What is the margin for ZC?

As of 27 Oct 2026, exchange initial margin is $1,210 and maintenance margin is $1,100 per contract.

Why is my broker's ZC margin different?

Brokers may require more than the exchange minimum shown here, and day-trading margins are set by brokers, not the exchange.

How often does ZC margin change?

The clearing house reviews margins continuously and changes them when volatility moves. This page is updated daily.

Corn margin

Name: ZC exchange margin requirements
Creator: Front Month

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), agriculture

Tick: $12.500.25 per tick
One point: $50per contract
Initial margin: $1,210exchange, as of 27 Oct 2026
Front contract: ZCZ26roll by 25 Nov 2026

Margin as of 27 Oct 2026How we source this

Initial margin$1,210

Maintenance margin$1,100

Details

Contract month	December 2026
How initial is set	maintenance × 1.10 (CME speculator ratio)
Source	https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/agriculture/grains/corn.margins.html (effective 27 Oct 2026)
Exchange margin page	https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/agriculture/grains/corn.margins.html
Fetched	27 Oct 2026

Margin by contract month

Contract months	Initial	Maintenance
December 2026 (front)	$1,210	$1,100
March 2027	$1,155	$1,050
May 2027	$1,100	$1,000
July 2027	$1,045	$950
September 2027	$1,017.50	$925
December 2027	$1,017.50	$925
March 2028	$962.50	$875
May 2028	$935	$850
July 2028	$907.50	$825
September 2028 to December 2029	$880	$800

CME sets margins by contract month; deferred months often differ from the front month. Same source and date as above.

How exchange margin works

Margin is the deposit the clearing house requires to hold one Corn (ZC) futures contract overnight. It is a performance bond, not a payment: it secures the daily settlement of gains and losses. For the December 2026 contract, the exchange initial margin is $1,210 and the maintenance margin is $1,100. Initial margin is what you need to open a position; if your account falls below maintenance, you will be asked to bring it back up to initial.

CME publishes maintenance margin; initial margin for speculative accounts is 1.10 times maintenance, which is how the initial figure here is derived. These are exchange minimums. Brokers set their own requirements, which are usually higher, and many offer lower intraday “day-trading” margins that apply only to positions closed before the session ends. Those broker figures are not shown here.

Clearing houses change margins whenever volatility changes, sometimes with one day's notice. This page is rebuilt daily from the clearing house's published figures; the as-of date tells you when the value was fetched, and the changes page lists every contract whose margin moved in the last seven days.

Margin for several contracts

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Questions

What is the margin for ZC?: As of 27 Oct 2026, exchange initial margin is $1,210 and maintenance margin is $1,100 per contract.
Why is my broker's ZC margin different?: Brokers may require more than the exchange minimum shown here, and day-trading margins are set by brokers, not the exchange.
How often does ZC margin change?: The clearing house reviews margins continuously and changes them when volatility moves. This page is updated daily.