390 Rule for Options: When You Become Professional

The 390 rule na options exchanges’ line between retail customer and Professional. Any account wey no be broker-dealer and dey average more than 390 listed-option orders per trading day across one calendar month go become Professional. E orders go carry different origin code, and for the exchange dem no go get the priority and fee treatment wey public customers get. Regular session na 390 minutes, so threshold na one order every minute.

Wetin be the 390 rule for options trading?

Every options order dey reach exchange with origin code. Na one-letter tag wey broker attach to show whose order be that. Public customers dey marked C; market makers and broker-dealers get their own codes. Since January 2010, Cboe don add another one: W, for Professional. Na customer wey no be broker-dealer but dey place orders like one.

The definition dey inside Cboe Exchange Rule 1.1. As dem read am on September 17, 2026, after rule filing SR-CBOE-2026-060 amend am, e say:

“Professional” mean any person or entity wey (a) no be broker or dealer in securities, and (b) dey place more than 390 orders for listed options per day on average during one calendar month for e own beneficial account(s). Orders for any customer wey average more than 390 orders per day during any calendar month must dey represented as Professional orders for the next calendar month. TPH organizations must conduct monthly review and make any necessary changes to how dem represent orders within five days after each calendar month end. (Cboe Exchange Rule 1.1, “Professional”, as amended by SR-CBOE-2026-060, Exhibit 5; read September 17, 2026.)

TPH organization na Trading Permit Holder, wey be Cboe name for member firm. For retail account, na the broker. Other exchanges dey use the same test under different names. Nasdaq ISE separates Priority Customers from Professional Customers at the same 390-order line. Cboe’s 2026 change follow Nasdaq ISE filing on the same review, SR-ISE-2026-16.

Why 390? Regular session na 390 minutes

From 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET na six and a half hours, or 390 minutes. Threshold na one order for each minute. You fit count the minutes from the tape. The panel below groups SPY one-minute bars into half-hour buckets across one full session, including premarket and after-hours edges.

SELECT
    formatDateTime(toStartOfInterval(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'), INTERVAL 30 MINUTE), '%H:%i', 'America/New_York') AS et_time,
    uniqExact(window_start)                    AS bars_printed,
    round(toFloat64(sum(volume)) / 1e6, 2)     AS volume_millions
FROM global_markets.delayed_stocks_minute_aggs
WHERE ticker = 'SPY'
  AND window_start >= toDateTime('2026-09-10 13:00:00', 'UTC')
  AND window_start <  toDateTime('2026-09-10 21:00:00', 'UTC')
GROUP BY et_time
ORDER BY et_time

From 09:30 bucket reach 15:30 bucket, every half hour get 30 one-minute bars. Thirteen buckets of thirty make 390. The edges show where the session dey sit: 09:00 premarket bucket carry 0.27 million SPY shares, compared with 6.78 million for the 09:30 bucket wey follow.

How 390 orders per day dey look beside the market?

For person wey dey click mouse, 390 orders na very big day. Beside the market, na small rounding error. The next panel count every SPY option trade for each half hour of the same session, per active minute.

SELECT
    formatDateTime(toStartOfInterval(toTimeZone(sip_timestamp, 'America/New_York'), INTERVAL 30 MINUTE), '%H:%i', 'America/New_York') AS et_time,
    count()                                                        AS trade_count,
    round(count() / uniqExact(toStartOfMinute(sip_timestamp)), 1)  AS trades_per_minute
FROM global_markets.options_trades
WHERE underlying_symbol = 'SPY'
  AND sip_timestamp >= toDateTime('2026-09-10 13:30:00', 'UTC')
  AND sip_timestamp <  toDateTime('2026-09-10 20:30:00', 'UTC')
GROUP BY et_time
ORDER BY et_time

The first half hour record 6907.5 SPY option trades per minute; the 15:30 bucket run at 2850.1. Account wey dey at the threshold add one order per minute to that flow. The thing wey the tag change na who dem serve first at one price. Na the question wey dey underneath how market makers dey make money.

How brokers dey count orders under the 390 rule?

The counting rules dey for Interpretation and Policy .01 to Rule 1.1. Cboe spell dem out for Regulatory Circular RG16-064, dated March 30, 2016, wey update Regulatory Circular RG09-148, dated December 24, 2009. As dem read am on September 17, 2026:

• Every order count once, whether dem fill am or not, for any options exchange. Size no matter: one-lot and 500-lot each add one.
• Cancel/replace, wey na wetin most platforms send when you edit resting order, count as new order. Plain cancel no add anything.
• Spread of eight legs or fewer na one order, even if broker leg am out. Nine legs or more mean each option leg count separately. Stock leg no dey count.
• Parent order wey broker algorithm split into child orders on the same side of the same series count once. Children across both sides or different series each count.
• Order pegged to NBBO count again every time e re-price to follow the quote.
• All accounts under one beneficial owner dey aggregate. Sub-accounts and related accounts with separate tax IDs no reset the count.

The average na per trading day across the calendar month: counted orders divided by the number of sessions for that month. Quiet week no cancel busy week.

When the designation dey change?

Until middle of 2026, dem dey review am quarterly. Customer wey average more than 390 orders per day in any month of one quarter go get W for the whole next quarter. SR-CBOE-2026-060, filed June 30, 2026 as immediately effective, under SEC Release No. 34-105891 dated July 13, 2026, shorten both parts. Broker now review every calendar month and re-tag within five days after month end. The designation apply to the next calendar month. To return, na the opposite: if account average 390 or less per day for one month, e go return to C for the month after.

Wetin change once dem tag you W?

Priority. Exchanges give public-customer orders execution priority over market-maker quotes and broker-dealer orders at the same price. Dem allocate W order the same way dem allocate broker-dealer order: behind customer orders at that price, inside the same pool with market makers. For crowded strike, na difference between front of queue and middle of queue. Na mechanism wey run through why options orders no dey get filled.

Fees. Circular RG09-148 talk say dem treat Professional orders like broker-dealer orders for execution priority, and dem charge per-contract transaction fee on executed business. Customer orders for most classes dey trade free or almost free from exchange transaction fees. W orders pay broker-dealer schedule. Market maker marketing fee na per-contract charge wey market makers fund to attract customer flow. Dem no collect am on Professional executions too, because your orders no longer be the type wey market maker dey pay to trade against. Whether any of this go show for your statement depend on your broker pricing.

Routing. Payment-for-order-flow arrangements, where wholesaler pay broker to execute retail orders, dey built around C-coded flow. How broker route or price W-coded orders dey depend on each firm.

The 390 rule dey count small orders same as big ones?

Yes. Na this part most retail traders miss. Bot wey dey work one-lot orders across twenty tickers and re-enter each time quote move fit pass 390 before lunch. Discretionary trader wey place ten 50-lot spreads per day no go come near am. Tape show say one-lot trade dey common.

SELECT
    bucket,
    trade_count,
    round(100 * trade_count / sum(trade_count) OVER (), 1) AS share_of_trades_pct
FROM
(
    SELECT
        multiIf(size = 1, 1, size <= 5, 2, size <= 10, 3, size <= 50, 4, 5) AS bucket_rank,
        multiIf(bucket_rank = 1, '1 contract',
                bucket_rank = 2, '2 to 5 contracts',
                bucket_rank = 3, '6 to 10 contracts',
                bucket_rank = 4, '11 to 50 contracts',
                                 '51 or more contracts')                     AS bucket,
        count()                                                              AS trade_count
    FROM global_markets.options_trades
    WHERE underlying_symbol = 'SPY'
      AND sip_timestamp >= toDateTime('2026-09-10 13:30:00', 'UTC')
      AND sip_timestamp <  toDateTime('2026-09-10 20:30:00', 'UTC')
    GROUP BY bucket_rank, bucket
)
ORDER BY bucket_rank

For that session, 47.8% of SPY option trades na exactly one contract, and trades of 51 or more contracts make up 2.2%. The pattern dey hold across the names wey retail traders dey trade most.

SELECT
    underlying_symbol                                AS symbol,
    round(100 * countIf(size = 1) / count(), 1)      AS one_lot_pct,
    round(100 * countIf(size <= 5) / count(), 1)     AS five_or_fewer_pct,
    count()                                          AS trade_count
FROM global_markets.options_trades
WHERE underlying_symbol IN ('SPY', 'QQQ', 'AAPL', 'NVDA', 'TSLA', 'AMZN')
  AND sip_timestamp >= toDateTime('2026-09-10 13:30:00', 'UTC')
  AND sip_timestamp <  toDateTime('2026-09-10 20:30:00', 'UTC')
GROUP BY symbol
ORDER BY one_lot_pct DESC

TSLA get the highest single-contract share that day, at 60.5% of trades. QQQ get the lowest, at 46.6%. For account wey no be broker-dealer, every order behind those trades count the same toward 390, no matter the size.

For bot wey dey place plenty small orders, na the count be the number to watch. Two habits dey move am most. Cancel/replace na fresh order every time. Spread wey you enter as one ticket na one order, while the same legs entered separately na several orders. Same-side child-order slicer no multiply the count. Pegged order multiply am every time e re-price.

The 390 rule versus professional market data test

Two different rules dey use the word “professional”, and traders dey mix dem up all the time. The 390 rule na exchange order-handling rule. E count orders month by month, and e set exchange priority and fees.

Market data test na subscriber classification wey data feeds set, including OPRA for options. E look at who you be: whether you register with securities regulator, work for broker-dealer or bank in registered capacity, act as investment adviser, or use the data for anything beyond personal investing. If you fail any of those tests, you pay professional data rate. Your order count no enter the matter. Account fit get either status without the other one. Our guide to professional versus non-professional market data cover the subscriber test and how e affect data bill.

Neither test be your broker’s options approval level. That one decide which strategies you fit trade at all. That ladder dey covered for options approval levels explained.

FAQ

Wetin be the 390 rule for options?

Na options exchange rule wey designate any non-broker-dealer account wey average more than 390 listed-option orders per trading day across one calendar month as Professional. The number come from the minutes in a 9:30 to 4:00 session: one order per minute.

Cancelled or unfilled orders dey count toward 390?

Unfilled orders dey count. The rule count orders placed, whether dem execute am or not, for any exchange. Cancel/replace, wey be modify, count as new order. Plain cancel no add new order.

Spread count as one order or one for each leg?

E count as one order when complex order get eight legs or fewer, even if broker leg am out. With nine legs or more, each option leg count separately. Stock leg no count.

Wetin happen if dem classify me as Professional?

Your orders go carry Professional origin code, W at Cboe, for the next calendar month. Dem go lose customer priority for exchange allocation and pay broker-dealer fee schedule instead of customer rates. If one month return to 390 orders per day or less, customer code go return for the month after.

390 rule na the same thing as professional market data status?

No. Market data professional status na subscriber test about who you be and how you use the data. E set your data fees. The 390 rule count the orders wey you place and set your order priority and exchange fees. Dem assess each one separately.

Every panel above get the exact SQL behind am. To count trades for another name or another session, run the queries on the Strasmore terminal.