What is time in force?
The instruction saying how long an order stays live: good till cancelled, immediate or cancel, or fill or kill.
Not yet verifiedHow we verify
3 min read
In this entry
The instruction saying how long an order stays live: good till cancelled, immediate or cancel, or fill or kill.
It decides whether an unfilled remainder rests on the book or is cancelled outright. Immediate or cancel guarantees you never leave a stale order in a market that has moved; see limit order.
It is a dropdown most people never open, and the default is usually the right choice for an ordinary purchase. It becomes worth understanding when an order half-fills and you find out afterwards what happened to the rest.
How it works
Time in force answers one question: what should the exchange do with the part of your order that did not fill immediately.
Good till cancelled is the usual default. Anything unfilled rests on the order book until it fills or you cancel it. Some venues impose a maximum age, stated on their own order documentation.
Immediate or cancel fills whatever it can right now and cancels the rest. Partial fills are accepted. It is the instruction for taking available liquidity without leaving anything behind.
Fill or kill fills the entire order immediately or cancels all of it. No partial fills. It is used where a partial position is worse than none.
Good till date rests until a time you set, then cancels itself.
Post-only is not strictly a duration but sits in the same menu on most venues. It cancels the order rather than letting it cross the spread, which guarantees maker treatment on the fee schedule. See post only order.
| Instruction | Partial fills | Remainder |
|---|---|---|
| Good till cancelled | Yes | Rests on the book |
| Immediate or cancel | Yes | Cancelled |
| Fill or kill | No | Whole order cancelled |
| Good till date | Yes | Rests until your expiry |
Example
Illustrative book. You place a limit buy for 10 units at $100, and only 4 units are offered at $100 or better.
Good till cancelled fills 4 and leaves an order for 6 resting at $100. Immediate or cancel fills 4 and cancels the other 6, so you hold 4 units and no open order. Fill or kill fills nothing at all, because 10 could not be filled at once, and you hold no units.
Three instructions, one book, three different positions afterwards. The difference matters most on thin markets, where a resting remainder can sit for hours and fill at a moment you are not watching.
Why it matters when you buy
On a thin market the remainder question is not academic, because a resting order left behind can fill later at a price you would not have chosen. The liquidity pages show measured depth per venue and asset, which is what determines how much of an order fills at once, and the guide on limit and market orders covers the underlying choice.
Related terms
- limit order — the order type this applies to
- order book — where a remainder rests
- fill or kill — the all-or-nothing instruction
- good til canceled — the usual default
- post only order — the maker-only instruction
- iceberg order — a different way to manage a large order
Questions
Which should I use for an ordinary purchase?
A market order does not need one, and for a limit order the default of good till cancelled is normally fine as long as you check your open orders afterwards.
Does time in force change the fee I pay?
Not directly. Fees depend on whether the fill was maker or taker. Post-only is the instruction that guarantees maker treatment by refusing to cross. See maker taker fee.
Do all exchanges offer the same options?
No. The four common instructions are widely supported and the names vary, and some venues add their own. The order-type list on each exchange is the authoritative source.