Code 001 – Order Canceled Due to Insufficient Buying Power
What it means:
This means your account does not have enough buying power to place the order. “Buying power” is how much money you have available to trade.
Why it happens:
This usually happens when you try to buy an options contract but your order type is set to Sell to Open instead of Buy to Open.
It can also happen if you are trying to close a position but use Sell to Open instead of Sell to Close. This mistake can make the system think you are opening a brand new trade that needs a lot of buying power—sometimes more than your account has.
Example:
You own a call option and want to sell it, but you choose Sell to Open by mistake. The system tries to open a new “cash-secured” option trade instead of closing your current one, which requires extra buying power. Because you don’t have enough, the order is canceled.
How to fix it:
Before submitting, double-check your order type:
Use Buy to Open to open new positions.
Use Sell to Close to close existing positions.
Code 201, 202, 203 – Account Breached Loss Limit
What it means:
Your account has gone below the allowed loss limit. This means you have lost more than the account rules allow.
Why it happens:
When your trading losses bring your balance under the loss limit, your account becomes restricted. You can no longer open new trades.
Example:
If your account starts at $50,000 and your loss limit is $48,500, your account will stop trading if your balance drops below that amount.
What happens next:
You will only be able to close open positions. No new trades can be made until the account is reset.
How to fix it:
To continue trading, you will need to reset your account. Once the reset is complete, you can start fresh with your plans buying power and loss limit.
Code 206 – Order Rejected Due to Incorrect Order Type or Insufficient Buying Power
What it means:
The system stopped your order because the order type was set incorrectly or your account does not have the eligible buying power to execute the desired trade.
Why it happens:
This often happens when you try to buy an options contract but accidentally choose Sell to Open instead of Buy to Open. It can also happen if you try to close a trade and choose Sell to Open instead of Sell to Close. Having orders set to sell to open will in return attempt to create a cash secured put which requires you to have a very large amount of buying power for the trade.
Example:
If you own a long call and you try to sell it but your order says Sell to Open, the system thinks you want to open a new short position instead of closing your trade. This requires more buying power and will be blocked.
How to fix it:
Check your order type before sending the trade:
To open a trade: use Buy to Open.
To close a trade: use Sell to Close.
This will make sure your order goes through the right way.
Code 342 – Order Legs Don’t Match the Spread
What it means:
This means the parts (or “legs”) of your options spread don’t line up correctly.
Why it happens:
Each leg in a spread must match in quantity, direction (buy/sell), and expiration date. If any part is mismatched, the system will reject the order.
Example:
You try to open a two-leg spread but one leg has a different contract size or date than the other. Because the legs don’t match, the order cannot be completed.
How to fix it:
Double-check all parts of your order:
Make sure both legs have the same expiration date.
Make sure the number of contracts matches.
Make sure one is a buy and the other is a sell if creating a spread.
Code 410 – Trading Session Closed
What it means:
You are trying to trade when the market is closed.
Why it happens:
The trading system is only open during NYSE Market Hours. Any orders placed outside those hours will be rejected.
Example:
If you try to trade at 8:00 AM or 5:00 PM, you’ll see this error because trading hours are from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time (EST).
How to fix it:
Wait until the market opens at 9:30 AM EST.
The system will accept new orders during the open trading session.