Freeze Level

A freeze level is the band around the current market price inside which a broker will not accept changes to an order or position that already exists — modifying a stop, moving a take-profit or closing the position outright is refused while price sits within it. It is published in points in the contract specification alongside the stop level, and the two are routinely confused: the stop level governs where an order may be placed, while the freeze level governs whether an order already placed may still be touched. It exists because an order whose trigger is about to fire cannot be safely amended while that trigger is in flight. The practical effect is uncomfortable: the moment a trader most wants to intervene — price sitting right on a stop — is exactly the moment intervention is refused. Many brokers publish a freeze level of zero, which removes the restriction entirely; where it is non-zero, any strategy that manages stops close to price should be tested against it, because in a running platform the limit shows up as an unexplained rejection rather than as a documented rule.