Consistency Rule
A consistency rule is a prop firm requirement that no single trading day's profit exceed a set percentage, such as 30%, 40% or 50%, of a firm-defined base (the total profit for the evaluation or payout period at some firms, the profit target at others), with passing or payout eligibility delayed until the largest day falls within the limit or, where the base is the profit target, until a raised target is reached.
With a 30% rule measured against total profit, no single trading day's profit may exceed 30% of the period's total. A trader who reaches the target with one dominant day must keep trading until later, more balanced days bring that day's share to the threshold or below. Firms that measure against the profit target apply the percentage to the target instead and raise the target when a single day exceeds the limit, for example to the best day divided by the threshold, which delays the pass until the higher target is reached.
This page covers the mechanic; it is not trading advice.
Prop firm rules vary between firms and change frequently. Always verify specific rules directly with your firm before making any decision.
Why consistency catches profitable traders by surprise
A cap on how much of your profit can come from any single day, measured against your total profit at some firms and against the profit target at others. It prevents passing on one lucky trade, and can hold back a trader who has already hit the profit target. At firms that apply the rule during the evaluation and measure it against total profit, the trader sees the target reached but the evaluation will not pass — additional balanced trading days are required to dilute the single-day share.
The rule targets single-trade home runs. A trader running a 5x risk multiplier on one trade to hit the profit target produces a profit distribution concentrated in one day, and the firm withholds the pass until later, smaller days bring that day's share within the limit; at firms that measure against the profit target, the target rises instead. At firms that apply it during the evaluation, the consistency rule converts the evaluation from a single-target test into a multi-day demonstration.
Reaching the target within the consistency limit
Account: $10,000. Profit target: 10% = $1,000. Consistency rule (assumed for this example): 30% of total profit.
If the evaluation closes with total profit exactly at the $1,000 target, the largest single day may be at most $1,000 × 30% = $300. A trader who closes Day 1 with $400 profit and reaches the $1,000 target on Day 2 with $600 of additional profit has produced 60% of total profit on Day 2 ($600 ÷ $1,000), so the consistency rule blocks the pass until the Day 2 share is 30% or less.
To bring the Day 2 share to 30%, the trader must keep trading on additional days to raise the cumulative profit. With Day 2 fixed at $600, total profit must reach $600 ÷ 0.30 = $2,000, and no later day may exceed $600, or that day becomes the new largest day. At $2,000 of cumulative profit, Day 2's $600 is exactly 30% and the rule is met.
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Common questions
Does the consistency rule apply only at evaluation close or continuously?
It depends on the firm. Some firms check the rule when the evaluation's other targets are met, some apply it only to payouts on the funded account, some at both stages, and some products have no consistency rule at all. Where it applies, a single exceedance does not cause an in-progress failure, although some firms' terms add penalties for repeated or blatant breaches: a trader can have a 60% single day mid-evaluation and keep trading. Depending on the firm, the check runs when the trader requests progression or a payout, or the profit target rises once that day's profit is recorded.
Are all winning days counted, or only the largest single day?
Only the largest single day is checked against the rule. Where the base is total profit, every trading day feeds the total: winning days raise it, and at firms that count net profit, losing days lower it and push the largest day's share up. Some firms count only profitable days, and firms that measure against the profit target compare the largest day with the target instead. A trader with one $600 day and four $100 days has cumulative profit of $1,000, with the largest day at 60%, failing a 30% rule measured against total profit. Spreading the same $1,000 across ten $100 days produces a largest-day share of 10%, inside thresholds such as 30%, 40% or 50%.