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Fidelity Pattern Day Trading (PDT) in 2026
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Pattern Day Trading at Fidelity
If you want to day trade at Fidelity, but don’t have $25,000 to deposit in your account, keep reading.
We’re going to show you how you can legally avoid this rule and keep from having your account
classified as a pattern day trader.
How Many Day Trades Does Fidelity Allow
Day traders in the United States must have at least $25,000 in any account that they use for day-trading purposes, unless they qualify for an exemption. This is an industry-wide policy that comes from the financial regulators. Although Fidelity is not the author of the rule, it is required to follow it. Thus, Fidelity customers who want to day trade will need to pay attention to this important regulation.
The definition of a pattern-day-trading account is very clear:
- It must place 4 or more day trades of stocks, options, ETFs, or other securities in a rolling 5-business-day period.
- It must be a margin account.
- The number of day trades must add up to more than 6% of the account’s total trades.
Any account that does not meet all three attributes is not a pattern-day-trading (PDT) account and does not have to deposit $25,000.
General Strategy
Although the PDT rule is viewed as a nuisance by many traders, it does provide several ways to avoid meeting the definition of a pattern day trader. If you do, Fidelity won’t require you to deposit $25,000 in your account.
Ways to Bypass the PDT Rule on Fidelity
The first idea to avoid meeting the definition of a pattern day trader is to open a cash account instead of a margin account. Notice above that part of the definition of a PDT account is that it’s a margin account.
If you do decide to place trades inside a cash account, keep in mind that you won’t be
able to trade with unsettled funds. Currently in the U.S., stock trades take one business day after the trade date to settle. So if you sold a stock or ETF on Thursday, funds would generally be available on Friday.
Another way to circumvent the PDT rule is to place 3 or fewer day trades in a rolling 5-business-day period. The PDT rule only kicks in at 4 trades or more, and the count is measured over 5 business days.
It’s also possible to avoid the PDT requirement by keeping the number of day trades at 6% or less of total trading activity inside the account. That would require a lot of regular trading; so most day traders won’t be able to use this loophole.
Alternative Broker For Traders
For active traders, a good alternative brokerage company is Charles Schwab.
It offers better trading platform, higher interest on cash balances, and a simulated trading account.
Charles Schwab Promotion
Visit Schwab Website
Updated on 4/2/2026.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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