Apex Trader Funding Rules Guide

Each rule in the Apex Trader Funding system works together to create a structured path from evaluation to consistent payouts. Understanding how they interconnect is what separates traders who get funded and stay funded from those who lose their accounts early.

The 30% Consistency Rule

The 30% consistency rule is the single most important rule to understand before requesting any payout. It ensures that no single trading day accounts for more than 30% of your total profit. Many traders have profitable accounts but cannot withdraw because one outsized day skews their ratio. Use our free consistency calculator to check your numbers after every session so there are no surprises at payout time. For a complete breakdown of how the formula works, when the rule applies, and when it stops, read our consistency rule explained guide.

Trailing Drawdown and MAE

The trailing drawdown determines when your account gets closed. It starts at a fixed distance below your initial balance and trails upward as your account reaches new highs, but it never moves back down. This means every dollar of profit you make also raises the floor beneath you. The MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) rule works alongside the drawdown by limiting how much unrealized loss you can carry across all open positions at the same time. If you are below the payout threshold, MAE is 30% of your drawdown limit. Above the threshold, it becomes 30% of your current profit and increases to 50% once profit doubles the threshold. Understanding these mechanics is critical for proper position sizing.

Payout Structure and Safety Net

Apex structures payouts in tiers. For your first three payouts, a safety net requires you to maintain a buffer of at least $500 above the minimum payout threshold after withdrawal. Payouts 4 and 5 remove the safety net but still enforce maximum withdrawal caps that vary by account size. From the 6th payout onward, all caps and the consistency rule are removed entirely. Use our payout calculator to see exactly how much you can withdraw at every stage based on your account size and current balance.

Passing the Evaluation

Before any of these payout rules matter, you need to pass the evaluation first. The evaluation requires you to hit the profit target for your account size without exceeding the trailing drawdown. There is no time limit and no consistency rule during evaluation, but building good habits early makes the funded phase much easier. Our guide on how to pass Apex Trader Funding covers the strategies, risk management techniques, and daily routines that successful funded traders use to clear the evaluation and stay funded long-term.

Hedging Restriction on Funded Accounts

One rule that catches many traders off guard is the hedging restriction. On funded Performance Accounts, you are not allowed to hold opposing positions on similar instruments. For example, going long on NQ while simultaneously shorting MNQ across your accounts is not permitted. This applies to all correlated futures products, so plan your entries carefully if you manage multiple accounts.