Can you pass the Apex evaluation without trading every day?
Yes. The Apex 4.0 evaluation has no minimum trading days requirement. You can pass on day one if you hit the profit target. The minimum days question has a completely different answer for the funded Performance Account phase: 5 qualifying days are required before each payout cycle. These are two separate rule sets for two separate phases.
The evaluation phase: no minimum trading days
The Apex 4.0 evaluation has no minimum number of trading days. This was one of the six rules explicitly removed when the 4.0 overhaul launched on March 1, 2026. Under the legacy model, Apex required at least 7 trading days before an evaluation could be passed. That requirement no longer exists for any account purchased after March 1, 2026.
The practical implication: you could buy a $50K EOD evaluation today, trade one high-conviction session, hit the $3,000 profit target without breaching the $2,000 trailing drawdown, and pass the evaluation on day one. There is no rule preventing it. The 30-day window gives you access for 30 calendar days from purchase. There is no minimum within that window.
In practice, most traders take between 5 and 15 trading days to pass. This is not because of any rule: it reflects the reality that hitting a 6% profit target while managing a trailing drawdown requires multiple sessions for most trading approaches. A scalper with a high-win-rate strategy might pass in two or three sessions. A swing-style futures trader working around higher-conviction setups might spread the target across 10 or more sessions. Neither is faster or slower by rule. Both are valid.
The only rules that apply during the evaluation phase on a 4.0 account:
| Rule | Evaluation requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Profit target | Must reach target | $1,500 (25K) / $3,000 (50K) / $6,000 (100K) / $9,000 (150K) |
| Trailing drawdown | Must not breach floor | $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,000 by account size |
| Daily loss limit (EOD only) | Must not breach | Applies during evaluation on EOD accounts only |
| 30-day time limit | Must pass within 30 days | Clock starts at purchase, not first trade. No extensions. |
| Minimum trading days | None | Removed in 4.0. Pass in 1 day or 29 days: no difference. |
| Consistency rule | None during evaluation | 50% rule applies only on the PA at payout time. |
| DCA rule | No restriction during evaluation | DCA only banned on the funded PA, not during evaluation. |
| Bracket order requirement | Required on all entries | Both SL and TP must be attached at order submission. |
Many articles and YouTube videos still reference the legacy 7-day minimum, the 30% consistency rule during evaluation, and the MAE rule. All of these were removed on March 1, 2026. If you see any of these rules mentioned in the context of passing the evaluation, the content is describing the legacy product. Any Apex account purchased after March 1, 2026 operates under 4.0 rules with no minimum trading days and no evaluation consistency requirement.
The 30-day window: the clock that actually matters
While there is no minimum day requirement, there is a hard maximum: 30 calendar days from the date of purchase. The clock starts when you buy the evaluation, not when you place your first trade. A trader who purchases on May 1 and does not open the platform until May 10 has 20 days remaining, not 30.
The 30-day window runs continuously including weekends, public holidays, and market closure days. It does not pause for non-trading days. If you purchase an evaluation before a two-week holiday period, those two weeks count against your 30 days regardless of whether markets are open.
There are no extensions and no resets under 4.0. If the 30-day window expires before you hit the profit target, the evaluation account closes automatically. The only option is to purchase a new evaluation at the current price. Promo codes apply to new evaluation purchases, so a fresh attempt at a discount is the standard recovery path.
This is the most common misunderstanding about the 30-day evaluation window. A trader who buys an evaluation and waits a week before starting to trade has already consumed roughly 23% of their available time. If your strategy requires waiting for specific market conditions, buy the evaluation when those conditions are approaching, not in advance. The window does not pause whether you have traded or not.
Ready to start an evaluation? Apply code ONKAGNVZ at checkout for the current discount. The 30-day clock starts at purchase.
Check current Apex evaluation pricing →The funded PA phase: where minimum days actually apply
Once you pass the evaluation and activate a Performance Account, a different kind of minimum days requirement appears. It applies not to passing but to payout eligibility. Before you can request any payout from a funded PA, you must accumulate 5 qualifying trading days within that payout cycle.
What counts as a qualifying day
A qualifying day is a trading session in which you record net profit above the minimum threshold for your specific account size and type. Simply opening the platform or placing a trade does not count. The day must close with net profit above the threshold.
| Account | Min net profit per qualifying day | Qualifying days needed per payout |
|---|---|---|
| $25K EOD | $100 | 5 |
| $25K Intraday | $100 | 5 |
| $50K EOD | $250 | 5 |
| $50K Intraday | $200 | 5 |
| $100K EOD | $300 | 5 |
| $100K Intraday | $250 | 5 |
| $150K EOD | $350 | 5 |
| $150K Intraday | $300 | 5 |
The 5 qualifying days do not need to be consecutive. You can have losing days, breakeven days, or non-trading days between qualifying days. What matters is that 5 days within the current payout cycle meet the minimum profit threshold before you submit a payout request. The qualifying day count resets after each payout is approved. For the full payout ladder amounts and the 6-cycle cap per account size, the Apex payout cap guide has every figure.
The inactivity rule: the ongoing minimum day obligation
Beyond the payout qualifying days, a separate inactivity rule applies continuously to all funded PAs. You must record at least 2 trading days with $50 or more in net profit within every rolling 30-day period. This is not a payout-cycle rule: it is a permanent account maintenance requirement.
If 15 consecutive calendar days pass without meeting the inactivity threshold, the account enters a dormant status and email warnings begin. If 30 consecutive calendar days pass without qualifying activity, the account is permanently closed with no reinstatement option. A funded trader who has cleared the Safety Net, built up profit, and is simply taking a trading break can lose the entire account and all accumulated profits through this mechanism alone.
A trader running a $50K EOD PA needs to generate $250 or more in net profit on 5 separate days per payout cycle, and also maintain at least 2 days with $50 or more in net profit per rolling 30-day period to keep the account active. These two requirements overlap: a qualifying day for payout purposes ($250+) automatically counts as an active day for inactivity purposes ($50+). A trader completing 5 qualifying days in the first two weeks of a 30-day period has also satisfied the inactivity rule for that period. The inactivity rule only becomes a separate concern when you are between payout cycles and trading at lower profit levels.
How the minimum days rule changed between legacy and 4.0
Understanding the change from legacy to 4.0 is useful for traders who have community memory of the old rules or who encounter older content about Apex.
| Rule | Legacy Apex (pre-March 2026) | Apex 4.0 (March 2026 onwards) |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation minimum trading days | 7 days required | None (removed entirely) |
| PA qualifying days for payout | 8 days required | 5 days required |
| Evaluation consistency rule | None (30% on PA only) | None (50% on PA only) |
| Evaluation time limit | No hard expiry (monthly subscription) | 30 calendar days, no extensions |
| PA qualifying day minimum ($50K EOD) | $250 per day | $250 per day (unchanged) |
| PA inactivity rule | Not documented publicly | 2 days at $50+ per rolling 30 days |
The removal of the 7-day minimum was one of the most significant quality-of-life improvements in the 4.0 overhaul. Traders with concentrated strategies who could hit the profit target in 1-3 sessions were previously forced to spread their trading across 7 days regardless of performance. Under 4.0, a trader who hits the target in one session has passed. There is no penalty for efficiency.
The reduction from 8 to 5 qualifying days for PA payouts was also meaningful: on the legacy model, a funded trader needed 8 qualifying days before each withdrawal. The 4.0 change to 5 days reduces the time required to cycle through each payout request by approximately 37%.
What traders also ask.
The evaluation has no minimum days. The PA payout cycle requires 5. These are separate rules for separate phases. Do not conflate them when planning your trading schedule.