# Order Rate Limits (/docs/risex/api/order-rate-limits)

To keep the orderbook healthy and prevent spam, every address has a transaction quota that controls how many orders it can place over its lifetime. The system is designed so that real traders almost never hit the limit, while spammy clients get throttled quickly.

## The Basics

Every address has two numbers:

* **Earned TX** — how many transactions you're allowed to use, total.
* **Used TX** — how many you've spent so far.

Your remaining headroom is simply `Earned − Used`. As long as headroom is above zero, your orders go through normally.

## How You Earn TX

* **Starting buffer**: every new address starts with **10,000 TX** for free.
* **Volume unlock**: every **$5 of lifetime traded volume** earns you **+1 TX**, forever. Volume keeps adding to your quota — it's never reset.

So a brand-new account can immediately place 10,000 orders. After that, real trading activity continuously expands the limit.

## What Costs TX, and What's Free

| Action            | Cost |
| ----------------- | ---- |
| Place order       | 1 TX |
| Place TP/SL order | 1 TX |
| Cancel order      | Free |

Cancels are intentionally free so traders are never discouraged from cleaning up resting orders.

## Hitting Zero Headroom

If `Used ≥ Earned`, you enter a penalty window: only **1 order request per 10 seconds** is allowed until your trading volume earns more headroom. This is a soft throttle, not a ban — you can keep trading, just at a slow pace.

The error returned in this state is:

```
tx quota exceeded: rate limited to 1 request per 10 seconds. Trading volume will increase your quota.
```

## Tracking Your Quota

Every successful order response includes two headers so clients can display remaining quota in real time:

| Header                      | Meaning                      |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| `X-Address-Quota-Earned`    | Your current total earned TX |
| `X-Address-Quota-Remaining` | How much headroom is left    |