Can You Sell Short at Tradestation?
If you’re interested in shorting stocks, TradeStation is one brokerage firm worth checking out. Not only is it possible to take short positions on securities at TradeStation, it actually has some really good tools for doing so. Here’s the rundown:
Selling Short on the Browser Platform
At the top of TradeStation’s web platform, there’s a green Trade button. Click on this and you’ll get the broker’s order form. It will appear directly underneath the green Trade button and will replace it.
On the order form, you’ll want to look for a discrete red Sell Short button. It is right next to the blue Buy button. When entering a short order, you’ll obviously want to use the red Sell Short button.
The rest of the order process is the same. You’ll first want to enter the ticker symbol or company name. Then choose quantity (in share amount), then order type, then routing destination, then duration, and finally account if you have more than one at TradeStation.
To put a cap on the maximum loss a short trade could experience, you may want to use a bracket order with the initial short order. TradeStation’s software offers this ability. Just click on the OCO/OSO tab in the top of the order ticket and select the bracket order you want. You’ll be able to send a buy stop loss order along with your initial sell short order. The buy stop order will take you out of the short trade if the stock price exceeds the amount you specify.
Short Selling on the TradeStation Desktop
In addition to the browser platform, TradeStation has a very sophisticated desktop trading system. Called TradeStation 10, this software has even more advanced tools. There are no less than 3 order tickets. Most of the features on the 3 tickets are the same, although the layouts are different. Discrete sell short buttons are integrated and color coded in red. Bracket orders can be used as well.
TradeStation has something called the TradingApp® Store. This is a digital shop where customers can buy add-ons to the desktop platform. One app is the Intraday Short Locate tool. This one is actually free. It can be used to locate shares of stocks that are not easy to borrow. Using this online tool, users don’t need to call into the trade desk, so obviously it’s really convenient. Short locate requests made through the app are valid for one trading day only.
The short locate app may not function on the most recent TradeStation desktop program (TradeStation 10). You may need to download and install the previous version in order to get the app to work.
Short Selling with the TradeStation App
Stocks and ETFs may also be shorted using TradeStation’s mobile app. During our testing of the software, we found it very user-friendly. Despite its ease of use, the order form does have some advanced orders.
From a security’s profile, just tap on the green Trade button that appears at the top. This will generate the platform’s trade ticket. Near the top, you can toggle between buy and sell. To submit a short trade, you want to use sell first.
On the mobile trade ticket, there are two tabs near the top: one for standard, and the other for OCO/OSO. Bracket orders are integrated on the standard tab on the mobile app, so there’s no need to use OCO/OSO in this case to enter a stop loss order with a short trade. Just scroll down on the ticket and toggle on the stop loss order. It’s also possible to enter a third order for take profit.
As with the other two platforms discussed thus far, the mobile app has a variety of routing choices that short sales can use. Examples include AMEX, EDGA, and NYSE.
There are lots of time-in-force choices. These include several extended-hours selections, 3 min (order cancels after 3 minutes), FOK, and IOC.
Tradestation Short Selling in Simulated Mode
One really nice service that TradeStation offers on all three of the software platforms discussed above is paper trading. On the log-in screens, there is an option to trade in simulated mode, and this of course is an easy way to practice with a fake currency. The trade ticket appears in demo mode with the exact same features that are available in live mode—all the routing choices, duration options, and trade types.
If you’re not familiar with shorting or need a little practice, any of TradeStation’s platforms in simulated mode would be a good idea. It’s possible to buy to cover in practice mode, too.
Tradestation Short Selling with Option Contracts
Shorting stocks and funds is just one way to make bearish trades on those securities. The options market opens up many other ways to enter into bearish trades on such instruments. For example, buying a put or selling a call is a bearish trade. If you’re bearish on XYZ stock, you could short the stock using the examples described above, or you could leave the stock market altogether and go into the options market and sell a call contract or buy a put contract.
These simple option trades don’t require any margin interest, and you don’t need to worry about buy ins. Selling contracts does carry assignment risk, however.
Besides the trading of calls and puts, TradeStation’s software also offers several integrated option strategies. Some of these make money when the underlying stock goes down in price. These multi-leg trades include diagonals and collars.
Tradestation Short Selling with Futures
Besides equities and options, TradeStation offers futures contracts. The futures market opens up yet another way to take short positions on the stock market. Several futures contracts are connected to the stock market, and these can be used to make bearish bets.
For example, the S&P 500 E-Mini futures contract (with ticker symbol ES) can be shorted. This will obviously create a bearish trade on the S&P index. Simply enter the trade by selling it. To close it out, buy to cover—just like with stocks.
All three of TradeStation’s platforms discussed thus far can be used to trade futures contracts. There’s a fourth that is a dedicated futures trading system. Any of these programs can be used to submit a futures trade.
Entering a contract’s ticker symbol is the first step. You’ll also need to select the expiration date. Some of the platforms will populate various expiration dates when you enter a ticker symbol. If you need to manually enter the expiration month and year, these should follow the base ticker symbol. For example, M stands for June, so ESM24 would be the S&P 500 E-mini contract that expires in June of 2026.
Tradestation Short Selling Fees
TradeStation doesn’t charge anything extra to take short positions rather than long positions. The broker’s commission on stock and ETF trades is $0. It does have a $50 annual inactivity fee that can be avoided with a $2,000 account balance or 5 trades every 12 months.
Option trades have no base charge, but they do have a per-contract fee of 60 cents. Futures and options on futures are $1.50 per contact, per side (micro futures are $0.50).
Alternative For Shorting
For short selling, a great alternative broker is Charles Schwab. It
has a number of advantages: a better range of shortable products, the best trading platform,
and a virtual trading.
Learn more...
Get Charles Schwab For Free
Visit Schwab Website
TradeStation Short Selling Summary
TradeStation customers have multiple ways to make bearish bets on stocks with minimal transaction costs. And with simulated trading, it’s easy to practice different order forms and trade types.
Updated on 12/9/2025.
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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