Topstep Trading Combine rules
In the Topstep Trading Combine, the Maximum Loss Limit is $2,000 on the 50K account, $3,000 on the 100K and $4,500 on the 150K. The limit rises with the closing balance, never falls and locks once it reaches the starting balance; breaches are checked in real time. The best day must stay below 55% of the target.
This page explains how the Combine's MLL is computed, when it locks, what the 55% rule requires, and what Topstep's help center does not state on the page consulted.
To go deeper into each part of this calculation: Drawdown calculator · Consistency rule calculator · How trailing drawdown works
The parameters in numbers
The Trading Combine is Topstep's futures evaluation, in three account sizes. The values below come from the firm's help center on the verification date; those the page consulted does not give are marked as such.
- Maximum Loss Limit (MLL): $2,000 (50K), $3,000 (100K) and $4,500 (150K).
- MLL behavior: rises with the day's closing balance, never falls, and is monitored in real time during the session.
- Lock: the MLL stops rising and becomes permanent once it reaches the account's starting balance.
- Daily Loss Limit (DLL): optional, set by the trader.
- Maximum contracts: 5 (50K), 10 (100K) and 15 (150K); micros 50, 100 and 150.
- Consistency: the best day must stay below 55% of the profit target.
- Minimum days: it is possible to pass in as few as 2 days.
- Profit target by size: not on the page consulted; check the official Combine parameters page.
Trailing at the close, breach in real time
Topstep's MLL has a trait that misleads people coming from forex firms: the reference point rises only with the day's closing balance, but the breach is checked during the session, on unrealized results. On a 50K account the limit starts at 48,000. If the day closes at 51,000, the limit moves to 49,000. The next day, an open position that takes equity to 49,000 ends the account, even though the closed balance is still 51,000.
Because the limit locks when it reaches the starting balance, the Combine stops trailing after $2,000 of closed profit on the 50K account: from then on the floor sits at 50,000 and accumulated profit becomes real headroom.
The 55% and the optional DLL
The Combine's consistency rule is measured against the target, not against total profit: the best day has to stay below 55% of the account's profit target. A day above that does not end the account, but raises what has to be earned to complete the evaluation — in practice, the target grows until the best day fits within the 55%.
The Daily Loss Limit is optional in the Combine: the firm does not impose a value, but lets the trader set one and closes the session when it is hit. It is a brake against the bad day that turns into the day that breaches the MLL.
How TCC tracks the Combine
In TCC, the Trading Combine is registered with a floor that trails the closing balance and locks at the starting balance, intraday monitoring and a consistency rule on the target. The dashboard shows the distance to the MLL in dollars, how much is left until the lock and the best day's share of the target — the three numbers that decide the next position size.
Profit target by account size is a field that stays blank in the catalog until it is read from the official source, so the screen never shows a number the firm did not publish on the page checked.
Source and verification date
The figures on this page were read from Topstep's official documentation on 2026-09-12, at https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284204-what-is-the-maximum-loss-limit. Nothing here comes from a blog, a comparison site or an affiliate.
Prop firm rules change without notice. If the firm's page says something different from this one, the firm wins — and the error can be reported to suporte@tradercommandcenter.com for correction with a new verification date.
FAQ
Does Topstep's MLL lock?
Yes. It rises with the closing balance until it reaches the account's starting balance and, at that point, becomes permanent. On the 50K account that happens with $2,000 of closed profit.
Does the MLL count unrealized profit?
For the breach, yes: the limit is monitored in real time during the session, and an open position that touches the MLL ends the account. To raise the limit, only the closing balance counts.
What is the Combine's consistency rule?
The best day must stay below 55% of the profit target. Exceeding that does not end the account, but raises what has to be earned to complete the evaluation.
How many days are needed to pass?
The help center says it is possible to pass in as few as 2 days. Profit targets by size are not on the page consulted and must be checked on the official parameters page.