Good Till Cancelled (GTC) is a time-in-force instruction used in many U.S. markets. It keeps a request to acquire or dispose of a security on the broker’s books beyond the current trading day, until it is executed, canceled, or the broker’s expiration is reached. This contrasts with Day orders, which expire at the close of the trading session.
GTC orders sit in the limit order book at the specified price level (or better) and can contribute to visible depth, depending on the venue’s display rules. Because they persist across sessions, they may be filled at multiple times as market conditions move toward the target price. The actual expiration policy is broker- and venue-specific; common expirations range from 30 to 90 days, with automatic renewal possible or with a required renewal by the trader. If there are corporate actions, ticker changes, or exchange rules that affect the security, the broker may adjust or cancel the order.
GTC orders reduce the need to re-enter an instruction daily, but they maintain exposure to price movements and changes in liquidity over time. Traders should be aware of expiration cycles, renewal policies, and how the order will be treated if the security undergoes corporate actions or is delisted. In microstructure terms, GTCs interact with price-time priority and venue liquidity; they can influence the queue for execution at a given price level.
Example: A trader places a GTC limit order to acquire XYZ at $50; the order remains in the order book until it is filled at $50 or canceled, or until the broker expires it.
Day order · Limit order · Time-in-force (TIF) · Order duration · Order type