Pending Orders Explained

Pending orders bring together everything covered throughout this course so far - buy limit and sell limit orders, buy stop and sell stop orders - under one unified concept, and understanding exactly what makes an order 'pending' will help solidify your grasp of how to plan trades in advance rather than reacting purely in the moment.

This final lesson in the Introduction to Order Types module walks through the practical process of actually setting up a pending order on your MetaTrader 5 platform, along with how to modify or cancel one if your market view changes before it ever triggers. Completing this lesson will leave you with a genuinely well-rounded, practical understanding of every major order type available to you as you continue progressing through this Trading Academy.

What Makes an Order ‘Pending’

An order is 'pending' when it sits inactive, waiting for price to reach a predetermined level, unlike a market order that fills immediately.

Limit and stop orders both fall under this pending category, letting you define an entire trade well before price actually reaches it.

• Inactive Until Triggered: A pending order sits dormant in the market until price actually reaches your specifically predetermined level.
• Includes Limit and Stop Orders: Both limit orders and stop orders fall under this same broad pending order category on MetaTrader 5.
• Different from Market Orders: A market order executes immediately, while a pending order waits patiently for its specified price level.
• Plan Now, Execute Later: Pending orders let you define a complete trade well before the market actually reaches your intended level.

Setting Up a Pending Order in MetaTrader 5

Setting one up means choosing buy limit, sell limit, buy stop or sell stop, plus a target price and ideally a stop loss and take profit.

This single step configures a fully risk-managed trade in advance, and the order stays visible and editable in your terminal until it triggers.

• Order Type Selection: Choose between a buy limit, sell limit, buy stop or sell stop order depending on your specific market view.
• Price Specification: Set the exact price level at which you want your pending order to eventually trigger and fill.
• Optional Stop Loss and Take Profit: Attach both a stop loss and take profit level directly within the same pending order window.
• One-Step Setup: Configure an entire, fully risk-managed trade in a single order window before price ever reaches your level.

Managing Pending Orders

A pending order can be modified or deleted any time before it triggers, letting you adjust price or protective levels if your view changes.

This flexibility makes pending orders a low-risk way to plan trades in advance, keeping full control until the order actually fills.

• Setting Up in MetaTrader 5: Specify the order type, target price and optional stop loss or take profit all within one single order window.
• Flexible Modification: Adjust a pending order's entry price at any point before it actually triggers, without any cost or penalty.
• Easy Cancellation: Cancel a pending order instantly if new information changes your original market view before it fills.
• Planning Trades in Advance: Pending orders let you act on a well-considered strategy even when you're away from your screen entirely.