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Why wasn’t my limit order filled?

Unlike a market order, a limit order isn’t guaranteed to fill – even if the stock price briefly reaches your limit.

This is usually due to the price-time priority system and current market depth. Here are the most common reasons your order may not have been executed.

Price-time priority (the queue)

The market matches orders based on two priorities:

• Price priority: Orders at better prices are filled first.

• Time priority: If multiple orders are at the same price, the ones placed first are filled first.

Example:
If you place a buy order at $10.00 and there are already 5,000 shares queued at that price, your order will only start filling once those earlier orders are cleared.

Insufficient market depth (volume)

Even if your limit price is hit, there may not be enough volume available to fill your entire order.

• You might get a partial fill if only some shares are available.

• In illiquid stocks, the available volume may be snapped up instantly by other orders in the queue.

The spread widened (no match)

The last traded price (LTP) is historical. What matters is the Bid (highest buyer) and Ask (lowest seller).

Example:
If you place a sell limit at $10.00, but the highest buyer is only bidding $9.98, your order won’t fill. The trade will only go through when someone agrees to your price or better.

Market moved away too quickly

In volatile conditions, prices can move too fast for your order to match in time.

Example:
The price may flash past your limit briefly – but by the time your order reaches the front of the queue, the price has moved and there’s no match.

Order placed outside normal trading hours

Depending on the exchange and trading phase, your order may be held or rejected.

Corporate action or expiry

Your order may have been cancelled automatically due to:

• Corporate actions, like trading ex-dividend

• Order expiry – such as an End-of-Day order expiring at 4:10pm, or a GTC order reaching its time limit

What can I do next?

Check Market Depth

If you have access to Market Depth, you can see where your order sits relative to others at the same price.

Adjust the price

To increase the chance of a faster fill:

• Raise your buy limit closer to the best Ask

• Lower your sell limit closer to the best Bid

Consider a Market Order

Switching to a market order may improve execution speed, but it doesn’t guarantee a specific price. Should your order be filled, it will be filled at the best available price.