What is the difference between F&O Execution Range and Circuits Limits?

The NSE uses two types of price controls to ensure fair and orderly trading:

F&O Execution Range:

This is a dynamic price band introduced to protect traders from large price impacts, especially in illiquid options contracts. Market orders in F&O contracts will only be executed if there are matching orders within a defined price range around a reference price.
The reference price is:

• At market open – based on the theoretical price of the underlying
• During trading hours – a 1-minute average of recent trade prices, updated every minute

For futures, the allowed execution range is 5% of the reference price.
For options:

• If the price is between ₹0.05 and ₹50, the minimum range is ₹20
• If the price is above ₹50, the range is 40% of the reference price

Circuit Limits:

These are fixed price bands set to prevent extreme price movements in stocks and F&O contracts. If a contract hits the upper or lower circuit, trading is paused, and NSE may decide to manually relax the limit. Unlike the execution range, circuit limits do not change unless they are triggered.