Why Bridge asks you to sign a market-data agreement

Last updated: 2026-08-23

Before you can see real-time options data (live quotes on the chain, the time & sales tape, order-book depth), Bridge shows a one-time click-through agreement and a short classification questionnaire. This isn't a Bridge invention — it's an exchange requirement.

The short version

U.S. options market data comes from OPRA (the Options Price Reporting Authority — the consolidated feed for every U.S. options exchange). OPRA requires every platform that displays its real-time data to have each subscriber:

Accept the OPRA Subscriber Agreement electronically, and
Self-certify as Professional or Nonprofessional.

Bridge is licensed to display this data, and part of that license is collecting these two things from you and reporting subscriber counts to the exchanges each month.

Professional vs Nonprofessional

Most individual traders are Nonprofessional. You qualify if, in plain terms, you use the data for personal investing only — you're not registered with the SEC/CFTC or a securities exchange, not acting as an investment adviser, and not using the data for a business or on behalf of an employer.

Answer the questionnaire honestly — misclassification is between you and the exchanges, and professional data carries different exchange fees. If your situation changes (e.g. you register as an adviser), update your classification in Settings.

What Bridge does with your answers

Stores your acceptance (with agreement version and timestamp) as an audit record — this is required.
Counts you in the monthly subscriber report to the exchanges' administrator. The report is a count and classification, not your trading activity.
If OPRA publishes a new agreement version, you'll be asked to accept it once before real-time data continues.

What happens if I don't accept?

You can use everything in Bridge that doesn't display real-time OPRA data. Real-time options surfaces stay locked until you accept — there's no workaround, because displaying that data to a non-signed subscriber would breach the exchange license that keeps the feed on for everyone.

Questions: [email protected]