What Is a Day Order?
A day order is an instruction to a broker to buy or sell a security at a specified price, or at the best available price, that stays in effect only until the end of the regular trading session on the day it was placed. If the order has not been fully executed by the close of the market, it is canceled automatically. Day orders are the default time-in-force setting at many brokerages, so an investor who does not select another option will usually be placing a day order.
How Day Orders Work
When an investor places a day order, the order is sent to the exchange and waits for a matching counterparty at the requested price. If the market reaches that price during the trading session, the order may be filled in whole or in part. Any portion that remains unfilled when the session ends expires. The investor then has to decide whether to place a new order the following trading day.
Day orders can be used with different order types, such as limit order and market order. A limit order specifies a maximum purchase price or a minimum sale price, while a market order seeks an immediate fill at the prevailing price. The time-in-force setting determines only how long the instruction stays open, not what price it will accept.
Day Orders Compared With Other Time-in-Force Options
Day orders are one of several time-in-force settings. Others include good-till-canceled order instructions, which remain open for an extended period until filled or canceled by the investor, and fill-or-kill order instructions, which must be executed immediately in full or not at all. Some brokers also offer settings that apply to opening or closing auctions. The choice among these settings affects how long an order can wait for execution, and that matters most when prices are moving quickly or when the investor is not monitoring the market.
Why Day Orders Matter to Investors
Day orders limit the risk of an unintended trade remaining open for days or weeks after conditions have changed. Because they expire on their own, investors do not need to remember to cancel them. The tradeoff is that a limit order placed as a day order may go unfilled if the price is not reached in that session, and an investor may need to re-enter it. Reviewing the time-in-force setting before submitting an order helps ensure the instruction matches the investor's intent.
Updated October 27, 2026. For general education only; not financial, tax or legal advice.