How to place an AMO on Kite

An After Market Order (AMO) on Zerodha Kite is an order placed outside the regular NSE/BSE trading session (9:15 AM to 3:30 PM IST) that is queued and forwarded to the exchange when the next session opens. AMOs let investors and traders act on research or news that arrives after market hours, locking in their intended price or order parameters without having to be present at the opening bell. This guide covers the complete placement procedure for an AMO on Kite, the timing windows, and what to expect at execution.

AMO timing windows

Kite accepts AMO orders in two windows:

• Post-market: 3:45 PM to midnight (approximately 11:59 PM IST). Orders placed between 3:30 PM and 3:44 PM may still be processed in the closing session and are not treated as AMO.
• Pre-market (next morning): 12:00 AM to 8:57 AM IST. Orders placed in this window are queued for the same next trading session.

AMO orders are forwarded to the exchange at the start of the pre-open session (9:00 AM IST). During the pre-open session (9:00 AM to 9:15 AM IST), the exchange uses call auction matching to determine the opening price. A market AMO placed for the next day may be matched at the call auction equilibrium price (the IEP, Indicated Equilibrium Price), not necessarily the previous day’s closing price.

Step-by-step procedure

Log in to Kite outside market hours

Open kite.zerodha.com or the Kite mobile app after 3:45 PM IST (post-market window) or before 8:57 AM IST (pre-market window). Authenticate with your client ID, password and TOTP.

The Kite interface during after-market hours looks the same as during market hours. The LTP shown in the marketwatch reflects the previous session’s closing price.

Open the order ticket

Locate the scrip in your marketwatch. On Kite web, hover over the row and click Buy or Sell. On the Kite mobile app, tap the scrip and then the action button at the bottom. The order ticket opens.

Note the AMO banner

The order ticket will display a prominent label or banner such as “After market order (AMO)” at the top. This confirms that you are placing an AMO rather than a regular intraday order. If you do not see this banner, verify that your system clock is set correctly; Kite uses server-side time, but the UI may still show the regular order ticket in edge cases around the session boundary.

Select product code (CNC or NRML)

The AMO panel enforces that MIS is not a valid product code, since the MIS product code implies intraday activity, which requires an active trading session. The available product codes for AMO are:

• CNC, for equity delivery orders. Shares are credited to your demat account after T+1 settlement.
• NRML, for F&O instruments where you want to carry the position overnight.

Select CNC for a standard equity buy or sell.

Set order type, quantity and price

Order type: AMO supports all four standard order types: LIMIT, MARKET, SL and SL-M.

• LIMIT AMO: The most common choice. You specify the price at which you want to transact. The order enters the order book at market open and fills if the market reaches your price.
• MARKET AMO: Your order fills at the best available price at the opening (or at the IEP in the pre-open call auction). Use this only if you are certain you want to transact regardless of the opening price.
• SL/SL-M AMO: Conditional AMO orders with a trigger price. These are less commonly used but valid.

Quantity: Enter the number of shares in the Qty field.

Price: For a limit AMO, enter your desired price. A common strategy is to enter a limit price that is the previous close plus or minus a small buffer, to avoid being filled at an extreme opening price while still getting priority in the queue.

Submit the AMO

Click Buy or Sell. Kite queues the order in its system and confirms with an order ID. Navigate to Orders in the left navigation. The order appears with a tag or label indicating AMO.

Verify at market open

At 9:00 AM IST, Kite forwards the AMO to the exchange. Refresh the Orders page at or after 9:00 AM to see the updated status:

• Open, the limit AMO is in the exchange order book, waiting for a fill.
• Trigger pending, for an SL or SL-M AMO, waiting for the trigger condition.
• Complete, the order was filled.
• Rejected, the order was rejected by the exchange, typically due to circuit limits, insufficient funds, or a bad price.

For a market AMO, the status should update to Complete within the first few minutes of the session. For a limit AMO, it may remain Open for the entire session if the market does not reach your price.

AMO vs regular order

What can go wrong

• AMO rejected for insufficient funds. If your available balance drops between order placement and market open (for example, a margin block from another position was realised overnight), the AMO may be rejected. Maintain a comfortable buffer.
• Market AMO executed at an unexpected price. Significant overnight news can cause the IEP to differ sharply from the previous close. Use a limit AMO with an acceptable price range.
• Order not recognised as AMO. If you place an order between 3:30 PM and 3:45 PM, Kite may process it as a regular closing-session order. Check the order book to confirm the AMO tag.
• Scrip under ban or F&O ban. Certain F&O scrips in the ban period cannot have new AMO positions opened. Kite will reject the order with an appropriate message.

Related guides

• How to place your first equity buy order on Kite
• How to place a limit order on Kite
• How to place a market order on Kite
• How to use the marketwatch on Kite
• How to modify a pending order on Kite
• AMO reference article

References

1. Zerodha Support, After market orders (AMO), support.zerodha.com.
2. NSE India, Pre-open session, call auction mechanism, nseindia.com.
3. BSE India, After hours orders, investor guide, bseindia.com.
4. SEBI, Circular on pre-open call auction session, SEBI/MRD/DoP/SE/Cir-13/2010, sebi.gov.in.