What Is a Requote and Why Does It Happen?

1. How a requote actually happens mechanically

When you submit an order, your broker's system checks whether the requested price is still available. If price has moved during the brief interval between your submission and the system's check, particularly likely during fast-moving conditions, rather than automatically executing at a different price the way slippageSlippage tolerance sets the maximum acceptable price deviation before an order is rejected rather than executed at a significantly different price..Click to read more →, typically works, a requote presents you with the new available price and explicitly asks you to confirm whether you still want to proceed.

It's worth understanding why this differs from simply letting your order execute at whatever price is available, a requote specifically pauses to ask for your explicit confirmation before proceeding at the new price, rather than executing automatically, a meaningful difference in how much control you retain.

2. The key difference between requotes and slippage

The key distinction is that slippage, typically executes automatically at the new price without requiring your explicit confirmation, while a requote specifically pauses the process, requiring you to actively accept the new price or decline the trade. Some platforms and brokers use one approach predominantly, while others may use a hybrid depending on specific order types or conditions.

See also: What Is a Broker's Order Execution Speed?

It's worth keeping this distinction clear specifically because it affects how you should respond to each, discussed elsewhere on this site regarding slippage generally, slippage happens without your input while a requote specifically asks for it, worth understanding both mechanisms rather than treating them as interchangeable.

3. When requotes most commonly occur

Requotes most commonly occur during exactly these same conditions, major scheduled announcements, periods of unusually low liquidity, or any sudden, sharp price movement that outpaces the broker's ability to confirm your originally requested price remains genuinely available.

It's worth being especially prepared for requotes specifically around scheduled news releases, discussed elsewhere on this site regarding trading around major events, since this is precisely when the rapid price movement most likely to trigger a requote tends to occur.

4. Which execution models are more prone to requotes

Requotes have historically been more commonly associated with certain market maker execution structures, though modern ECN and STP models, more commonly handle price changes through the slippage mechanism instead, making this distinction worth understanding when evaluating a specific broker's typical execution behaviour.

It's worth connecting this directly to the market maker versus ECN distinction discussed elsewhere on this site, understanding which execution model your specific broker uses helps set appropriate expectations about how frequently you might genuinely encounter requotes.

5. How to respond when you receive a requote

When you receive a requote, you can choose to accept the new offered price if it remains acceptable given your specific strategy and risk management, or decline and reassess the trade given the changed market conditions the requote itself reflects. Acting decisively rather than hesitating extensively is generally advisable, since price can continue moving while you deliberate.

It's worth deciding your general approach to requotes in advance, during calm planning, rather than each time reactively, having a predetermined sense of your own acceptable price tolerance helps you respond quickly and confidently when an actual requote appears.

6. Reducing your exposure to frequent requotes

Reducing exposure to frequent requotes involves avoiding trading immediately around major scheduled news events, where this phenomenon is most common, and considering a broker whose specific execution model, is less prone to this particular friction if you find it genuinely disruptive to your specific trading approach.

It's also worth checking whether a broker offers negative balance protection, a feature many FSCA-regulated brokers now provide as standard, which caps your maximum possible loss at your account balance even during extreme, fast-moving market conditions.

Platform reliability during high-volatility events is a more important consideration than the breadth of analytical features for most retail traders. South African traders have an additional reliability concern that traders in stable electricity markets do not face: load shedding requires a tested mobile platform backup for managing open positions during power outages. Testing the mobile backup specifically, the ability to view positions, modify stops, and close trades, before going live with real capital is a practical step that traders outside South Africa simply do not need to consider. The best platform is ultimately the one you can use confidently under adverse conditions, not the one with the most features under ideal conditions. Confirming that your broker's mobile app functions correctly on your specific mobile device and 4G connection takes five minutes and could prevent a significant connectivity-related loss.

Platform reliability during high-volatility events is a more important consideration than the breadth of analytical features for most retail traders. South African traders have an additional reliability concern that traders in stable electricity markets do not face: load shedding requires a tested mobile platform backup for managing open positions during power outages. Testing the mobile backup specifically, the ability to view positions, modify stops, and close trades, before going live with real capital is a practical step that traders outside South Africa simply do not need to consider. The best platform is ultimately the one you can use confidently under adverse conditions, not the one with the most features under ideal conditions. Confirming that your broker's mobile app functions correctly on your specific mobile device and 4G connection takes five minutes and could prevent a significant connectivity-related loss.