File Your Robinhood Settlement Claim Before July 13, 2026 — Average Payout: $17.60
If you traded stocks on Robinhood between September 2016 and September 2018, there's a class action settlement with your name potentially on it — and a deadline you can't afford to miss.
What Robinhood Was Accused Of
The lawsuit cuts to a simple but serious allegation: Robinhood customers paid more for securities than they should have, and got less than they deserved when selling. Plaintiffs accused the company of failing to provide "best execution" for trades — a fundamental obligation brokers owe their customers.
The complaint goes further, alleging that Robinhood's much-marketed commission-free trading model wasn't actually free. Instead, plaintiffs claimed the company collected "Payment for Order Flow" — fees from third-party firms to which it routed customer orders — and that these arrangements led to systematically inferior prices for customers. In other words, Robinhood allegedly steered trades toward counterparties that paid it the most, not the ones that would give customers the best deal. The SEC separately weighed in on a related matter, concluding that Robinhood's payment-for-order-flow rates resulted in some customer orders being executed at prices worse than what competing brokers offered.
Robinhood denies everything. The company maintains it made no misrepresentations, did not breach any duty of best execution, violated no law, and that class members suffered no economic loss because of anything the company said or did.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted preliminary approval of the settlement on December 5, 2025.
Who Qualifies
The class definition is deliberately technical. You're eligible if you were a U.S. customer of Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities LLC, or Robinhood Markets Inc. and you placed market orders — not stop orders — to buy or sell equities during regular market hours between September 1, 2016, and September 1, 2018. Specifically, qualifying buy orders are those that executed at a price higher than the National Best Offer at the time they were routed; qualifying sell orders are those that executed below the National Best Bid. And there's a threshold: your aggregate losses from those trades must exceed $5.
If you're unsure whether you qualify, the simplest approach is to check whether you received a settlement notice. That notice will include a Class Member ID, which is what you'll need to file.
What You'll Actually Receive
The total settlement fund is $2 million. Before any money reaches class members, the following comes out: up to $70,000 for administration costs, up to $920,000 in attorneys' expenses — notably, there is no separate fee request — and up to $10,000 as a service award to the lead plaintiff.
What's left gets distributed pro rata. Your individual payout depends on the size of your calculated damages relative to all valid claims filed. The settlement administrator determines each claimant's damages by measuring the gap between their actual execution prices and the National Best Bid/Offer at the time orders were routed. The estimated average payment, after all deductions, is $17.60.
How to File
The process differs depending on whether your Robinhood account is still active.
Active account holders generally don't need to do anything — payment will be automatically credited to your Robinhood account. You can, however, file a claim if you'd prefer the money sent to a different financial institution via ACH transfer.
Former customers with closed accounts must file a claim. There is no automatic payment for you; filing is the only way to collect.
To submit a claim, go to RobinhoodOrderFlowSettlement.com and use the "Submit Claim" option. You'll enter your Class Member ID from your settlement notice. Paper claims are also accepted — download the Proof of Claim form from the settlement website, complete it carefully, and mail it to: In re Robinhood Order Flow, Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324.
On documentation: Robinhood has already provided trading data to the settlement administrator, who will verify eligibility and calculate damages. You're not required to submit your own trading records unless the administrator specifically asks. The claim form still matters, though — it ties you to a payment method and includes required certification language.
Questions? Call (833) 754-8881.
Deadlines
Mark these dates carefully.
March 30, 2026 is the deadline to request exclusion from the settlement or to file a formal objection — both must be postmarked by that date. The fairness hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. Claims must be submitted online or postmarked by July 13, 2026, or within 60 days of the final approval order, whichever comes later. No extensions.
When Payments Go Out
Assuming the court approves the settlement at the May hearing and no appeals drag things out, payments are expected approximately 30 days after final approval. Active account holders will see the credit applied directly to their Robinhood accounts. Former customers will receive payment via direct deposit to the financial institution they designate on their claim form.
The case is formally captioned In re: Robinhood Order Flow Litigation, Case No. 4:20-cv-09328-YGR, Northern District of California. Kroll Settlement Administration LLC is administering the settlement.