Are you trying to buy a stock or option contract through your Fidelity brokerage but received the following error?
(013014) The buy order you are about to place exceeds your settled cash balance. Selling these shares before paying in full for the trade could result in a Good Faith Violation.
This error occurs when there are not enough funds available in your account to cover that purchase order. In other words, you don’t have enough “settled cash” to buy the stock.
How Long Does It Take for Cash To Settle in Fidelity?
When you buy or sell securities through Fidelity, it takes two days (2) for cash to settle. This rule, however, does not apply to customers with an account balance of $25,000+.
Can I Still Trade With Unsettled Fund?
Yes, you can. After selling another security, you can purchase a different security with your unsettled cash. However, your trading account will be marked with a “Good Faith Violation.”
Good Faith Violation (GFV) occurs when a trader attempt to buy and sell without using settled funds. An account is allowed to have three (3) Good Faith Violations within 12 months. After that, the trading account will be restricted for 90 days.
How To Avoid Good Faith Violation
To avoid receiving a good faith violation, you must satisfy one of the following:
- Only buy with settled fund (enough to cover the entire purchase).
- Have at least $25K in your trading account.
Fidelity makes it really easy for you to check on your settled cash. Go to your account balances and you should be able to find out how much is available to trade.
💬 Community Discussion
Isabelle C:
Got this error after selling an etf in my Ira to by another, I thought I could buy and sell etfs in the same day. I’m nervous about initiation the purchase now, do I need to wait for the cash to settle? I sold yesterday and this is still happening today.
David J:
The only time this doesn’t apply is if you sell shares of a Fidelity MF/ETF and buy more shares of a different Fidelity MF/ETF. I believe there’s a trading option that says something like “sell shares/dollars of one and use proceeds to buy another”
Matt C:
Settlement takes 2 days. It’s called T+2 (trade +2 days). If you have settled cash equivalent to or more than the trade amount you will not get a GFV.
John S:
You can buy and sell until your heart is content, as long as you have the settled cash to cover each sale. Otherwise, each sale when cash is not settled will get you a good faith violation. 3 good faith violations in a 12 month period will result in restricted (settled cash only) trading only.
