Glossary · Prop Firms
Restricted Countries
Restricted countries are jurisdictions where a prop firm cannot legally offer trading challenges, funded accounts, or payouts because of sanctions, regulatory obligations, or exchange compliance rules such as CME guidelines. Traders who are residents, citizens, or physically located in these countries, definitions vary by firm, may be blocked from registering, trading, or withdrawing funds.
Why it matters
Firms maintain these lists to comply with sanctions regimes, financial regulators, and exchange requirements, not out of preference. Breaching the policy, even briefly through a VPN, remote connection, or shared network that routes activity through a restricted country, can trigger account restriction or termination with no exceptions granted, regardless of whether the trade was profitable.
Live data
Example
Consider a trader whose permanent residence is listed as being in a restricted country. Most firms block that trader entirely from purchasing accounts, resetting accounts, or requesting payouts. Contrast that with a trader who resides in an eligible country but is traveling through a restricted one: some firms still permit trading during that stay but disallow new purchases, resets, or payout requests until the trader returns to an eligible location. The exact allowance differs firm by firm, so the same itinerary can produce different outcomes depending on which firm's policy applies.
Common misconception
Traders often assume restrictions follow physical location alone. In practice, most firms key eligibility to country of residence, government ID, mailing address, or bank account country, with KYC verification confirming these details during onboarding. Whether trading-while-traveling is allowed is not universal: some firms permit it, others block any activity detected from a restricted jurisdiction the moment it happens, including merely viewing market data. Payment methods issued from a restricted country can also trigger termination independent of where the trader lives.
Related terms
See also
The Take Profit Trader firm profile walks through a worked example of a restricted countries and CME-compliance policy in practice.
Sources
This mechanic, and the residence-versus-location distinction, is described in broadly similar terms across other prop firms as well.
Risk disclaimer: Trading carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Prop-firm evaluations charge fees and most traders do not pass. Nothing here is financial advice; figures can change, so verify current terms with the firm before purchasing.
Next step
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