How to Place Your First Options Trade on Robinhood

Options trading on Robinhood starts with enabling the feature in your account settings, then selecting a contract, reviewing the Greeks, and placing an order

Robinhood does not turn on options trading by default. You must request access through your account settings, and Robinhood will review your request based on your trading experience and financial situation. Once approved, you can trade calls and puts on stocks and ETFs directly from the app or web platform. The process itself — finding a contract, setting a price, and submitting the order — takes the same steps as a stock trade, but options contracts have their own rules about expiration, exercise, and risk that you need to understand before you place real money at stake.

This guide walks you through enabling options, understanding what you are looking at when you find a contract, and the mechanics of placing an order. It does not cover options strategy or whether options are right for your situation — those are decisions you make with your own research and, if you want it, advice from a financial professional.

Key Takeaways

• You must request options trading access in your Robinhood account settings; approval is not automatic and depends on your experience level and account type.
• Robinhood offers four approval levels for options, from covered calls only up to spreads and other multi-leg strategies, each with different risk limits.
• Once approved, you find options contracts by selecting a stock, choosing a call or put, picking an expiration date, and selecting a strike price.
• The Greeks — delta, gamma, theta, and vega — show you how an option's price moves with changes in the stock price, time, and volatility, and Robinhood displays them on every contract.
• Options orders on Robinhood work like stock orders: you set a bid or ask price, choose day or good-till-canceled, and submit; most orders fill within seconds during market hours.

Requesting options trading access in your Robinhood account

Open the Robinhood app or web platform and go to your Account settings. Look for the "Options" or "Investing" section — the exact label varies by platform version. Tap or click "Enable Options Trading" or "Request Options Access." Robinhood will ask you a series of questions about your investment experience, your understanding of options risk, and your financial situation. Answer honestly; Robinhood uses this information to assign you an approval level.

Robinhood has four approval levels. Level 1 allows covered calls and cash-secured puts only. Level 2 adds long calls and puts. Level 3 adds spreads (buying and selling options at the same time on the same stock). Level 4 adds other multi-leg strategies. Most new traders start at Level 1 or 2. Robinhood typically approves or denies your request within one business day, and you will see the result in your account settings. If you are denied, you can request again after 30 days or after your circumstances change.

Finding an options contract on Robinhood

Once approved, open any stock or ETF you want to trade options on. Below the stock chart, you will see a "Trade" button or tab. Tap it and select "Options" from the menu. Robinhood will show you a list of expiration dates — these are the dates the contract expires and you must decide what to do with it. Pick an expiration date. The most common are weekly (expiring Friday) and monthly (expiring the third Friday of the month), but Robinhood offers expirations ranging from days away to months away.

After you pick an expiration date, Robinhood shows you a chain of strike prices — these are the prices at which you can buy or sell the stock if you exercise the option. For a call, lower strike prices are "in the money" (the stock price is above the strike) and higher strikes are "out of the money" (the stock price is below the strike). For a put, it is the opposite. Tap a strike price to see the bid and ask prices for that contract, the Greeks, and the volume (how many contracts traded that day).

Understanding the Greeks and what they tell you

Delta shows how much the option price moves when the stock price moves $1. A delta of 0.50 means the option price moves about $0.50 when the stock moves $1. Calls have positive delta (they gain value when the stock rises); puts have negative delta (they gain value when the stock falls). Delta also roughly equals the odds the option will be in the money at expiration — a 0.70 delta call has about a 70% chance of finishing above the strike.

Gamma shows how fast delta changes. High gamma means delta swings wildly as the stock price moves; low gamma means delta stays steady. Theta shows how much the option loses per day just from time passing, even if the stock does not move. Theta is negative for options you buy (time works against you) and positive for options you sell (time works for you). Vega shows how much the option price moves when volatility (the stock's swings) changes by 1%. High vega means the option is sensitive to volatility spikes.

Robinhood displays all four Greeks on the contract details screen. You do not need to memorize them, but understanding what they mean helps you see what you are betting on. A high-delta call is a bet the stock will rise soon. A high-theta short put is a bet the stock will stay flat. A high-vega long call is a bet volatility will spike.

Placing an options order on Robinhood

Tap the contract you want to trade. Robinhood shows you the current bid (what buyers will pay) and ask (what sellers want). Decide whether you are buying or selling. If you are buying a call or put, you pay the ask price (or lower if you place a limit order). If you are selling a call or put, you receive the bid price (or higher if you place a limit order). Enter the number of contracts — one contract controls 100 shares of the stock.

Choose your order type. A market order fills immediately at the current bid or ask. A limit order lets you set the price you are willing to pay or accept; it may not fill if the price never reaches your limit. Choose the time frame: "Day" means the order expires at market close if it does not fill; "Good Till Canceled" (GTC) stays open until you cancel it or it fills, up to 90 days. Review the order summary — it shows the total cost or credit, the Greeks, and the break-even price at expiration. Tap "Place Order" to submit.

Most options orders on Robinhood fill within seconds during market hours (9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday). If your order does not fill, you can cancel it and try again at a different price, or wait to see if the market moves to your limit. After the order fills, Robinhood shows the contract in your "Positions" tab with the current value, unrealized gain or loss, and the Greeks updated in real time.

Managing an options position until expiration

Once you own or are short an options contract, you can watch it in your Positions tab. The price updates throughout the day as the stock moves and time passes. You can close the position at any time before expiration by selling it (if you bought it) or buying it back (if you sold it). You do not have to hold until expiration. Most traders close winning positions early to lock in profit, and close losing positions to cut losses.

If you hold a call or put until expiration day, Robinhood will automatically exercise it if it is in the money — meaning you will buy or sell the underlying stock at the strike price. For a call, you will buy 100 shares per contract at the strike price. For a put, you will sell 100 shares per contract at the strike price. Make sure you have enough cash or shares in your account, or Robinhood may sell the contract for you at market price instead. You can also manually close or exercise a position on expiration day through the app.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

The biggest mistake is not understanding what you are ordering. Options prices move fast, and a contract that costs $0.50 when you look at it might cost $1.00 by the time your order fills. Always review the order summary before you submit, and use limit orders if you want to control the price you pay or receive. Do not assume a low-priced contract is a good deal — a $0.10 option might be cheap because it has almost no chance of making money.

Another common mistake is forgetting about expiration. If you buy a weekly call on Monday, it expires Friday. If you do not close it or exercise it by Friday at 4 p.m., Robinhood will handle it automatically — but you might not like the result. Mark your calendar for expiration dates, or set a reminder in the app. Finally, do not trade options with money you cannot afford to lose. Options can expire worthless, and you can lose your entire investment in a single contract. Start small, trade one or two contracts at a time, and only risk what you can afford to lose.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get approved for options trading on Robinhood?

Robinhood typically approves or denies your request within one business day. You will see the result in your Account settings. If you are denied, you can request again after 30 days or if your situation changes.

Can I trade options before market hours or after market close?

Robinhood does not offer options trading during extended hours. You can place orders before 9:30 a.m. or after 4 p.m., but they will not fill until the regular market opens. Most options volume happens during regular hours, so you will get better prices then.

What happens if I do not close my options position before expiration?

Robinhood automatically exercises in-the-money options at expiration. For a call, you buy 100 shares per contract at the strike price. For a put, you sell 100 shares per contract at the strike price. Make sure you have enough cash or shares, or Robinhood will sell the contract for you instead.

Can I sell options I do not own?

Yes, if your approval level allows it. Selling a call or put you do not own is called "opening a short position." You collect the premium upfront, but you are on the hook if the stock moves against you. You must have enough buying power in your account to cover the risk, and Robinhood will hold that amount as collateral.

What is the difference between a call and a put?

A call gives you the right to buy the stock at the strike price. You buy a call if you think the stock will rise. A put gives you the right to sell the stock at the strike price. You buy a put if you think the stock will fall. Both can be bought or sold, and both expire on a set date.