Zerodha Long-dated Market order

Market orders blocked for long-dated options

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Zerodha Kite blocks market orders for long-dated (far-month, far-quarter) options to protect retail clients from substantial slippage on illiquid contracts.

Why blocked

Long-dated options typically have:

  • Thin liquidity (low volume).
  • Wide bid-ask spreads (5-15% or more).
  • Limited order book depth.

A market order would execute at the next available price, which can be far from the displayed LTP.

What “long-dated” means here

For NSE F&O:

  • Near-month (current expiry): usually market orders allowed.
  • Next-month (one month out): market orders allowed.
  • Far-month (3+ months out): market orders blocked.
  • Quarterly long-dated (6+ months): blocked.

The exact cutoff varies by contract and Kite’s risk framework.

Workaround

Use limit orders:

  1. Open the order ticket on the long-dated option.
  2. Note the current bid and ask.
  3. Place a limit order within the spread.
  4. Wait for fill, or adjust limit.

Similar restrictions apply for:

See also

External references

References

  1. Zerodha Support, Order restrictions on illiquid contracts, support.zerodha.com.
  2. NSE F&O, Contract liquidity considerations, nseindia.com.

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