IBKR Trading Permissions
📈Guide to Interactive Brokers for ETF Investors - Part 1️⃣
Guide to Interactive Brokers For ETF Investors - Part 1️⃣
This is Part 1 of our Guide to Interactive Brokers for ETF Investors.
IBKR offers you tons of trading instruments. But, if you just want to start with ETFs, you can switch on access to just a handful of Stock Markets.
The permissions for markets and instruments are usually selected when you open an account. But sometimes, you need to go back and revisit them.
Here is how to do it and start investing through ETFs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- ETFs Trade Like Stocks – That’s why you only need Stock Trading Permissions. All other trading instruments are not essential.
- Navigate To The Permissions Page In Account Settings. The process is quick but permissions may take a few hours to be updated.
- You May Only Need Access To European Stock Markets – For UCITS ETFs, you only need access to European Markets. The most important ones are Germany, the UK, France/Amsterdam/Belgium, Italy and Switzerland.
- In Rare Cases Contact IBKR Support – in case your permissions haven’t been automatically updated within 24 hours.
Here is the full analysis
How To Add permissions to trade ETFs?
Step 1️⃣
At the Top Right, click on the user icon
In most cases you probably have access already as you may have applied when opening your IBKR account. But in case your selected ETF is not available, chances are some permissions may be missing:
- Log In: Access your IBKR account by logging in on the website.
- Navigate to Settings: Go to the main menu and select ‘Settings’. The icon is highlighted with “1” in the image below. You can also directly use this link: Settings.
How to Add ETF Trading Permissions - STEP 1
Step 2️⃣
Scroll down until you see "Trading Permissions"
- Access Trading Permissions: In the settings menu, look for the option ‘Trading Permissions’ under ‘Trading’. Click on it.
- Select ‘Stocks‘. ETFs trade like regular stocks, so you need those permissions to enable ETF trading.
How to Add ETF Trading Permissions - STEP 2
Step 3️⃣
Now Select All the Markets you wish to trade
Modify Permissions: You’ll see a list of available products and regions. For UCITS ETF, you can just focus on Europe. Select “All Europe“.
For context, the European UCITS markets that are the most liquid are:
- Germany (Xetra, Code IBIS and IBIS2)
- UK (LSE, Code LSE)
- France, Belgium and Netherlands (Euronext)
- Italy (Milan, Code BVME and BVME.ETF)
- Switzerland (SIX Swiss, Code EBS)
You can also consult our dedicated guide related to the exchanges on IBKR. If you have an elective professional investor status you may also select U.S. Markets.
Popular EUROPEAN Exchanges
| IBKR CODE | Description | Also Known As | COUNTRY |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEB | Amsterdamse Effectenbeurs | Euronext Amsterdam | Netherlands |
| BM | Bolsa de Madrid | Madrid Stock Exchange | Spain |
| BUX | Budapest Stock Exchange | Budapest Stock Exchange | Hungary |
| BVL | Lisbon Stock Exchange | Euronext Lisbon | Portugal |
| BVME | Borsa Valori di Milano | Borsa Italiana | Italy |
| BVME.ETF | Borsa Italiana ETF | Borsa Italiana ETF | Italy |
| CPH | Copenhagen Stock Exchange | Nasdaq Copenhagen | Denmark |
| EBS | Elektronische Boerse Schweiz | SIX Swiss Exchange | Switzerland |
| ENEXT.BE | Brussels Stock Exchange | Euronext Belgium | Belgium |
| EUIBSI | EU IB Systematic Internaliser | IBKR Internalization | EU |
| FWB | Frankfurter Wertpapierboerse | Frankfurt Stock Exchange | Germany |
| GETTEX | Boerse Muenchen | Gettex | Germany |
| IBIS & IBIS2 | Integriertes Boersenhandels- und Informations-System | Deutsche Börse Xetra | Germany |
| LSE | London Stock Exchange | London Stock Exchange | United Kingdom |
| LSEETF | ETF segment on LSE | London Stock Exchange - ETF | United Kingdom |
| OMXNO | Norwegian shares on OMX | OMX | Sweden |
| OSE | Oslo Stock Exchange | Euronext Oslo | Norway |
| PRA | Prague Stock Exchange | Prague Stock Exchange | Czech Republic |
| SBF | Paris Stock Exchange | Euronext Paris | France |
| SWB | Stuttgart Wertpapierboerse | Börse Stuttgart | Germany |
| TASE | Tel Aviv Stock Exchange | TASE | Israel |
| TGATE | TradeGate | TradeGate Exchange | Germany |
How to Add ETF Trading Permissions - STEP 3
- Confirm Changes: There may be agreements or disclosures that you need to read and accept related to trading in these markets. Review these documents and accept them to proceed.
- Submit Your Request: After making your selections, submit your request for review. Note that there might be a short processing time before the permissions are updated. From our experience, this takes up to 24 hours.
Step 4️⃣ (Usually not required)
If your permissions haven't been updated after 24 hours
If the permissions haven’t been updated, contact IBKR support. For us, it happened once for Francesca, when she tried to open her account. The support was helpful and solved the issue.
How to contact them:
How to contact them:
- Phone Support
- Email Support
- Live Chat
- Online Contact Form
All details can be found on the contact page.
Submit Your Request: After making your selections, submit your request for review. Note that there might be a short processing time.
Our Assessment
Interactive Brokers
EXCELLENT
4.8
/5
Our interactions with hundreds of investors revealed two trends: Index investing forms the backbone of their portfolios, and Interactive Brokers emerges as the go-to platform for a majority of investors.
Pros:
- One of the most sophisticated brokers
- Strong Reputation
- Very competitive fees
As of April 2026, Interactive Brokers offers some of the best rates on cash in the market.
Thank you for reading.
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!
(* Wheels & Dividends)