What makes a stock short sale restricted?

Asked by: Ms. Laurie Kshlerin I  |  Last update: February 25, 2026
Score: 4.3/5 (73 votes)

What Is Short Sale Restriction? An Initial Look. The short sale rule prevents traders from short selling a stock when it's experiencing significant downward momentum. The SSR, also known as the uptick rule, requires that the short sale order is placed at a price higher than the current highest bid.

How does a stock get short sale restricted?

The Short Sale Rule is an SEC rule that governs when and how stocks can be sold short. Briefly, the rule dictates that once a stock falls more than 10% from its previous close, that stock cannot be shorted at the bid price for the remainder of the current trading session or for the entirety of the next session.

What triggers SSR?

The SSR is triggered when a stock falls 10% from its previous close. At any point in the day if a stock hits that 10% threshold the Uptick Rule is activated and prevents traders from shorting at the bid price for that day (and the following trading day).

Why is short selling restricted?

Key reasons for its prohibition or restriction in some jurisdictions include concerns about market stability and the prevention of market manipulation. Short selling can amplify market downturns, particularly during periods of economic stress, leading to panic selling and destabilizing financial markets.

What is the 10% rule for short selling?

Rule 201 is triggered for a stock when the stock's price declines by 10% or more from the previous day's close. When a stock is triggered, traders can only execute short sales of the stock above the National Best Bid (NBB) price.

Short Sale Restriction (SSR)

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What are the restrictions on short sells?

Under the short-sale rule, shorts could only be placed at a price above the most recent trade, i.e., an uptick in the share's price. With only limited exceptions, the rule forbade trading shorts on a downtick in share price. The rule was also known as the uptick rule, "plus tick rule," and tick-test rule."

What is the 50 30 10 rule for selling?

A good way to estimate used stuff's resale value is with the 50-30-10 rule, which states: Near-to-new items should be sold for 50 percent of their retail price; slightly used items at 25-30 percent of retail; and well-worn items at 10 percent of retail.

What are the new SEC rules for short selling?

Starting January 2, 2025, managers holding short positions exceeding $10 million or 2.5% of a company's shares must file Form SHO on a monthly basis. This measure is designed to increase transparency in short selling, helping regulators and investors better detect market manipulation and mitigate systemic risks.

How long does SSR last?

How Long Does SSR Last? The short-sale rule lasts from the moment it was triggered by a price drop of more than 10% from the previous day until the closing of the next market day. If it has been triggered on a Monday, it remains in effect until the opening of the market on Wednesday.

What is the plus tick rule for short sales?

What Is the Uptick Rule? The Uptick Rule (also known as the "plus tick rule") is a rule established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that requires short sales to be conducted at a higher price than the previous trade. Investors engage in short sales when they expect a securities price to fall.

What is the short exempt rule?

A trade may be labeled "short exempt" and executed at a price lower than the national best price if one of the following applies: The seller owns the shares being shorted but is restricted from delivering them at the time that the short-sale order is placed.

When an SSR is triggered, which price must the trader short at?

Short Sale Restriction Example 2:

Once the stock falls below $9.00, then it triggers the short sale restriction and the stock is no longer able to be shorted on downticks during the session. From this point on, if you want to short the stock, you must get filled on an uptick in price.

Can SSR be triggered in premarket?

The rules when the SSR becomes effective are: It must happen during regular trading hours (9.30am - 4pm), not premarket and after hours. The reference price used is the closing price of previous trading day. The price should drop below 10% of the reference price.

What is the SEC Rule 201 short sale restriction?

Rule 201 generally requires trading centers to establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent the execution or display of a short sale at an impermissible price when a stock has triggered a circuit breaker by experiencing a price decline of at least 10 percent ...

How long can you hold a short sale stock?

This is the opposite of a traditional long position where an investor hopes to profit from rising prices. There is no time limit on how long a short sale can or cannot be open for. Thus, a short sale is, by default, held indefinitely.

Can a short sale be stopped?

Buyers Can Cancel the Short Sale Contract

Quite often, it's not the seller who cancels the short sale contract. It's the buyer. On the whole, most short sale listing agents don't care which buyer gets the home as long as the buyer is qualified and willing to wait through the short sale process.

Why do stocks get short sale restricted?

This is typically done to maintain market stability, prevent manipulative practices, and protect the interests of market participants. Short sale restrictions aim to curb excessive downward pressure on stock prices and promote a more level playing field.

How does SSR work?

How Does a Solid State Relay Work? The operation of an SSR is based on the principles of semiconductor technology. Here's a simplified explanation of how it works: Input Signal: When a low-voltage control signal is applied to the input terminals of the SSR, it activates the control electronics.

How do I know if I have SSR?

Right click on the page -> view page source. Can you see html with all the content? That's SSR.

What is the short seller restriction?

Short sale restriction is a rule that came out in 2010 and it's also referred as the alternate uptick rule, which means that you can only short a stock on an uptick. This is kind of an unusual thing when you first think about it. It restricts the ability to short a stock as it's dropping down.

What is the limit on short sale?

Short selling limits maximum gains while potentially exposing the investor to unlimited losses. A stock can only fall to zero, resulting in a 100% loss for a long investor, but there is no limit to how high a stock can theoretically go.

What are the conditions for short selling?

To sell short, traders need to have a margin account using which they can borrow stocks from a broker-dealer. Traders need to maintain the margin amount in that account to continue keeping a short position. However, a margin account is only applicable when an investor is borrowing stocks from a broker.

What is the 80 20 rule sales?

You may think of the 80-20 rule as simple cause and effect: 80% of outcomes (outputs) come from 20% of causes (inputs). The rule is often used to point out that 80% of a company's revenue is generated by 20% of its customers.

How much should you have in your savings by 30?

By age 30, you should have saved about $52,000, assuming you're earning a relatively average salary. This target number is based on the rule of thumb you should aim to have about one year's salary saved by the time you're entering your fourth decade.

What is the 20 rule in stocks?

In other words, the Rule of 20 suggests that markets may be fairly valued when the sum of the P/E ratio and the inflation rate equals 20. The stock market is deemed to be undervalued when the sum is below 20 and overvalued when the sum is above 20.