Interactive Brokers asks new individual clients to complete an application covering identity, financial information, and which products they want permission to trade. Funding, market-data subscriptions, and the trading platform are separate steps after approval.
Client service is available most of the week through the hours above. Many account tasks, including opening a support ticket, are done in Client Portal after you log in. A message to Northline does not create an IBKR ticket.
The application asks more about experience and trading permissions than a beginner app. Approve only the products you understand. Margin and options can lose more than the cash you deposit.
What to have ready
- Identity details and a tax ID, entered on Interactive Brokers’ application.
- Employment, income, net worth, and trading-experience answers.
- A choice of base currency and account type.
- A decision about whether you need stock permissions only, or also options, margin, or other products.
- Bank details for a deposit, taken from the deposit instructions inside Client Portal.
Create the account
- 01
Start an individual application
Use Interactive Brokers’ own start-application page. Save your username. The application can be finished in more than one sitting.
- 02
Answer experience questions carefully
The firm uses these answers when it sets trading permissions. Do not claim experience you do not have in order to unlock a product.
- 03
Wait for approval, then fund
Deposit only with the bank instructions shown inside your approved Client Portal. Wires to any other beneficiary are a common fraud pattern.
- 04
Choose a platform
Client Portal covers funding and support tickets. Trader Workstation and the IBKR mobile app are for orders. You do not need every platform on day one.
How to invest once the account is funded
- 01
Confirm the product is enabled
A stock order needs stock permission and settled or available cash. If the order is rejected, read the rejection text before you raise the size.
- 02
Pick the order type on purpose
Market, limit, and stop orders behave differently. On a professional platform a wrong time-in-force can leave an order working overnight. Read that field before you transmit.
- 03
Market data may be a subscription
A delayed quote is not the same as a live quote. If you need live U.S. stock data, check the market-data section in Client Portal. Northline does not sell those subscriptions.
How to reach Interactive Brokers and open a ticket
The steps below create a case with Interactive Brokers. They are not the same as a Northline support ticket. Use Interactive Brokers when the money or the login is theirs. Use Northline when you want the path explained first.
- 01
Open a ticket in Client Portal
Log in, open Support or Secure Message, and create a new ticket. Choose the category closest to the issue: deposit, withdrawal, login, trade, or documents.
- 02
Or call the U.S. line
Dial 877-442-2757, or 312-542-6901 if the toll-free number fails. Service runs from Sunday 1:00 p.m. ET to Friday 7:30 p.m. ET. Have your username, not your password, available.
- 03
Attach the evidence they ask for
A deposit question moves faster with the bank reference and the amount. A trade question moves faster with the order id from the platform. Do not send that packet to Northline.
- 04
Keep the ticket id
IBKR’s ticket number is the record of the case. Quote it if you add a reply inside Client Portal.
Open Interactive Brokers’s contact page
Questions about this firm
Why was my order rejected?
Common reasons are missing trading permission, not enough settled cash, or an order type the account cannot use. The rejection line in the platform is the authoritative reason. We can help you read it. IBKR has to change the permission.
Is there weekend phone support?
Interactive Brokers says client support is unavailable on Saturday and limited on Sunday, with the week starting Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Can you place the trade in my IBKR account?
No. We do not take logins and we do not enter orders.