The 390 Professional Orders Rule

The professional customer rule, also known as the "390 rule," applies to traders that average 390 or more option trades per day over the course of a calendar month.

Traders that cross this threshold are designated as “professional customers” for the duration of the quarter following the month in which the threshold was crossed. For example, if a trader averages more than 390 option orders in January (Q1), the professional customer designation will apply from April 1st to June 30th (the duration of Q2).

This rule, established by the options exchanges, aims to identify professional customers who compete with market makers and should not receive priority over retail clients' orders. For this reason, accounts labeled as “professional customers” require special order handling procedures, which Webull does not currently support. Accordingly, if you are designated as a “professional customer” as a result of your trading activity in a given month, your option trading will be set to liquidation-only status for the following quarter.

Will I be notified?

Webull sends notifications to clients who exceed the 390 option order-per-day threshold on both a daily and a weekly basis, to allow the client to adjust their trading behavior and avoid incurring the professional customer designation. Please note, no notification will be sent when only approaching the daily or weekly threshold.

If you incur the professional customer designation, you will be notified at the time your account is restricted, and again at the time the restriction is lifted (The start and end of the quarter in which the pro customer designation applies).

An option order is counted as a single order if it is submitted as one of the following types:

• Single leg order
• Complex order of less than 8 legs
• Cancel and replace
• Pegged Orders

Please note that all submitted options orders are counted towards the threshold, regardless of whether they are filled, rejected, or canceled.

For more information regarding the 390 Orders Professional Customer Rule, please see the SEC release here.

Option trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Option investors can rapidly lose the entire value of their investment in a short period of time and incur permanent loss by expiration date. You need to complete an options trading application and get approval on eligible accounts. Please read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options and Option Spread Risk Disclosure before trading options.