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Order Status

In short

Current state of a submitted order — pending, filled, partial, cancelled

After placing an order, it goes through stages: pending (just submitted), open (waiting to fill), partial (partly filled), filled (complete), or cancelled. You can monitor these in your order history.

Order status tracks the lifecycle of a trade: PENDING_SUBMIT → SUBMITTED → ACCEPTED → PENDING_FILL → PARTIALLY_FILLED → FILLED. Alternatively: CANCELLED or REJECTED. Market orders typically fill within milliseconds; limit orders may take longer.

Related concepts

  • Market Order — A market order says 'buy this stock right now at whatever price it's selling for.' You get filled immediately but might pay slightly more than you expected, especially for less liquid stocks.
  • Limit Order — A limit order says 'buy this stock, but only if the price drops to $50 or less.' You control the price but risk not getting filled if the stock never hits your target.
  • Buying Power — Buying power is how much you can trade with right now. In a cash account, it's your available cash. In a margin account, it can be 2× your cash because the broker lends you money to buy more.
  • Live Trading — Live trading uses your real money with a real broker. Unlike paper trading, every order affects your actual portfolio balance. Requires a connected broker account and compliance checks.