Freeze quantity for Nifty, Bank Nifty and other indices

Nifty freeze quantity is a unit limit on one order

The current NSE table gives Nifty a freeze limit of 3,510 units and Bank Nifty 1,440 units. NSE/FAOP/76693, dated 1 October 2026, makes those limits applicable from 5 October. Its figures match the exchange’s current quantity-freeze file opened on 14 October. Older numbers you may see elsewhere, such as 1,800 for Nifty, are out of date.

An order quantity and a lot size answer different questions. The lot is the contract’s trading unit; the freeze quantity is the most you can put in a single order. Divide the freeze units by the lot size to see how many complete lots fit. When the division is not exact, round down to whole lots.

The lot sizes in the table come from NSE’s current market-lot file, checked 14 October 2026, which shows the same lots for every listed expiry. Nifty’s 65 dates from NSE/FAOP/70616 of 3 October 2025. Check the selected contract before entering an order. Our lot-size and expiry calendar is a separate reference; the exchange file remains the source for the limit.

NSE index freeze limits effective 5 October 2026

NSE circular and NSE’s freeze and market-lot files checked 14 October 2026. Whole lots = freeze limit ÷ lot size, rounded down.

Index	Freeze limit (units per order)	Lot size (units)	Whole lots per order
NIFTY	3,510	65	54
BANKNIFTY	1,440	30	48
FINNIFTY	3,240	60	54
MIDCPNIFTY	5,760	120	48
NIFTYNXT50	1,125	25	45
NIFTYFPI	53,900	1,100	49

Unit limits: NSE/FAOP/76693 and NSE’s quantity-freeze file. Lot sizes: NSE’s market-lot file (Oct 2026 to Dec 2026 expiries; Nifty, Bank Nifty, FinNifty and Midcap lots set by NSE/FAOP/70616). NSE’s circular list for 1–14 October 2026 shows no later index-freeze revision. This table covers NSE only; it does not give a BSE limit.

Sources: [1], [2], [4], [5]

Download this table (CSV)

An assumed 80-lot Nifty instruction becomes two child orders

Illustrative quantity, not a position-size recommendation. Assume the selected contract uses 65 units per lot, the 3,510-unit freeze applies, the broker supports slicing, and every child executes.

Requested quantity: 80 × 65

5,200 units

First child: 54 × 65

3,510 units

Remaining child: 26 × 65

1,690 units

Check: 3,510 + 1,690

5,200 units

Assumed brokerage: 2 executed children × ₹20

₹40 entry brokerage

If exit also needs 2 executed children: 4 × ₹20

₹80 round-trip brokerage

Sources: [1], [4], [6], [9], [11]

What happens above the exchange freeze limit

A broker may split a large order for you automatically, offer a slicing option you switch on, or ask you to reduce the quantity. A basket button alone does not tell you which of these your app does. Read the order preview and your broker’s help page.

A sliced order becomes several smaller orders, called child orders. Check the status of each one. A child that was sent is not the same as a child that filled, and the first child filling does not mean the rest did. Your order book shows what actually happened.

Slicing and iceberg functionality should also be checked separately. The order-types comparison explains why similar labels can have different release sequences and product scope. The matrix below is limited to capabilities the named broker documents; it is not a broker recommendation or an execution test.

Documented slicing routes and fee-evidence limits

Official broker pages reopened 14 October 2026. Historical examples are not used as current exchange limits. No common release sequence or mobile/API coverage is assumed.

Broker and evidence scope	Documented handling	What the source establishes about fees	Source ID
Angel One app manual	Split Order automatically divides eligible larger orders; preview shows the separate orders.	Brokerage charged separately per child.	a-split
DhanHQ v2 API	POST /orders/slicing for over-freeze F&O quantities; this is API documentation.	This endpoint page does not establish the applicable per-child tariff.	d-slice
FYERS	Eligible order slicing supports at most 10 children; instructions needing more require separate orders.	This help page does not establish a per-child brokerage rate.	f-slice
Groww options	Automatically divides an above-freeze options instruction into a minimum number of orders.	Blog explicitly assesses brokerage for each order.	g-slice
Upstox	Automatic in supported NSE/BSE equity and F&O; depends on execution conditions, with no special order type.	This help page does not state a slicing tariff.	u-slice
Zerodha Kite Web announcement	Dated 25 March 2025 announcement documents automatic web slicing. Its mobile rollout statement is historical.	Each executed child attracts separate brokerage.	z-slice

Broker pages prove the stated interface or documented feature, not universal support across all products. Dhan app behaviour is not inferred from API documentation. No fee is treated as zero when the inspected page is silent.

Sources: [11], [7], [8], [9], [10], [6]

Why an older article can show 1,800 instead

The October circular replaces the previous index computation methodology and publishes a new table. Older broker tutorials can still be useful for finding a button while showing quantities that no longer match that table. Groww’s slicing article and Angel One’s app manual contain historical quantity illustrations; their current value is the documented workflow and fee treatment.

The rounding issue also matters. If an assumed limit were 1,800 units and a lot were 65, only 27 whole lots would fit: 27 × 65 = 1,755 units. The remaining 45 units would not form a full lot. That is an explanation of old arithmetic, not today’s Nifty ceiling. Today’s cited 3,510-unit limit divides exactly by 65.

Check the effective date as well as the publication date. A circular published before a weekend can apply from a later trading date. The October source states 5 October explicitly, so this page does not substitute its 1 October issue date.

A short check before sending a sliced instruction

• Match the exchange and contract

  NSE and BSE publish their own requirements. Confirm the expiry, lot size and exchange in the order window.

• Convert lots into units once

  Multiply the intended lot count by that contract’s lot size, then compare units with units.

• Inspect every child in the preview

  Check quantities, order types and any release or fill conditions instead of assuming the parent is one exchange order.

• Read the actual fee basis

  A flat fee per executed child differs from one fee for the entire parent instruction. A silent help page does not mean free slicing.

• Reconcile fills before recording the result

  Use actual executed quantities, prices and contract-note charges. OneTradeJournal trades are logged by hand; it does not pull or combine fills from your broker.

Sensex freeze quantity: current BSE value withheld

We could not open a current Sensex freeze quantity on BSE’s own website or in a BSE circular when we checked on 14 October 2026. Broker summaries quote a figure, but a broker summary is not the exchange’s rule, so this page does not repeat it or the older Sensex figure this glossary used to show.

For a Sensex order, confirm the current BSE contract specification with the exchange and your broker. This gap affects the BSE number only, not the NSE limits confirmed above.

An order limit is not a risk budget

A higher freeze quantity changes how much can fit into an order. It does not tell you what position size is affordable, how much margin your portfolio needs or where an order will fill. Slicing likewise does not make a larger position appropriate.

Keep the operational record separate from your decision record: actual children and fills establish the execution; notes explain the reason for the size and any deviation from your plan. This glossary is a plain-English description of exchange limits and documented broker workflows. It provides no trade recommendation.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of these. Each was checked on the date shown.

1. [1]NSE/FAOP/76693, 1 October 2026: index freeze limits from 5 October · checked 14 Oct 2026
2. [2]NSE current quantity-freeze CSV, directly fetched · checked 14 Oct 2026
3. [3]NSE circular archive requested 1–14 October 2026 · checked 14 Oct 2026
4. [4]NSE/FAOP/70616, 3 October 2025: index market lots · checked 14 Oct 2026
5. [5]NSE current F&O market-lot file · checked 14 Oct 2026
6. [6]Zerodha 25 March 2025: Kite Web slicing · checked 14 Oct 2026
7. [7]DhanHQ v2: F&O order-slicing API · checked 14 Oct 2026
8. [8]FYERS: freeze quantities and maximum sliced orders · checked 14 Oct 2026
9. [9]Groww: slicing above freeze for options · checked 14 Oct 2026
10. [10]Upstox: automatic order slicing and supported segments · checked 14 Oct 2026
11. [11]Angel One app manual: Split Order · checked 14 Oct 2026