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🎯 Orders·advanced

Immediate or Cancel (IOC)

Also called: ioc

An order that fills as much as possible immediately, then cancels the unfilled portion — no resting orders.

IOC (Immediate or Cancel) tells the broker to fill whatever portion of your order it can immediately at your price or better, then cancel any unfilled remainder. Unlike Fill or Kill (which requires the entire order to fill), IOC accepts partial fills. IOC is useful when you need execution NOW but want to control the price. If you submit a 10-lot IOC order at 1.0950 and the market only has 6 lots available at that price, you get the 6 lots and the other 4 cancel. You don't end up with a resting limit order for the unfilled portion, and you don't get filled at worse prices. For retail traders, IOC is most useful during news events. It lets you grab whatever liquidity is available immediately without leaving an exposed limit order in the market.

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Real trade example

Algorithmic traders running fast strategies use IOC to scalp liquidity during news spikes — grab whatever's available at the limit price, cancel the rest, and get out before the market moves against them.

Frequently asked about immediate or cancel (ioc)

What is an immediate or cancel (ioc) in trading?+
An order that fills as much as possible immediately, then cancels the unfilled portion — no resting orders.
When will I see immediate or cancel (ioc) used in real trading?+
In ECN and institutional trading. Some retail platforms offer it as an advanced execution type.
What is the most common mistake traders make with immediate or cancel (ioc)?+
Using IOC when you actually want a regular limit order. IOC kills the unfilled portion immediately — if you wanted those lots to wait for liquidity, you should have used a regular limit.
What do experienced traders know about immediate or cancel (ioc) that beginners don't?+
IOC is the right tool when you have a strict price requirement but partial fills are acceptable. It's faster than FOK and more controlled than a market order.

Related terms

Fill or Kill (FOK)

advanced

An order that must fill IMMEDIATELY in full or be cancelled entirely — no partial fills allowed.

Limit Order

beginner

An order to buy or sell at a specific price or better — guarantees price, not execution.

Market Order

beginner

An order to buy or sell immediately at the current market price — instant execution, no waiting.

Good Till Cancelled (GTC)

beginner

An order that stays active until you manually cancel it or it fills — used for set-and-forget pending orders.

Sell Stop

beginner

A pending order to sell BELOW the current price — used to enter short when a breakdown below support occurs.

Buy Limit

beginner

A pending order to buy BELOW the current price — used to enter long on a pullback to a support or value level.

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