Also known as: Same Household Restriction, Same-IP Rule, Related Household Policy
The Household IP rule is a broker anti-fraud policy that voids partner commissions and client bonuses when the referring IB and the referred trader connect from the same IP address, device fingerprint, or physical residence. It exists to stop partners from "referring" themselves through family members or roommates.
At its core, the rule targets self-referral. A partner earning a $400 CPA per funded client has an obvious incentive to sign up a spouse, deposit the minimum, and collect the payout without ever acquiring a genuine new customer. Because members of one household usually share a router, a public IP, and often the same laptop, brokers treat a shared IP between the introducer and the trader as strong evidence that the referral is not arm's-length.
Detection goes well beyond a matching IP string. Modern platforms combine IP geolocation, device and browser fingerprints, cookie IDs, payment-instrument names, KYC document addresses, and behavioural signals such as login times. A partner who deposits for a "client" from the same Visa card, or whose referral shares a surname and street address on their proof-of-residence, is flagged even if they log in from different networks. As an example, if IB #22981 refers a trader who deposits $500, opens 12 lots, and shares the IB's exact public IP and home address, the broker will typically reverse the $400 CPA and freeze the bonus pending review.
The rule is nearly universal across CPA, revenue-share, and hybrid programs, and it usually appears in the partner terms under "invalid traffic," "self-referral," or "related accounts." Violations rarely end at a single reversal — repeated hits often trigger a full account audit and can void an entire month's earnings.
When a click on your tracking link becomes a registration, the broker's affiliate system stores the trader's IP, device fingerprint, and cookie alongside your partner ID. At the payout-qualification step — first deposit, minimum lots, or an active-days threshold — a risk engine compares those signals against your own login data and against every other account it can associate with you.
If the introducer and the referral overlap on IP, device, payment name, or KYC address, the account is flagged as a related or self-referred account. The commission is held, then reversed if a manual reviewer confirms the link. Because the checks run on stored fingerprints rather than a live IP at click time, switching networks after the fact does not clear an already-recorded match.
The trader clicks your link; the broker records IP, device fingerprint, and referral cookie tied to your partner ID.
The trader registers and uploads proof of identity and residence, adding name, address, and payment details to the record.
On first deposit or lot threshold, the risk engine scores the account against your data and known related accounts.
A shared IP, device, address, or payment instrument between introducer and referral flags the account as related.
Commission is placed on hold; a risk analyst confirms or clears the household link before any payout.
Confirmed matches are reversed and may void adjacent earnings; cleared accounts release the pending commission.
Why it matters for partnership: Self-referring family in the same household gets your CPA reversed and can void a whole month of commissions. Build genuine arm's-length traffic through content, ads, or a real audience — never sign up people you live with.
An IB on Exness's partner program shares their link with a brother in the same apartment. The brother deposits $500 and trades 10 standard lots, triggering a $400 CPA. Because both accounts resolve to the same residential IP and the proof-of-address documents show the same street, the broker's risk team reverses the CPA and freezes the brother's deposit bonus pending review.
| Signal | Arm's-length referral | Household self-referral |
|---|---|---|
| IP / device | Different from the IB | Matches the IB |
| Address on KYC | Independent | Same residence |
| Payment source | The trader's own | Often the IB's card |
| Commission outcome | Paid normally | Reversed and flagged |
Keep your marketing arm's-length — never enroll a spouse, roommate, or anyone who shares your network, because the match is almost always caught at payout qualification.
Using a basic VPN to mask a household referral, which fails because device fingerprints, KYC addresses, and payment names still match and expose the link.
Usually no. A different card does not clear the shared IP, device, or residential address, and most brokers still classify same-household referrals as invalid regardless of the payment source.
Contact the affiliate manager before they deposit and disclose the shared network. Pre-disclosure gives you a chance to keep the referral valid instead of getting it reversed silently.
No, and attempting it can be treated as deliberate fraud. Brokers match on device fingerprints, KYC documents, and payment names, so a masked IP does not remove the underlying household link.
Not always, but it can. A single confirmed match usually reverses that commission; repeated household referrals often trigger a full audit that can void an entire payout period.
Occasionally, with prior written approval from the partner manager. Without pre-approval, the default is reversal, so never assume an exception applies.
It applies to both. RevShare partners see the tainted volume excluded and any rebate on it reversed, while CPA partners lose the acquisition payout entirely.