placed at listing open can fill anywhere within this band.
Stocks moved to trade-for-trade segment
Stocks in the trade-for-trade (T group) settlement segment have stricter band controls and no intraday netting. If a stock was recently moved to T group, the band may have tightened.
What can go wrong
Limit price entered in paise instead of rupees. An accidental entry of 1550 paise (Rs 15.50) instead of Rs 1,550 will be rejected as outside the band. Always verify the price field shows the correct rupee value.
Band relaxed after rejection but order not retried. If you do not re-place the order after the exchange relaxes the circuit (moves the band wider), you miss the opportunity. Monitor the instrument and re-enter when the band allows your intended price.
Price band violation in pre-open order. An order placed during pre-open that exceeds the auction price band is cancelled at the start of the continuous session. This may look like a cancellation rather than a rejection in the order history.
Escalation path
Price-band rejections are exchange-mandated and cannot be overridden by Zerodha. If you believe the exchange has applied an incorrect band to an instrument, contact NSE Investor Services at investorservice@nse.co.in or BSE at is@bseindia.com. For Kite-specific display errors (showing incorrect circuit prices), raise a ticket at support.zerodha.com.
Related guides
- How to fix a circuit-limit rejection on Zerodha
- How to fix an RMS rejection on Zerodha
- How to fix a freeze-quantity rejection on Zerodha
- Limit orders on Kite
References
- NSE India, “Daily Price Bands and Circuit Filters,” nseindia.com.
- BSE India, “Price Bands, Equity,” bseindia.com.
- SEBI, “Framework for market-wide circuit breakers and price bands,” SEBI circular series.
- Zerodha Support, “Why was my order rejected due to price band?” support.zerodha.com.
- NSE India, “Surveillance measures, Additional Surveillance Measure (ASM) framework,” nseindia.com.