Robinhood does not offer after-hours options trading at all

Robinhood's options trading window closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time when the regular stock market closes. You cannot place, modify, or close an options contract after that time, regardless of which stock it is or whether the stock itself is still trading in after-hours sessions.

This is a hard limit built into Robinhood's platform, not a restriction on certain stocks. The options market itself closes at 4:00 p.m., so no broker allows after-hours options trading. If you hold an options position and the stock moves during after-hours trading, you cannot act on that movement until the options market reopens at 9:30 a.m. the next morning.

If you need to trade options outside regular market hours, you would need to use a different broker — though even then, after-hours options trading is extremely limited and available only to institutional traders or through special arrangements.

Key Takeaways

  • Robinhood closes all options trading at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, matching the close of the options market itself.
  • You cannot open, close, or modify any options contract after 4:00 p.m., no matter which stock underlies the option.
  • If you hold an options position overnight, you cannot trade it until 9:30 a.m. the next trading day.
  • After-hours options trading does not exist for retail traders on any major broker, including Robinhood.

When Robinhood options trading is actually available

Robinhood's options market hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, on days when the stock market is open. This matches the official options market hours set by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC).

You can place orders during this window for any stock that has options contracts available on Robinhood's platform. Most large-cap stocks have options; many mid-cap stocks do; most small-cap stocks do not. Robinhood does not publish a complete list, but you can check by searching for a stock in the app — if options are available, you will see the options chain (calls and puts at different strike prices and expiration dates).

If you try to place an options order outside these hours, Robinhood will reject it. If you place an order during market hours but the market closes before it fills, the order will cancel at 4:00 p.m. unless you set it as a good-till-canceled (GTC) order, which will remain active the next trading day.

What happens to your options position after 4:00 p.m.

Once the options market closes at 4:00 p.m., your position is locked. You cannot sell it, buy more, or close it out. The underlying stock may continue to trade in after-hours sessions (from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern), but that movement does not affect your ability to trade the option — it only changes what your position will be worth when the options market reopens.

If you hold a call or put overnight and the stock gaps up or down in after-hours trading, you will see that reflected in your account value, but you cannot act on it. Your only choice is to wait until 9:30 a.m. the next morning and place a new order then.

This is one of the main risks of holding options overnight: you have no way to exit if news breaks or the stock moves sharply during after-hours or pre-market trading. Many traders close all positions before 4:00 p.m. for this reason.

Pre-market options trading on Robinhood

Robinhood also does not offer pre-market options trading. The options market does not open until 9:30 a.m., and you cannot place options orders before that time. If you want to trade at the open, you need to place your order during regular hours and hope it fills at the price you set, or wait until 9:30 a.m. and place a market order.

Some brokers offer extended-hours stock trading (pre-market from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and after-hours from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.), but this applies only to stocks, not options. Options are only traded during the official market session.

Stocks with the most active options markets

While you cannot trade options after hours on any stock through Robinhood, the stocks with the most liquid options contracts — meaning the easiest to buy and sell quickly at tight prices — are large-cap names: Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, and similar mega-cap stocks. These have options contracts expiring every week and at many strike prices, so you have more flexibility during regular hours.

Smaller stocks often have options that expire only monthly, at fewer strike prices, and with wider bid-ask spreads (the difference between the buy and sell price). This means it can be harder to exit a position quickly, which makes the after-hours lockout even more painful if you need to get out.

If you trade options on less-liquid stocks, closing your position before 4:00 p.m. becomes even more important, because you may not be able to find a buyer at a reasonable price the next morning if the stock has moved against you.

Why the options market closes at 4:00 p.m.

The options market closes at 4:00 p.m. because the underlying stock market closes at 4:00 p.m. Options are contracts to buy or sell stock at a set price, so the options market needs the stock market to be open to function. Once stocks stop trading, there is no price discovery happening, and options become much harder to price fairly.

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), which clears and settles all options trades, also uses the 4:00 p.m. close to process end-of-day settlements and prepare for the next day. This is a structural feature of how options markets work, not a choice any individual broker makes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set a stop-loss or limit order on an options contract after 4:00 p.m.?

No. Robinhood does not accept any new orders on options contracts after 4:00 p.m., including stop-loss or limit orders. If you want to protect a position overnight, you must close it before 4:00 p.m. or accept the risk that it will move against you while the market is closed.

What if I place an options order at 3:59 p.m. and the market closes before it fills?

The order will cancel at 4:00 p.m. unless you set it as a good-till-canceled (GTC) order. A GTC order will remain active the next trading day and the day after that until it fills or you cancel it manually. Check Robinhood's order settings to confirm whether your order is day-only or GTC.

Can I trade options on stocks that have after-hours trading?

No. Even though stocks like Tesla and Apple trade heavily after hours, their options contracts do not. The options market closes at 4:00 p.m. regardless of how active the stock is in after-hours sessions.

Do I need a special account type to trade options on Robinhood?

Yes. Robinhood requires you to be approved for options trading, which involves answering questions about your investment experience and risk tolerance. Approval is usually instant, but Robinhood may require a higher account balance or more experience for certain option strategies (like spreads or selling calls). Regular stock trading does not require this approval.

What happens if I hold an options contract through expiration?

If your contract expires in-the-money (meaning it has intrinsic value), Robinhood will automatically exercise it at 4:00 p.m. on the expiration date. This means a call will buy 100 shares of the stock at the strike price, and a put will sell 100 shares at the strike price. If it expires out-of-the-money, it becomes worthless and disappears from your account. You can also close the contract before expiration by selling it back to the market.