What order expiry means
A pending order is an instruction to open a trade later, when price reaches a level you choose. Examples are limit orders, stop orders and stop-limit orders. A market order opens immediately, so it has no expiry.
Order expiry, also called time-in-force, decides how long a pending order waits before it is removed. If price never reaches your level before the expiry, the order is deleted and no trade opens.
Expiry applies only to the order. After an order triggers and becomes an open position, expiry no longer matters. The position stays open until you close it, or until a stop loss, take profit or stop out closes it.
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The main expiry options
| Option | What it does | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Good till cancelled (GTC) | The order stays active until it triggers or you delete it | Levels you want to keep watching across days |
| Day (Today) | The order is removed at the end of the current trading day | Entries that only make sense for today's session |
| Specified time | The order is removed at the date and time you set | Entries tied to a known event or session |
| Specified day | The order is removed at the end of the day you choose | Orders that should last until a set day |
Good till cancelled (GTC)
A GTC order has no automatic end. It can sit for days or weeks, and it is easy to forget. Many traders who lose track of an old GTC order are surprised when it triggers. Review your open pending orders regularly.
Day order in forex
A day order expires at the end of the trading day. In forex, the market trades around the clock on weekdays, so "end of day" means the end of the day by the platform's server time. Server time can differ from Pakistan time. Check the server time shown in your platform before you rely on a day order.
What happens over weekends
The forex market closes for the weekend, and so do most CFD markets. See weekends and holidays.
- GTC orders stay in place over the weekend and become active again when the market reopens.
- Day orders expire before the weekend, at the end of the last trading day.
- Specified time orders that end during the weekend are removed at that time, without any chance to trigger.
When the market reopens, price can open far from the Friday close. This is called a price gap. A stop order caught in a gap is filled at the first available price, which can be much worse than your level. A limit order fills at your price or better, but it may fill when the situation behind your plan has changed. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, and gaps are one way losses grow beyond what you planned.
Setting expiry in MetaTrader
MetaTrader 5. When you place a pending order, the order window has an Expiration field. It usually offers GTC, Today, Specified and Specified day. For Specified, you also choose a date and time. See MetaTrader 5.
MetaTrader 4. The pending order window has an Expiry checkbox. If you leave it unticked, the order works like GTC. If you tick it, you set a date and time. See MetaTrader 4.
To change the expiry of an existing order, open it from the Trade tab and modify it. Which options are available depends on the broker and the instrument. If you trade with Exness, check the current conditions in the Exness personal area or on the official site.
Expiry vs filling policy
Experienced traders should keep two settings apart:
- Expiry (time-in-force) controls how long a pending order waits.
- Filling policy (such as Fill or Kill or Immediate or Cancel) controls how an order is filled once it executes, including what happens to any part that cannot be filled.
Both can appear in the same order window, but they answer different questions.
Frequent questions
What is a GTC order?
A good till cancelled order is a pending order with no automatic expiry. It stays active until it triggers or you delete it.
What is a day order in forex?
A day order is removed at the end of the trading day by the platform's server time, if it has not triggered.
Does a GTC order stay active over the weekend?
Yes. It becomes active again when the market reopens, and it can trigger at a gapped price.
What happens when a pending order expires?
It is deleted. No trade opens and no position is affected.
Does expiry close my open trade?
No. Expiry only applies to orders that have not triggered yet. Use closing trades or protective orders to manage open positions.
Where can I practise with expiry settings?
A demo account lets you place pending orders with different expiry options without risking real money. See also first demo trade.