{"id":12252,"date":"2026-05-22T13:39:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/square-off\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:39:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:39:31","slug":"square-off","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/square-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Square Off"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/square-off\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">square off<\/a> a position simply means to close it. If you bought <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/shares\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>shares<\/a>, you square off by selling; if you sold (shorted) shares or futures, you square off by buying back. The term shows up in intraday auto square-off, <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/broker\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>broker<\/a> square-off due to margin shortfall, and traders&rsquo; daily routine of flattening positions.<\/p>\n<div><strong>Key takeaways:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Square off means closing an open buy or sell position so your net exposure becomes zero.<\/li>\n<li>Intraday MIS positions are auto-squared by brokers before the close of <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/trading\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>trading<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Manual square off lets you exit at your chosen price; broker square off uses <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/market-order\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">market order<\/a>s that may slip.<\/li>\n<li>Square off applies to <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/equity\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>equity<\/a>, F&amp;O, currency and <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/commodity\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">commodity<\/a> trades.<\/li>\n<li>For F&amp;O, you can square off any time before contract expiry under NRML.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"what-does-square-off-look-like-in-practice\">What does square off look like in practice?<\/h2>\n<p>Suppose you bought 100 shares of Tata Motors at &#x20B9;900 under MIS. To square off, you sell 100 shares of Tata Motors before the day ends. Your net position in Tata Motors is now zero, and you book a profit or loss equal to (sell price &#x2212; buy price) &#xD7; 100, minus charges.<\/p>\n<p>For futures, if you sold one lot of <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/nifty\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>Nifty<\/a> at 22,200, you square off by buying one lot of the same expiry contract. You do not need to physically take delivery &mdash; the exchange nets out your obligations.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"types-of-square-off\">Types of square off<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manual square off<\/strong> &#x2014; you decide when to exit and place the closing order yourself.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Auto square off<\/strong> &#x2014; broker automatically closes intraday positions before the cut-off if you forget.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Forced square off<\/strong> &#x2014; broker closes positions if your margin falls short of the maintenance level.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expiry square off<\/strong> &mdash; for F&amp;O, contracts are settled (cash or physical) on the last Thursday of the month or weekly expiry day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"auto-and-forced-square-off\">Auto and forced square off<\/h2>\n<p>Brokers run a <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/risk-management\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">risk management<\/a> system (RMS) that monitors every account in real time. If you leave an MIS position open past the cut-off, the RMS sends a market order to close it. This protects the broker from carrying intraday risk overnight. The same applies in F&amp;O if your margin falls below the required level &mdash; the broker can square off without warning to recover funds.<\/p>\n<p>Forced square off can cause large <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/slippage\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>slippage<\/a> because market orders chase whatever price is available. Always close positions in time to avoid this.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"square-off-charges\">Square off charges<\/h2>\n<p>The square off leg attracts the same brokerage and statutory charges as a regular trade. There is no separate fee for closing a position. However, if a broker squares off on your behalf, some brokers levy a small auto-square-off penalty (often &#x20B9;20&#x2013;50 per order).<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"strategic-square-off-ideas\">Strategic square off ideas<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Partial square off &#x2014; exit half your position at the first target and let the rest run with a trailing stop.<\/li>\n<li>Time-based square off &mdash; close everything by a fixed time, regardless of P&amp;L, to avoid being trapped by news.<\/li>\n<li>Hedged square off &#x2014; when closing a futures position, also close any options used as hedge to keep risk consistent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"square-off-vs-reversing-a-position\">Square off vs reve<a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/rsi\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>rsi<\/a>ng a position<\/h2>\n<p>Square off makes your position zero. Reversing means going from long to short (or vice versa) &#x2014; for example, selling 200 shares when you owned 100 leaves you 100 short. Reversal is essentially a square off plus a fresh trade in the opposite direction and uses more margin.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div>\n<h3 id=\"when-does-intraday-auto-square-off-happen\">When does intraday auto square off happen?<\/h3>\n<p>Typically 3:15 p.m. for cash equity MIS and 3:25 p.m. for equity F&amp;O. Currency and commodity timings differ.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"can-i-cancel-an-auto-square-off-order\">Can I cancel an auto square-off order?<\/h3>\n<p>You can pre-empt it by manually squaring off earlier. Once the auto square-off market order is sent, it usually executes immediately.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"do-i-need-to-square-off-cnc-positions\">Do I need to square off CNC positions?<\/h3>\n<p>No. CNC delivery positions stay in your demat until you choose to sell.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-if-i-cannot-square-off-a-stock-that-is-in-upper-lower-circuit\">What if I cannot square off a stock that is in upper\/lower circuit?<\/h3>\n<p>You may be unable to exit until <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/liquidity\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">liquidity<\/a> returns. Brokers usually treat this as a force-majeure event and adjust margin requirements accordingly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To square off a position simply means to close it. If you bought shares, you square off by selling; if you sold (shorted) shares or futures, you square off by buying back. The term shows up in intraday auto square-off, broker square-off due to margin shortfall, and traders&#x2019; daily routine of flattening positions. Key takeaways: [&#x2026;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12252","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"web-stories-poster-portrait":false,"web-stories-publisher-logo":false,"web-stories-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ashutosh","author_link":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/author\/ashu\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"To square off a position simply means to close it. If you bought shares, you square off by selling; if you sold (shorted) shares or futures, you square off by buying back. The term shows up in intraday auto square-off, broker square-off due to margin shortfall, and traders&#x2019; daily routine of flattening positions. Key takeaways:&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/12252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/12252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}