Market Not Held Order

A market not held order is a market order — an instruction to buy or sell immediately at the best available price — with one twist: the trader hands the broker discretion over the exact timing and price of execution, instead of demanding immediate fill at whatever the market shows right now.

Normally a market order has to be worked at once, taking whatever price is available. With "not held" status, the trader is telling the broker (historically a human floor broker, though today this often means an algorithm or trading desk) to use judgment: if the market looks like it might dip further on a buy order, or tick up further on a sell order, the broker can wait a few seconds or minutes to try to get a better price, rather than executing the instant the order arrives.

The nuance that trips people up is the "not held" part of the name. It means the broker is not held liable if the delayed execution turns out worse than an immediate fill would have been. The trader is explicitly giving up the right to complain about timing, in exchange for the broker's attempt to improve on the price. There is no guarantee of a better outcome, and no guarantee the order fills at all if conditions move against it — this is not a guaranteed price like a limit order, it is a grant of trust and flexibility.

This order type is mostly used by institutional traders moving large blocks, where a human or algorithmic intermediary can spread out or time execution to reduce market impact, rather than by typical retail traders clicking buttons in a broker app.