As your futures positions get close to expiration, make sure you know the settlement type and keep an eye out for the last day to trade (LDTT). You may be required to take action on your position on or before then.

For more details on closing out your positions, check out Closing a futures position.

All products will either be cash settled or physically settled.

If you hold a cash settled position through expiration, your account will receive a credit or debit based on the final settlement price.

If you hold a physically settled product, you’ll need to close it prior to the last day to trade (LDTT). This is because Robinhood doesn’t support the delivery of physically settled products. The LDTT is displayed in-app on the contract detail page. If you don’t take action before the LDTT and hold a physically settled product, Robinhood will close out of the position on your behalf, and your account will realize any applicable profit or loss.

At Robinhood, the last day to trade is the final day you can close a particular contract.

For cash settled products, the expiration date aligns with the last day to trade (LDTT) and is the latest date a futures contract can be traded.

For physically settled products, the LDTT may be before the expiration date to avoid physical settlement.

The exact date of expiration each month depends on the product and exchange. For a full list of product expiration dates, check out the CME Expirations Calendar.

Active is a tag generally applied to the contract with the most activity, trading volume, and liquidity. As contracts near expiration, trading volume for a particular contract can shift, causing the active tag to switch from a contract expiring in the current month to a contract with a later expiration date.

For physically settled products, a contract becomes position close only (PCO) when it transitions out of the active state, and into the non-active state.

A contract’s tradability will depend on whether a product is cash settled or physically settled, and whether the contract is active or non-active.

Cash settled products can be traded until the LDTT, shown in-app, which typically aligns with the contracts’ expiration date.

You can’t open new positions in physically settled contracts after a contract transitions from an active state to a non-active state. This is when a contract becomes PCO. However, if you already hold a position in the contract, you’ll still be allowed to close out your existing position until the LDTT.

While certain exchanges may offer futures contracts with expirations dated several years in the future, Robinhood may limit the ability to trade contracts with long-term expirations.

For physically settled products, if you don’t already hold a position in a contract, any pending orders for that contract will automatically be cancelled when the contract transitions from an active to non-active state. If you already hold a position in a contract, your pending orders for that contract will not be affected when a contract transitions from active to non-active.

All pending orders, such as limit or stop orders, will automatically be canceled when the contract becomes non-tradable upon expiration, regardless of settlement type.

When pending orders are cancelled, any buying power held for margin requirements will be returned to your buying power.

As a cash settled contract approaches expiration, keep in mind the final settlement time on the expiration date may be different from the end-of-trading-session time.

For example, the E-mini S&P 500 futures contract (/ESU24) generally ends the trading session at 5 PM ET, while its final settlement time on the date of expiration is 9:30 AM ET. This means the contract will expire based on the 9:30 AM ET final settlement price.

Generally, the final settlement times for each cash settled product in the following categories are:

• Stock Indexes: 9:30 AM ET
• Metals: 1 PM ET
• Energy: 2:30 PM ET

Holiday hours may vary. For a full list of hours, check out the CME Group’s Holiday and Trading Hours.

You can continue to trade cash settled products up until the final settlement time on the expiration date.

Futures trading is offered through Robinhood U.K. Ltd. and Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, a US registered futures commission merchant with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (‘CFTC’) and a member of the National Futures Association (‘NFA’) (NFA ID 0424278).

Futures are complex products with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. They’re not suitable for all investors. Before you invest, you should make sure you understand how futures work, what the risks are of trading futures and whether you can afford to lose more than your original investment. Please review the Futures Risk Disclosure Statement prior to engaging in futures trading.

Futures contracts and cash in futures accounts that you deposit with Robinhood Derivatives, LLC to margin futures contracts traded on the CME are held in a customer segregated funds account pursuant to regulatory requirements. Futures accounts are not protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (‘SIPC’) or the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (‘FSCS’).

Robinhood U.K. Ltd and Robinhood Derivatives, LLC are subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc.

Robinhood Derivatives, LLC retains the right to cancel orders and liquidate your positions at any time, without prior notice. Review see the Futures Client Agreement for more details.