Time in force on Bybit limit orders: when to use GTC, IOC, FOK or Post-Only

Most people place a limit order on Bybit and never touch the small time-in-force setting next to it. The default works for many situations, but the other options solve specific problems: avoiding a half-filled order when you need all or nothing, cancelling instantly what cannot fill now, or making sure an order only ever rests in the book. Knowing the four choices takes a few minutes and makes your orders behave the way you intended, especially on euro pairs and thinner markets.

Where the setting lives

On the Bybit order form, choose Limit and look for the time-in-force selector, often shown as GTC by default, sometimes inside an advanced or options section depending on whether you use the app or the website. On derivatives the same setting appears next to options such as Reduce-Only. Bybit's help center has an article describing each value; read it once, because the exact availability can differ between spot and contracts.

GTC and Post-Only: orders that wait

Good-Till-Cancelled keeps the order in the book until it fills or you cancel it. It is the right choice for a buy placed below the market that you are happy to leave for days, but remember to review open orders so that forgotten ones do not fill unexpectedly later. Post-Only goes further: if the order would execute immediately against an existing order, Bybit cancels it instead. That guarantees the order rests in the book as a maker order, which matters when you are counting on the maker rate shown on the Bybit fee page.

IOC and FOK: orders that refuse to wait

Immediate-or-Cancel fills whatever quantity is available at your price or better right now and cancels the rest. It is useful when you want to take liquidity up to a price limit without leaving a remainder in the book. Fill-or-Kill is stricter: either the whole quantity fills immediately or nothing does. Use it when a partial fill would leave you with an awkward position, for example when you plan to transfer an exact amount afterwards. Both behave as taker orders when they fill.

Check the result in your order history

After placing an order with a non-default setting, look at the order history and the trade history. A cancelled Post-Only or FOK order appears as cancelled, not as an error, so read the status rather than assuming it went through. The trade history shows whether each fill was charged as maker or taker. Comparing a few of your own orders with the fee page is the clearest way to see that the setting is doing what you expect.

Risk boundary: Bybit Italy Guide

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Scenario checkpoint

• Find the time-in-force selector on the Bybit limit order form in both app and web.
• Use Post-Only when you need the order to rest as a maker order and check the fee page rate.
• Use IOC or FOK when a resting remainder or a partial fill would cause problems.
• Read the order status and maker or taker flag in your history after each non-default order.