A good till cancelled order, or GTC, is an instruction to buy or sell that stays active until it is filled or you cancel it, rather than expiring at the end of the day.
Last reviewed 22 September 2025 · Educational, not advice
A good till cancelled order is a time instruction you attach to a trade. It tells the venue to keep your order working until one of two things happens: the order is filled, or you cancel it yourself. The contrast is with a day order, which is automatically cancelled if it has not been filled by the close of the trading session. With a GTC order you do not have to be present and you do not have to re enter the order each day. You set the price and the size you want, and the order rests in the market, waiting, until the market reaches it or you take it down.
The label describes when an order expires, not how it is priced. A GTC instruction is usually paired with a limit order, where you specify the price you are willing to accept, or with a stop order that should sit in place until it is triggered. That pairing is what makes it useful. If you want to buy only at a particular price, or to set a resting order that should hold across several sessions, marking it good till cancelled saves you from rebuilding it every morning. Common examples include a limit order placed below the current price and a protective stop placed away from where the market is trading now.
In practice good till cancelled rarely means truly forever. Many brokers and venues cap how long a GTC order can remain open, often somewhere in the range of thirty to ninety days, after which the order expires if it has not been filled or renewed. The exact limit varies from one venue to another, and some platforms restate or reconfirm standing orders periodically. Because of this, it is worth knowing the specific rule on the platform you use rather than assuming an order will live indefinitely. Not every venue even offers a GTC option, and prediction market platforms differ in the order types they support, so check what is available before relying on it.
The convenience of a standing order comes with a real catch worth keeping in mind. A GTC order can fill at a later moment when you are not watching, including right after news has moved the market, which means you can end up trading at a price that no longer reflects what you intended when you placed it. It is also easy to forget that an open order is still out there. The practical habits are simple: review your working orders regularly, cancel any you no longer want, and treat a resting order as a live commitment rather than a harmless note to yourself. We do not tell you which orders to place or what price to choose. We explain the term so you can use it deliberately.
Suppose a contract trades around forty cents and you would only buy at thirty five cents. A day order at thirty five cents would vanish at the close if the price never fell that far. Mark the same order good till cancelled and it stays in the book across the following sessions, ready to fill if the price drops to thirty five cents, until it fills, you cancel it, or it hits the venue's time limit. The trade off is that it could fill on a day you are not paying attention.
Illustrative only. Example prices, not a quote, a recommendation, or a prediction.
A standing order can fill when you are not watching, including after the market has moved. Forgotten orders are a common and avoidable mistake, so review and cancel them. Stake only what you can afford to lose, never to chase a loss, and never on borrowed money. If it stops feeling like a free choice, step back. In the United States you can call or text the helpline on 1-800-GAMBLER or visit ncpgambling.org.
A good till cancelled order, often shortened to GTC, is an instruction to buy or sell that stays active until it is filled or you cancel it. Unlike a day order, it does not automatically expire at the end of the trading session.
Not usually. Many brokers cap how long a GTC order can stay open, commonly somewhere in the range of thirty to ninety days, after which it expires if not renewed. The exact limit varies by venue, so check the rules of the platform you use.
It suits a target price you are willing to wait for, so you do not have to re enter the order each day. It is commonly used for resting limit orders and for stop orders that should remain in place until triggered or cancelled.
A standing order can fill later at a moment you are not watching, including after news has moved the market. It is easy to forget an open GTC order, so review your working orders regularly and cancel any you no longer want.
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