Robinhood restricted my account for pattern day trading - $18K locked, can't withdraw

I need help understanding what just happened and what my options are.

I've been trading stocks on Robinhood for about 6 months. Started with $5K, grew it to $18K through a mix of swing trades and some day trades. I'm not a professional trader, just someone trying to make some extra money.

Last week I got flagged as a "Pattern Day Trader" because I made 4 day trades in a 5-day period. My account was under $25K at the time (it was around $16K).

Robinhood sent me a warning and restricted my account. Now I can only close positions, not open new ones. They're saying I need to either:

1. Deposit enough cash to bring my account to $25K, OR
2. Wait 90 days for the restriction to be removed, OR
3. Close my account and withdraw my funds

Here's the problem: I tried to initiate a withdrawal to close my account and they're saying it will take 5-7 business days to process, but my account is showing "withdrawal restrictions" and the transfer keeps failing.

I called support and they told me I have unsettled funds and can't withdraw until they settle (2-3 more days). But then they also said something about a "90-day restriction on account closure" if I'm flagged as PDT?

So I'm stuck with $18K I can't access and can't trade with? This seems illegal. What are my options here?

Been through this exact situation. The Pattern Day Trader rule is a federal regulation (FINRA Rule 4210), not something Robinhood made up. All brokers have to enforce it.

Here's what's actually happening:

Pattern Day Trader Rule: If you make 4+ day trades in a 5-day period AND those trades represent more than 6% of your total trades, you're flagged as a PDT. Once flagged, you must maintain $25K minimum equity or you can't make any day trades.

Withdrawal restrictions: You CAN withdraw your money, but you have to wait for trades to settle. In the US, stock trades settle T+2 (trade date plus 2 business days). Any trades you made in the last 2 days haven't settled yet.

Once everything settles, you should be able to withdraw. The "90-day restriction" they mentioned is probably the restriction on making NEW day trades, not on withdrawing your money.

I understand the PDT rule now (I wish they explained it better upfront), but I'm still confused about the withdrawal.

My last trade was 3 days ago, so everything should be settled by now. But when I try to withdraw, it says "You have a day trade call. You must deposit funds or liquidate positions to meet this call before you can withdraw."

What's a "day trade call"? I thought that was only if I was margin trading, but I've only been trading with cash in my account, no margin.

Also, if I liquidate all my positions to cash, can they still prevent me from withdrawing? This is my money.

Securities attorney here. The "day trade call" is key to understanding your situation.

Even if you think you're trading with cash only, Robinhood accounts are margin accounts by default. This means:

• You have "instant deposits" - you can trade before your deposit clears
• You have "instant settlement" - you can use proceeds from sales immediately
• These are actually margin features, even though you're not borrowing money

Day Trade Call explained:

When you're flagged as a PDT with less than $25K equity in a margin account, you're in violation of the minimum equity requirement. This triggers a "day trade call" - you must either:

1. Deposit enough to bring equity to $25K within 5 business days, OR
2. Have your account restricted to closing transactions only (which happened to you)

The restriction on withdrawals during a day trade call is legitimate - they're preventing you from reducing your equity further while you're already below the required minimum.

How to get your money out:

1. Liquidate all positions to cash
2. Wait for all trades to settle (T+2)
3. The day trade call should resolve once you're in cash (no longer day trading)
4. Then you can withdraw, though you may have to do it in stages as funds settle

For the future: You can avoid all of this by converting to a cash account instead of a margin account.

In a cash account:

• PDT rules don't apply (you can make unlimited day trades)
• You can only trade with settled cash (no instant deposits, no instant settlement)
• Trades settle T+2, so you have to wait 2 days to reuse proceeds from sales
• No margin calls, no day trade calls, much simpler

The tradeoff is you lose "instant" features and have to wait for settlement. But if you're doing this casually, cash account is way better than dealing with PDT restrictions.

On Robinhood you can switch to cash account in settings, but you have to liquidate all positions first and it takes a few days to process.

I liquidated all my positions this morning. Account is now 100% cash ($18,247.19 to be exact).

Tried to withdraw and got a new error: "You cannot withdraw funds while you have a pending day trade call. The call must be satisfied or your account must be restricted for 90 days."

So they're saying I literally cannot access my money for 90 days? How is this legal? This is extortion.

I'm reading Robinhood's customer agreement now and it says they can restrict withdrawals "to comply with regulatory requirements" but this seems extreme.

Do I need to lawyer up? File a complaint with FINRA? This is a substantial amount of money for me.

This is escalating in a concerning way. The 90-day withdrawal restriction is NOT a standard FINRA requirement - that's a Robinhood policy.

FINRA rules require the 90-day trading restriction (you can't make day trades for 90 days), but nowhere in FINRA Rule 4210 does it say you can't withdraw funds that are legitimately yours and settled.

What you should do immediately:

1. File a complaint with Robinhood: Use their formal complaint process (not just customer support). Document everything.
2. File a regulatory complaint: Submit complaints to both FINRA and SEC. This creates a paper trail and sometimes gets broker attention.
3. Demand explanation in writing: Send a formal written request (email to their legal/compliance department) asking for the specific regulatory basis for preventing withdrawal of settled funds.
4. Check your account agreement: Look for the arbitration clause (you probably have one). This determines whether you can sue or must arbitrate.

If you have $18K at stake, spending $500-1000 on a consultation with a securities attorney is worthwhile. We can send a demand letter that often gets results faster than customer support.

FINRA: https://www.finra.org/investors/need-help/file-a-complaint
SEC: https://www.sec.gov/tcr

I went through this same nightmare last year with a $22K balance. Here's what worked for me:

1. Filed complaints with FINRA and SEC (took 10 minutes each)
2. Posted about it on Twitter and tagged Robinhood Support (public pressure helps)
3. Sent a formal demand letter threatening arbitration (my attorney drafted it for $400)
4. Within 3 days of the demand letter, my account was unrestricted and I could withdraw

Total time from restriction to withdrawal: 8 days
Total cost: $400 for attorney letter

The threat of arbitration is what got their attention. Arbitration costs them $3000+ in filing fees alone, plus attorney time. For an $18K dispute, they'll often just unrestrict the account rather than fight it.

Don't wait 90 days. Push back hard.

UPDATE: I filed complaints with both FINRA and SEC yesterday afternoon. This morning I got an email from "Robinhood Resolution Team" (never heard from them before) asking for details about my complaint.

I responded with a detailed timeline and screenshots showing:

• My account is 100% cash (all positions liquidated 3 days ago)
• All trades have settled (no pending transactions)
• I've received no clear explanation for why I can't withdraw settled funds
• The 90-day restriction appears to be a Robinhood policy, not a FINRA requirement

I also mentioned I'm consulting with a securities attorney about filing for arbitration under FINRA rules.

They responded 2 hours later saying they're "escalating to a specialist team" and I should have a resolution within 24-48 hours.

Fingers crossed. The regulatory complaints definitely got their attention.

RESOLVED! Got an email this morning saying my account withdrawal restrictions have been removed. They cited "settlement timing issues" that are now resolved.

Translation: They were wrong and backed down once I filed regulatory complaints.

I initiated a full withdrawal of $18,247.19 this morning. It's showing as pending and should hit my bank account in 3-5 business days.

Lessons learned:

1. Understand PDT rules BEFORE you start day trading (4 day trades in 5 days = PDT flag if you're under $25K)
2. Consider using a cash account instead of margin to avoid PDT rules entirely
3. If a broker restricts your access to settled funds, file regulatory complaints immediately (FINRA + SEC)
4. Brokers respond to regulatory pressure way faster than customer support tickets
5. Document everything - screenshots, emails, dates, times

Total time from restriction to resolution: 4 days (would have been 90 days if I'd just waited)

I'm moving to Fidelity after this. Robinhood's UI is nice but this experience showed me they're not trustworthy with serious money.

Glad this resolved. This is a perfect example of why regulatory complaints matter.

Brokers have regulatory obligations and FINRA/SEC complaints create formal records that impact their regulatory standing. When you file a complaint, they have to respond to the regulator, and if they can't justify their actions, they'll typically reverse course.

For anyone else in this situation: Don't be intimidated by "90-day restrictions" or vague policy explanations. If you have settled funds in your account and they won't let you withdraw, that's a serious red flag. File complaints, document everything, and escalate aggressively.

The arbitration clause in most brokerage agreements means you can't sue in court, but you CAN file for arbitration through FINRA. The threat of arbitration often resolves disputes without actually having to go through the process.