At all levels of the Topstep program, there are some behaviors that traders are prohibited from doing and others that traders need to notify Topstep about. This is to maintain the integrity of our program as well as the integrity of the Simulated Environment.
Know what will get your account closed. These aren’t gray areas.
Prohibited Conduct applies at every level of the Topstep program. It exists to promote responsible trading, protect program integrity, and ensure that passing the Trading Combine® (TC) actually reflects the discipline needed to succeed in live markets.
Rules vs. Prohibited Conduct
Rules have a fixed outcome if violated. Prohibited Conduct is handled case-by-case based on severity and history.
Possible responses to a Prohibited Conduct violation:
Warning
Deletion of the impacted trading day
Account Reset
Permanent account closure
Delay or denial of a Payout request
Prohibited Conduct violations do not result in a Reset fee. Ultimately, the action Topstep takes will depend on the infractions severity and your prior history (or lack thereof).
What Is Prohibited Conduct?
Unprofessional behavior — see the Professional Behavior at Topstep article
Excessive purchases of Trading Combines or Resets
Price exploitation — strategies designed to exploit errors in price display or data feed delays
Disruptive practices — including spoofing
Trading outside the best bid or offer
Using an external or slow data feed to trade
Coordinated trading — performing trades in concert with others (including unconnected accounts or third parties) to pool risk, hedge aggregate positions, or trade the same or opposite strategy simultaneously
Cross-account hedging (single-user) — holding opposite positions across multiple accounts simultaneously
Trades conflicting with Topstep’s Terms of Use
Unfair technology — using software, AI, ultra-high speed systems, or mass data entry to gain an unfair advantage
Trading inconsistent with real futures markets — or in a way that creates financial risk for Topstep
Exploiting platform deficiencies — using instruments or methods that misuse bugs, errors, or deficiencies in the platform
Circumventing geographical or technical restrictions
Holding a position within 2% of a product’s price lock limit — see How to Ensure I Am Not Trading Within 2% of a Price Limit
Trading on behalf of others — including sharing incentives as part of any business arrangement
Account stacking — repeatedly hitting the Maximum Loss Limit in one account and switching to another to repeat high-risk attempts
Any other conduct that Topstep determines, at its sole discretion, is uncommercial, games the market, is not a viable strategy, or is not responsible trading
Do not use a VPN. VPNs, proxy services, TOR, geo-location obfuscation, and other identity-masking services are not permitted at Topstep. If you see an Error 403 Forbidden message, disable your VPN or proxy and try again.
Who is the Compliance Team?
The Compliance Team protects the integrity of the program. If your conduct is called into question, they're who you'll hear from.
Compliance reviews Terms of Use violations, fraudulent activity, and account manipulation. They do not handle platform or technical issues — that's Trader Support.
Appeals
You don't need to initiate an appeal. The Compliance Team will contact you directly if one is available. Trader Support cannot assist with appeals.
Once you receive an email from Compliance, respond directly to the assigned team member with any supporting documents or information. Respond as soon as possible — there's no fixed deadline, but early responses help.
Appeals can be denied if the review finds ToU violations, fraudulent activity, or account manipulation. If accepted, you'll receive an email with terms and conditions you must accept to return. Breaching those terms will result in immediate account termination.
Compliance FAQs
Why can't I appeal?
An appeal may not be possible depending on the severity of the Terms of Use violation. The Compliance Team will let you know whether one is available.
What if I just create a new profile?
Don't. New profiles created after a ban will be closed immediately and no refunds will be issued.
Do I need to verify my identity?
Yes. Topstep conducts KYC (Know Your Customer) checks on all Traders. You may be asked to re-verify at any time. Learn more about how KYC works.