A two-step challenge asks you to hit a profit target twice under the same loss limits. FTMO’s 2-Step is the best-known version: a 10 per cent target in the Challenge, then 5 per cent in the Verification, with a 5 per cent daily loss limit, a static 10 per cent maximum loss, at least 4 trading days in each phase, and no time limit. This plan is built around those rules; adjust the numbers for another firm.

Before you buy: two weeks on demo

  1. Write your rules: markets, setups, entry, stop, target, and the maximum trades a day.
  2. Trade them on a free demo account for two weeks at the challenge’s limits, with your own daily stop at 2.5 per cent.
  3. Record every trade. If the demo would have breached a limit, fix that before paying any fee.
  4. Choose the account size whose fee you can lose without it affecting how you trade.

Watch this on video

A Plan to Pass a Two-Step Challenge, in 3:01

Passing a two-step challenge is about small, boring trades and rules you set before you start.

Chapters

Phase one: the 10 per cent target

Phase one: the 10 per cent target. Risk per trade: 0.5% (0.25% after two losses in a day); Personal daily stop: 2.5% down, then no more trades that day; Weekly review: Check win rate and average win and loss against your demo record; Expected time: Four to eight weeks, depending on how many trades you take; Near the target: Same size; no larger trades to finish
Phase one: the 10 per cent target: the figures from this section at a glance.
SettingPlan
Risk per trade0.5% (0.25% after two losses in a day)
Personal daily stop2.5% down, then no more trades that day
Weekly reviewCheck win rate and average win and loss against your demo record
Expected timeFour to eight weeks, depending on how many trades you take
Near the targetSame size; no larger trades to finish

If you reach 10 per cent before 4 trading days, finish the remaining days at minimum size. FTMO counts a trading day as any day with an executed trade.

Phase two: the 5 per cent Verification

The rules are the same and the target is half. The danger here is relaxing. Keep the same risk and daily stop; at 0.5 per cent a trade the smaller target usually takes two to four weeks.

The first funded month

  • Keep the same risk. The funded account has the same loss limits, and there is no new fee to pay if it is lost, only a new challenge.
  • Check the funded-account rules that did not apply in the evaluation. At FTMO, news restrictions apply on a Standard funded account but not in the Challenge or Verification.
  • Plan the first payout: FTMO allows the first request from the 14th day after your first funded trade, with positions closed. A small first payout tests the process and, on the 2-Step, triggers the fee refund.
Illustrative example: a ten-week route

A trader takes about two trades a day at 0.5 per cent risk with a positive expectancy. The Challenge takes six weeks, including one week flat after a losing streak, and the Verification three more. The first funded payout is requested two weeks after funding: ten weeks from start to first payout, with no day ever more than 2.5 per cent down.

Use our prop firm calculator to size each trade from your daily stop.

A weekly review template

QuestionWhy it matters
What was my worst day as a share of the account?Shows how close you came to the daily limit
How far am I from the maximum loss floor?Tells you how much room the next weeks have
Did every trade have the planned risk?Catches sizing creep early
Did any trade break my own rules?Habits fail before strategies do
Is progress in line with my demo record?Separates normal variance from a real problem

Fifteen minutes each weekend with these questions catches most problems before they become a breach.

Handling the middle of the challenge

The first week is exciting and the last week is tense, but most challenges are won or lost in the middle. That is where boredom, a losing streak or a flat fortnight tempts traders to change something. A plan that says in advance what you will do when you are flat for two weeks, usually nothing different, protects you from improvising.

  • Flat for two weeks: keep the same size and setups.
  • Down 4 per cent from the start: cut risk to 0.25 per cent until you recover 2 per cent.
  • Up 7 per cent: same size; do not try to finish in one trade.

Moving from Challenge to Verification

At FTMO, passing the Challenge leads to the Verification, with a 5 per cent target, the same 5 per cent daily and 10 per cent maximum loss, and another four trading days. Treat it as a fresh start at the same size. A common mistake is to trade the Verification more loosely because the target is smaller; the loss limits have not changed.

Choosing an account type before you start

FTMO’s 2-Step can be bought as a Standard or a Swing account. Swing has no news restriction and allows holding positions over weekends, but leverage is 1:30 instead of 1:100, and you cannot switch from Standard to Swing later. Pick the type your method needs before your first trade.

Leverage and news rules on the account type you choose apply to the funded account too. Choose for the trading you will do in month six, not just the first week.

Key terms

A Realistic Plan to Pass a Two-Step Challenge: Key terms. Challenge: FTMO’s first phase, with a 10% target; Verification: FTMO’s second phase, with a 5% target; Personal daily stop: Your own loss limit for the day, well inside the firm’s; Swing account: An FTMO 2-Step account type with no news restriction and lower leverage
A Realistic Plan to Pass a Two-Step Challenge: Key terms: the figures from this section at a glance.
TermMeaning
ChallengeFTMO’s first phase, with a 10% target
VerificationFTMO’s second phase, with a 5% target
Personal daily stopYour own loss limit for the day, well inside the firm’s
Swing accountAn FTMO 2-Step account type with no news restriction and lower leverage

Each part of the plan has a guide that goes into more depth.

Cite this guide

FX Recap, "A Realistic Plan to Pass a Two-Step Challenge", updated 14 October 2026, https://fxrecap.com/prop-trading/a-plan-to-pass-a-two-step-challenge

Free to quote with a link. Journalists: data and comment in our press room.

Frequently asked

How do I pass a two-step prop challenge?

Test your method on demo under the same limits first, then trade the challenge at 0.5 to 1 per cent risk a trade with a personal daily stop well inside the firm's limit, and keep the same size through both phases.

What are the FTMO 2-Step rules?

A 10 per cent profit target in the Challenge and 5 per cent in the Verification, a 5 per cent daily loss limit, a static 10 per cent maximum loss, at least 4 trading days in each phase and no time limit.

How long should a two-step challenge take?

At safe position sizes, often four to eight weeks for the first phase and two to four weeks for the second. FTMO's fastest possible route is 8 trading days, but there is no time limit.

What changes once I am funded?

Usually the loss limits stay the same, but some rules start to apply, such as FTMO's news restriction on Standard funded accounts. Plan a small first payout to test the process.

What is the FTMO Verification?

The second phase of FTMO's 2-Step: a 5 per cent target with the same 5 per cent daily and 10 per cent maximum loss limits and at least four trading days.

Should I choose an FTMO Swing account?

If your method holds positions over weekends or trades news, yes; Swing allows both. Its leverage is 1:30 instead of 1:100, and you cannot switch from Standard to Swing later.