Cboe Updates Fees for Traders and Floor Brokers
Published Date: 4/21/2026
Notice
Summary
Cboe Exchange is updating its fee schedule for traders and floor brokers, changing costs for transactions, permits, and special trading surcharges. These changes affect anyone using the floor or trading SPX, VIX, and SPXW options, with some new fees and discounts kicking in right away. If you trade or work on the floor, expect some new charges and perks starting April 2026.
Analyzed Economic Effects
9 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 3 costs, 4 mixed.
Flat Floor Broker permit fee ($750 each)
Cboe replaces its sliding-scale Floor Broker Permit fees with a flat fee of $750 per Floor Broker Permit, effective April 1, 2026 (previously $7,500 for the first permit, $5,700 for the 2nd–3rd, $4,500 for 4th–5th, and $3,200 thereafter). The Exchange will also remove language about other discounts tied to new or inactive permits.
SPX and VIX Floor Broker surcharges retiered and lowered threshold
Cboe lowers the trigger for Floor Broker SPX/SPXW and VIX surcharges from 20,000 contracts/month to 1,000 contracts/month and creates a permit-based tiered monthly fee schedule effective April 1, 2026. For SPX/SPXW a holder executing ≥1,000 contracts with one permit pays $7,500/month (2–3 permits $6,750; 4–5 $4,000; 6–10 $2,500; >10 $2,000). For VIX the monthly fees are $3,000 for one permit (2–5 $2,500; >5 $2,000). Volume is aggregated across Floor Brokers tied to a permit.
Floor jacket stipends and SPXW excessive-creation charges
Cboe will provide floor jacket stipends (a $275 stipend for new jackets every three years and a $100 annual cleaning stipend), with initial payments to active badge holders as of April 1, 2026. Separately, Cboe adopts SPXW Excessive Complex Instrument Creation Charges: a TPH must exceed 20,000 SPXW complex instrument creations before being charged, with a daily charge referenced ($4,000 in the table) multiplied by a Daily Multiplier based on the ratio of SPXW complex instruments traded to created; charges apply during all trading sessions, affiliate activity is aggregated if there is at least 75% common ownership, and amounts are calculated daily and assessed monthly.
XSP fees applied to MRUT and DJX
Cboe will apply XSP transaction fee codes to MRUT and DJX effective April 1, 2026. That includes a $0.30 per-contract rebate for Customer orders under 10 contracts and a $0.07 per-contract fee for Customer orders of 10 or more contracts, plus various non-customer and Market-Maker manual and electronic fees (e.g., $0.30, $0.50, $0.15, $0.09, $0.50 per contract) and deletion of certain MRUT fee codes (CQ $0.02, FM $0.02, MM $0.03, BM $0.04).
New SPESG and SPEQX fee schedule
Cboe adds explicit fee codes for SPESG and SPEQX effective April 1, 2026: Customer orders $0.10 per contract (G1); Market-Maker manual $0.15 (G2); certain Market-Maker electronic removes $0.50 (G3) and market-maker electronic adds rebate $0.25 (G4); plus other G5–G7 fees (e.g., $0.15, $0.20). The filing also deletes SPEQX fee codes E1 ($0.05) and E2 ($0.25) and moves SPESG out of Underlying Symbol List A, which changes its treatment in several programs and surcharges (FLEX surcharge $0.10 per contract, capped at $250 per trade).
CBTX and MBTX per-contract fee changes
Cboe adopts and amends fees for CBTX and MBTX effective April 1, 2026: CBTX manual non-customer orders $1.00 per contract (B2), CBTX electronic removes $1.00 (B3), CBTX add-liquidity rebate $0.75 (B4), CBTX other electronic fees $1.00 (B5); MBTX manual $0.50 (M2), MBTX electronic removes $1.00 (M3), MBTX add-liquidity rebate $0.50 (M4), MBTX other electronic $0.50 (M5).
Elimination of certain LMM incentive programs
Effective April 1, 2026, Cboe will delete several Lead Market-Maker (LMM) incentive programs (MRUT, RTH SPESG, RTH MBTX/MBTXW, RTH CBTX/CBTXW, and RTH SPEQX). Appointed LMMs will no longer be eligible for the rebates tied to those monthly quoting standards for those programs.
Floor Broker ADV discount extended to surcharges
Cboe modifies its Floor Broker ADV Discount so that the existing permit-fee rebates (e.g., 15% rebate for ADV 100,000–174,999; 25% rebate for >174,999) now also apply to Floor Broker Trading Surcharge fees (SPX and VIX).
Market-Maker VIX and RUT tier fees increased
Cboe increases Market-Maker Tier Appointment Fees effective April 1, 2026: the VIX fee rises from $2,000 to $2,500 per month and the RUT fee rises from $1,000 to $1,500 per month for both Market-Maker Floor Permits and Electronic Access Permits when the 1,000-contract activity threshold is met.
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