Short Locates
Deep short inventory for hard-to-borrow stocks
Locate shares across 14+ inventory sources with real-time pricing, high fill rates, and sell-back ability — built for active short sellers.
From Search to Short in seconds
A smarter locate network — that can give you cash back
TradeZero’s proprietary locate system aggregates hard-to-borrow inventory from more than 14 sources with a 92.1% average fill rate. Search, price, confirm, and get short without leaving your trading environment.
The TradeZero Locator runs inside TZ1 and ZeroPro — no separate tool, no subscription fee. Search a symbol, review the fee, confirm, and short from the same screen.
Proprietary Short Locator
How it works
Search for availability
Enter a symbol to check hard-to-borrow availability across TradeZero's 14+ inventory sources. Real-time pricing updates continuously in ZeroPro.
Review the per-share fee
See the cost per share and the quantity available before committing. The system automatically surfaces the most cost-effective locate type for the security.
Accept the locate
Confirm the locate and the shares are reserved. You can now place your short order. The full process happens inside your trading environment.
Sell back unused locates for credit
If your setup doesn't materialize, mark unused shares for credit through TradeZero's sell-back network and potentially recoup part of the fee.
Know which locate you need
| Single-Use Locates | Regular Locates | Pre-Borrows | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | One-and-done inventory for Regulation SHO threshold securities. | Standard inventory for any hard-to-borrow security that is not on the Reg SHO threshold list. | Reserved inventory for Regulation SHO threshold securities. |
| Consider when | You expect one short entry on a threshold stock and want to compare the lower-cost option. | You want flexibility to short and cover the same non-threshold stock during the day. | You expect to reuse the shares or plan to hold a short position overnight. |
| Sell-Back | Yes. Sell-back eligible only if you have not shorted yet. | Yes. You can mark unused shares for credit to potentially sell-back to another TradeZero customer and recoup part of the fee. | Yes. You can mark unused shares for credit to potentially sell-back to another TradeZero customer and recoup part of the fee. |
| Hold Duration | Intraday only (Must cover same-day) | Intraday only (Must cover same-day) | Overnight / Multi-day hold eligible |
| Feature | Single execution only - consumed by the first short you open against it | Reusable throughout the day - while not tied to a short. | Reusable throughout the day - while not tied to a short. |
| Platform availability | ZeroPro, TZ1, ZeroFree, ZeroMobile | ZeroPro, TZ1, ZeroFree, ZeroMobile | ZeroPro, TZ1, ZeroFree, ZeroMobile |
Sell-Back Ability
Get money back on unused locates
When you no longer need a locate, you can mark the shares for credit rather than letting them expire unused. Those shares are reapplied to the next TradeZero customer on a first-in, first-out basis — and you may recoup a portion of the fee you paid.
In 2026, 16% of all short locate sales on TradeZero were reapplied through the sell-back network, with over 107,000 locate orders filled monthly. It's a practical cost-management tool on days when your setups don't materialize.Get access to HTB shares and locate inventory — when other brokers show “not available”.
Short Selling API
The full locate workflow through code
TradeZero's execution-first API supports every step of the short-locate process — from checking easy-to-borrow status to accepting locates, selling back unused shares, and reviewing audit history.
Available in Python and TypeScript. Free add-on to any TradeZero account with API Trading enabled.
Check Availability
Check Easy-To-Borrow or Hard-To-Borrow status and locate availability by symbol.
Quote & Manage Locates
Request locate quotes, review per-share pricing, and accept or cancel locates programmatically.
Sell Back & Audit
Sell unused locates back for credit through API. Review full locate history with audit details
Trade with your AI assistant
Manage short selling and locates — with AI
Check availability, request quotes, review locate cost, accept locates, and manage unused inventory — with Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Cursor, and VS Code.
Short Selling Education
Go deeper on the mechanics
Read: What is a Short Locate?
A complete guide to what a locate is, why Regulation SHO requires one, and how the locate process works at TradeZero.
Read: Short Interest VS. Short Volume
Two commonly confused metrics – what each measures, why it matters for identifying setup quality, and how to read them together.
Read: Hard-to-Borrow Stocks explained
What makes a stock hard to borrow, how HTB inventory is sourced, and what it means for your short selling strategy.
Read: Short Float Explained
What short float is, how it’s calculated, why high short float creates specific short squeeze dynamics, and what it means for your trade.
ProScanner
Catch the move before it becomes news
Our real-time stock scanner filters the market in real time. Built directly into ZeroPro and TZ1 at no extra cost. Filter by gap percentage, volume surge, price action, and float to surface momentum breakouts, gap-and-go setups, and large cap movers the moment they happen.
Walkthrough
The 3 types of Locates explained
Watch locates explained with TradeZero's CEO and Co-Founder Dan Pipitone. Standard, Single Use, and Pre-Borrow — when to use each, what they cost, and how the credit-back mechanic works for each type. Covers Reg SHO threshold securities and the system's automatic prioritisation logic.
Walkthrough
How to Short Locate and credit back
Watch a complete short trade from start to finish — searching for a locate, reviewing the per-share fee, placing the order, and marking unused locates for credit using ZeroPro's sell-back tool. Every step inside one platform.
FAQs
A locate is a requirement under Regulation SHO that brokers must confirm the availability of shares before a client can execute a short sale on a hard-to-borrow security. At TradeZero, the locate process is handled inside the platform — search a symbol, review the per-share fee, reserve the shares, and proceed to order entry without leaving your trading environment. Locate inventory is available from 4:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET on all platforms.
A hard-to-borrow stock is a security with limited share availability for short selling — typically low-float, high-demand names where locating shares requires aggregating inventory across multiple sources. TradeZero's proprietary locator pulls from over 14 inventory sources to maximise availability on HTB symbols. TradeZero supports short selling on stocks priced at $0.25 and above.
TradeZero offers three locate types. Standard Locates are for hard-to-borrow stocks not on the Regulation SHO threshold list — reusable and credit-back eligible when not linked to an open position. Single Use Locates are for Reg SHO threshold securities — single-use per day, typically cheaper than Pre-Borrows, and credit-back eligible if unused. Pre-Borrow Locates are for Reg SHO threshold securities — reusable for multiple shorts and covers, best for overnight holds. The system automatically serves Single Use Locates first for Reg SHO securities when available.
Regulation SHO is an SEC rule to prevent abusive short selling, including naked short selling. Regulation SHO threshold securities are stocks with significant fails to deliver over five consecutive business days — placed on the SEC threshold list and subject to stricter locate requirements. For these securities, TradeZero offers Single Use Locates and Pre-Borrows, with the system prioritising Single Use Locates when available as the more cost-effective option.
Yes you can. For Reg SHO threshold securities, TradeZero will provide both single use locates and pre-borrow shares whereby, when both are displayed, the user can choose which to buy based on pricing and intended use.
TradeZero locate inventory becomes available at 4:00 AM ET — during the pre-market session. This allows traders to secure hard-to-borrow shares before the regular session opens, when availability on high-demand names can tighten significantly. Locate access runs through to 8:00 PM ET on all platforms.
Yes. TradeZero offers a sell-back mechanism where you can mark unused locates for credit. The shares are reapplied to the next TradeZero customer on a first-in, first-out basis, and you may recoup a portion of the fee paid. In 2026, 16% of all short locate sales on TradeZero were reapplied through the sell-back network. Eligibility is subject to terms and conditions. The credit amount varies with availability at the time of sell-back.
TradeZero supports short selling on stocks priced at $0.25 and above. This lower threshold gives traders access to low-priced names that many other brokers restrict. Separate margin requirements apply to short positions on sub-$1 stocks. See the fee schedule for applicable rates.
TradeZero recorded a 92.1% average locate fill rate in 2025, measured across all TradeZero affiliated broker-dealers. Over 90 million shares were located monthly and more than 107,000 locate orders were filled monthly in 2026. Supporting documentation is available on request. The fill rate is an average and not a guarantee of availability on any specific symbol.
Yes. TradeZero's execution-first API supports the full short-locate workflow — check ETB status, request locate quotes, accept or cancel locates, sell unused locates back for credit, and review locate history with audit details. The API is available in Python and TypeScript and is a free add-on to any TradeZero account with API Trading enabled.
Short Locates
Get the access when you need it
Open a TradeZero account and access the full locate system from 4 AM ET — on every platform.
¹ Figures represent the average monthly results for 2025.
² Fill rate is calculated across all TradeZero affiliated Broker-Dealers.
³ ⁴ Figures represent the average monthly results for 2026.
Supporting documentation will be provided upon request.