Eligibility Frequently Asked Questions - Who is eligible to participate?

Do I need to be a US citizen to participate?

Is there an age requirement?

I'm Canadian, can I still earn a Funded Account®?

Are there countries that cannot participate?

Eligible countries that cannot have a Live Funded Account

What if I have residency in an eligible country, but am traveling and trading in an ineligible country?

What if I have citizenship in an eligible country, but am residing in an ineligible country?

What if I have citizenship in an ineligible country, but reside in an eligible country?

My country was previously eligible, but now it's ineligible. Am I still eligible to trade with Topstep?

List of ineligible countries

Yes, there are countries that cannot participate or earn funding with Topstep.

Anyone with citizenship or residency in a country on OFAC's Sanctioned Countries list, or anyone who cannot be provided an account due to restrictions and limitations from our partners, is unfortunately not eligible to trade, earn Funding, or take payouts with Topstep.

At Topstep, we want to help as many traders as possible learn and grow in the markets. However, due to specific restrictions with our current brokers, there are some countries where we can’t offer Live Funded Accounts.

If you’re a citizen from one of these countries, you can still trade with us and work towards your goals, but you won’t be able to access a Live Funded Account:

Croatia, Romania, Senegal, Slovenia, Montenegro, Ghana, Germany

What This Means:

Why didn’t you add my country back?

We can only add countries that our Brokers and OFAC do not comprehensively ban, and we are continually evaluating which countries to include next.

When are you planning on adding more countries?

We do not have an official list or timeline, but we are actively investigating the possibility of adding back a variety of countries as our systems and partnerships evolve.

What about countries with human rights violations?

While we do not control every country's rules and regulations, we will continue to support as many countries as OFAC and our brokers will allow us to.

Didn’t you just ban a bunch of countries?

Yes, and until recently, we didn’t have a path for these traders. We have now worked out a better, long-term option, and we may add more countries in the future.

If these traders can never go live with your company, why would you add them back?

Our mission is to help traders build better habits and skills through learning by doing. Even if some cannot go live with us, they can still earn payouts and build better skills that they can take into live markets on their own.

Are you adding these countries now because of the response from previous bans?

No. We are adding these countries because we now have a better long-term solution that allows more traders to participate while maintaining the focus and integrity of our program.

I am not from a banned country. Can I get put into this program?

No, this program is only for traders in countries where Live Funded Accounts aren’t allowed. If you’re eligible to go Live, you should be working toward a Live Funded Account. That’s the goal!

In cases where you may be vacationing or traveling to an ineligible country, Topstep asks that you refrain from trading while in the ineligible country. If any trading activity is conducted while in an ineligible country, you should be aware that your Topstep account may be flagged and reviewed by the Compliance team. If your eligibility status changes due to traveling, please reach out to our Support Team.

You will not be able to trade with Topstep while residing in an ineligible country; If you have citizenship in an eligible country but are currently residing in an ineligible country, then unfortunately you will not be able to trade, earn Funding, or receive payouts with Topstep.

If you have citizenship in an ineligible country but currently reside in a country that is eligible to trade with Topstep, then you will need to submit a government-issued photo ID proving permanent in the eligible country alongside a bank statement in the eligible country to be reviewed by Topstep's compliance department. In these cases, you will submit this info to our Trader Support Team to move forward with eligibility verification.

A country may be deemed ineligible for several reasons including, but not limited to, OFAC sanctions and restrictions with our partners. In these cases, traders are unable to trade with, get Funded by, or receive payouts from Topstep.

If you are a citizen of one of the countries listed below, you are not eligible to trade or receive payouts with Topstep:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), Burma/Myanmar, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Chinese Military Companies, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Crimea (Region of Ukraine - North of Black Sea - Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia), Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan and Darfur, Syria, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey (Turkiye), Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

*This list can change at any time based on updates from brokerages and other circumstances