Investing term
What is Time in force?
How long an order stays active: day (expires at close), GTC (good-till-cancelled), or IOC (immediate-or-cancel).
Time in force tells your broker how long an order should stay active. It's a small setting with real consequences, controlling how long a resting order keeps trying to fill before it gives up. The common choices are 'Day', 'GTC', and 'IOC'.
A 'Day' order expires at the market close if it hasn't filled. 'GTC' (good-till-cancelled) persists across days — often for weeks or months — until it either fills or you cancel it. 'IOC' (immediate-or-cancel) fills whatever it can right away and cancels the rest, never resting on the book. Choosing the right one is the difference between a limit order that quietly expires tonight and one that keeps waiting for your price long after you've forgotten about it.
Time in force sets an order's lifespan: Day expires at the close, GTC persists for days until filled or cancelled, and IOC fills instantly or is dropped. The wrong choice means a missed trade or a stale one.
For example
Set a limit buy as GTC and it keeps waiting for your price for weeks; set it as "day" and it quietly expires unfilled at tonight's close.
Learn it by doing
That's Time in force in theory — it clicks when you use it. Practise it hands-on in a free, interactive lesson (Stage 7, Brokers, Accounts & Getting Started).
Try the free lesson →Why it matters to you
Time in force matters because the wrong choice can leave you either missing a trade or holding a stale order you've forgotten. A 'Day' limit that expires unfilled means you have to re-enter it; a 'GTC' order lingering for weeks can fill at your old price long after your view has changed, in market conditions you never anticipated. Matching time in force to your intent keeps resting orders working for you rather than surprising you.
⚠ Forgetting a lingering GTC order
A good-till-cancelled order can sit on the book for weeks and then fill at your old price during a moment you weren't watching — perhaps after news you'd have reacted to. An order you set and forgot can execute in conditions you never intended. If you use GTC orders, review them periodically and cancel any that no longer reflect your view.