# What is EA policy?

> An EA policy is a prop firm's rules on expert advisors, bots and other automated trading: which are allowed, which are banned, and how the firm checks.

- Source: https://pipvalley.com/glossary/ea-policy
- Publisher: PipValley - web design studio for prop trading firms
- Updated: 2026-10-03

In a prop firm, an EA (expert advisor) policy covers automated strategies running on MetaTrader and equivalent bots on other platforms. Most firms allow trade management tools and personal strategies, and ban strategies that exploit the simulated environment, such as latency arbitrage, tick scalping and high-frequency order placement.

Many firms also ban third-party EAs sold to many traders, because hundreds of accounts running the same bot behave like one trader with many accounts and concentrate payout liability.

Enforcement depends on the risk engine: identical trade timing across accounts, very short hold times and abnormal order rates are typical flags.

## Why it matters

Automated strategies can turn a pricing model built for human traders into a loss. A precise EA policy, with examples of allowed and banned behavior, lets you act on abuse without looking arbitrary. On the website, answer the question traders ask most: can I use my own EA, and do I need to tell you first.