Evaluation (challenge)
The test phase you must pass — hitting a profit target without breaching the drawdown — before you trade a firm's funded capital.
An evaluation, or challenge, is the paid test that precedes a funded account. You trade a simulated account and must reach a profit target while staying inside the drawdown and other rules. Pass, and you are promoted to a funded account; breach the drawdown, and the account fails.
Evaluations come as one-step (a single phase) or two-step (two phases). Fewer phases get you funded faster; more phases are usually cheaper per dollar of account. Instant funding skips the evaluation entirely.
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Definition reviewed June 2026. Rules change often — confirm specifics on each firm’s own site.
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