If you hold your long call option position through expiration, it will be subject to Automatic Exercise. If the option is in-the-money and you do not want to exercise, you can either close out the option prior to market close, or you may submit Do-Not-Exercise instructions. You have until 4:30 pm ET.

If your long put is in the money on expiration your account must have available long shares to sell if you would like to exercise the put. For example, if your account is long 100 shares of a stock and you have a covered call written where the shares are securing the call, those shares would not be considered available to sell. In this example the put must be closed prior to the market closing or a do not exercise will be placed on the put.

For further details on option trading at Alpaca, please navigate to our documentation.

For further educational information on Options trading, please refer to: https://www.optionseducation.org/

Options trading is not suitable for all investors due to its inherent high risk, which can potentially result in significant losses. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before investing in options.

All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security, or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will achieve its objectives. Please note that diversification does not assure a profit, or protect against loss. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities, or other financial products. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing.