Stop Out Level in MetaTrader 5: When Positions Are Closed by Force

The stop out level is the margin level at which the account’s most unprofitable position is closed by force. Your broker sets it. An EA can read the value but cannot move it.

The MetaQuotes documentation was checked on 1 October 2026. AI assisted with research and drafting. RoboXpert develops its own trading software, so we have a commercial interest in this subject; see our editorial standards and commercial disclosure.

What the stop out level is compared with

MetaTrader shows a margin level for the account. The help describes it as the “percentage of the account equity to the margin volume”, which is equity ÷ margin × 100.

Two thresholds belong to it. MetaQuotes’ programming guide defines them as follows:

Percent or money: check the stop out mode

The same number can mean two things. According to the account properties, both thresholds are “expressed in percents or in the deposit currency”, depending on the account’s stop out mode. A value of 50 is a 50% margin level in one mode and 50 units of the deposit currency in the other.

Where to read the stop out level

The Trade tab shows balance, equity, margin, free margin and the current margin level. The two thresholds are account settings made by the broker. A script can read them from the connected account:

Print("Stop out mode: ", EnumToString((ENUM_ACCOUNT_STOPOUT_MODE)AccountInfoInteger(ACCOUNT_MARGIN_SO_MODE)));
Print("Margin call level: ", AccountInfoDouble(ACCOUNT_MARGIN_SO_CALL));
Print("Stop out level: ", AccountInfoDouble(ACCOUNT_MARGIN_SO_SO));

These lines come from our read-only script, which compiled with zero errors and zero warnings on 1 October 2026. We did not run it on an account, so we show no output. An offline terminal can return defaults; read the values on the account you will trade.

A hypothetical example: when a 50% stop out level is reached

Take the account from our lot size guide: $500 of equity and $366.67 of margin give a margin level of about 136%. Assume a stop out level of 50% in percent mode. That figure is an assumption for the arithmetic, not a typical or recommended value.

With the margin unchanged, the threshold is reached when equity falls to $183.34, because 183.34 ÷ 366.67 × 100 is about 50%. The open positions would have to lose $316.66. If the EA opens further positions on the way down, the margin rises and the threshold is reached earlier.

Why the stop out level matters for an EA

• Position-adding systems. A grid or martingale EA raises the margin with every entry while open losses lower the equity. Both push the margin level down. Our grid and martingale guide models such a path.
• Several EAs. The margin level is one figure for the whole account. Separate magic numbers do not create separate margin pools.
• Other loss limits. A prop firm’s daily or maximum loss rule is a different rule with its own calculation. Passing one says nothing about the other.