How to Transfer Your Account to Moomoo (ACAT, Step by Step)

ACAT is the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service, run by the National Securities Clearing Corporation. It is the standard rail every US broker uses, which means the process is the same everywhere and the differences are in the details.

What you need before you start

• A recent statement from your current broker. The account number and the exact registered name must match what Moomoo has on file. A mismatch is the single biggest cause of rejection.
• An open Moomoo account. It does not need to be funded, but it does need to be the same type — individual to individual, IRA to IRA.
• A decision on full or partial. Full moves everything and typically closes the old account. Partial lets you name specific positions.

The steps

1. Open the transfer section in the Moomoo account tab and choose to transfer in from another broker.
2. Select your current broker from the list. If it is not listed, there is usually a manual option requiring more detail.
3. Enter the account number exactly as it appears on your statement, with no spaces.
4. Choose full or partial. For partial, you specify the tickers and quantities.
5. Confirm the registered name matches. A middle initial on one side and not the other is enough to fail a transfer.
6. Submit and wait. You will not need to contact the broker you are leaving — the receiving broker initiates everything.

The timeline

Those stage lengths are the standard ACATS windows the clearing system works to, not times we have clocked on a specific transfer; a contested or partial transfer runs longer. Your positions are frozen for part of this window — you cannot trade them at either broker while they are in transit. If you need to be able to sell, do it before you initiate.

Cost basis arriving late is normal and worth watching. If it never arrives, you will need to supply purchase dates and prices yourself at tax time, which is a good reason to keep a final statement from the old broker.

The fee, and the reimbursement

The broker you leave charges to send the account out. Moomoo does not charge to receive it.

Moomoo periodically runs promotions that reimburse the outgoing fee, and has run transfer-match offers on top. Both are time-limited and condition-heavy: the amount reimbursed and the cap change from promotion to promotion, so read the terms on the offer you are actually being shown and match percentages and holding periods vary the same way.

Two things to read carefully in any such offer. There is usually a minimum transfer amount, and there is usually a holding period — withdraw early and the bonus is clawed back. We cover how those interact with getting money out in how to withdraw from Moomoo.

What does not transfer

This is the part that catches people, because the assets that cannot move are usually sold instead — which creates a taxable event you did not plan.

• Fractional shares. ACATS moves whole shares. Fractions are typically liquidated and sent as cash, and that sale is taxable in a brokerage account.
• Mutual funds not available at the receiving broker. If Moomoo does not offer the fund, it cannot hold it.
• Options positions. Some transfer, some do not, and expiry dates during the transfer window are a genuine hazard.
• Promotional or restricted stock. Free shares from a signup bonus often carry a holding period at the original broker.
• Crypto. Not an ACATS asset. It has to be handled separately, if at all.

If a fractional-share liquidation would create a gain you would rather not realise, our page on capital gains covers what that costs.

If the transfer is rejected

Rejections are common and usually clerical. In order of frequency: the account number is wrong, the registered name does not match, the account types differ, or there is an unresolved balance at the old broker.

Fix the detail and resubmit. It does not count against you, and there is no penalty for a failed attempt beyond the delay.

Should you transfer at all?

Moving your account is a bigger commitment than opening a second one, and it is worth being clear about why you are doing it. If you want Moomoo's screener or data, you can open an account and use those without moving a dollar.

Transfer when Moomoo is going to be your main account — better pricing for how you actually trade, or an interface you prefer for the long term. Our Moomoo vs. Robinhood and Moomoo vs. Fidelity comparisons weigh that properly, and Moomoo fees explained covers what it will cost you to leave again later.

FINRA publishes a plain-language guide to account transfers that explains your rights if a transfer stalls.