Who this guide is for
US adults who can already open a Polymarket ticket and now need to tell maker from taker — resting a limit that adds size versus lifting posted size and crossing the spread. This is not how fees work, not how to place a limit order, not how to read the order book, and not how to read the bid-ask spread. Those pages are the cost stack, the resting swipe, the ladder, and the top gap. This page is the role on that book. Then we link out. Polymarket is the only live outbound on this page.
What official docs name maker and taker
Official Glossary prints Maker and Taker. Official Prices & Market Data is which click maps to which word. Official Place a Trade is the retail swipe — and it does not reprint those two words on the sequence we checked. See prediction markets vs sportsbooks if you wanted a house line you can park. There isn’t one.
Maker — you added size that was sitting
Official Glossary + Prices & Market Data
Official Glossary: a maker is the trader who adds liquidity by placing an order on the book. Official Prices & Market Data: when you place a limit at a specific price and it does not fill immediately, it sits on the book waiting — you are a maker; you are providing liquidity for others to trade against. That rest is posted size. It is not a house hold, and it is not a fill until someone hits it.
Taker — you lifted size that was already there
Official Glossary + Prices & Market Data
Official Glossary: a taker is the trader who removes liquidity by filling an existing order. Official Prices & Market Data: a market order fills immediately at the best available price on the other side of the book — you are a taker; you are taking liquidity. Official Spreads: that now-fill pays the ask on a buy and receives the bid on a sell. You crossed the top gap. You did not rest a new clip.
The live swipe does not have to print those words
Action, not an invented stamp
Official Place a Trade is still Yes or No, a dollar amount or Max, review, swipe. Those steps do not reprint a retail chip labelled “Maker” or “Taker” on the swipe we checked. We will not invent one. Official Website vs App: US residents do that in the Polymarket US app, not on polymarket.com. If the live ticket never says maker or taker, use the action: did your order sit, or did it lift posted size right now?
Official Maker / Taker · no invented swipe chip · describe the action if the live ticket is silent
Resting size versus crossing the spread
Official Orders & Trading splits set-a-price from take-now. Official Order Types is the leftover that can sit after a now-fill. Official Spreads is the gap you pay when you cross. We name the role. We do not walk the ladder.
Rest a limit that does not cross — official maker
Add size, then wait
Official Orders & Trading: a limit is a price you set; it sits until someone trades against it or you cancel. Official Prices & Market Data: if that price does not cross the best available on the other side, it rests — you are a maker. Official Glossary: an open order is waiting on the book. How to place a limit order is that click path. This page only names the role after it sits.
Lift the book now — official taker
Take posted size
Official Orders & Trading: a market fills immediately at the best available price and you pay the spread. Official Prices & Market Data: that is taking liquidity. Official Spreads: a marketable buy pays the ask. Crossing that top pair is the taker action this page is after. How to read the bid-ask spread is the gap. How to read the order book is the ladder. We do not clone either.
A limit that crosses is not a rest — it fills like a market
Official Prices & Market Data + Order Types
Official Prices & Market Data: if your limit’s price crosses the best available on the other side, it fills immediately, like a market order. Official Order Types: the desk processes orders as marketable limit orders — available size fills at the best price shown; leftover can rest as an open order. The now-fill removes posted size (official taker). The leftover that stays is an order on the book (official maker). We will not invent a “Maker/Taker” receipt line those pages do not print.
Official rest = maker · official lift / cross = taker · leftover can rest · no live BBO
Why the published fee and rebate are not the same click
Official Fee Schedule is a taker versus maker schedule. That is the published reason the two roles do not share one charge. The deep formula is How Polymarket fees work (US). This page does not clone it.
Official US schedule is taker versus maker — not limit versus market
Official Fee Schedule headers
Official Fee Schedule names two published roles: Taker Fee and Maker Rebate. We could not confirm a separate “limit order” fee table or a “market order” fee table on top of that split. Official Prices & Market Data maps the roles: a market (or a limit that crosses) takes liquidity; a resting limit that later gets hit makes liquidity. That is why the charge and the rebate are not the same click.
Takers pay when a take-now fill executes — makers are credited when the rest is hit
Official Fee Schedule FAQ
Official Fee Schedule FAQ: taker fees are deducted from your balance at the time of the trade; maker rebates are credited at the time of the fill. Official FAQ on that page: canceled, expired, or rejected orders are not charged — fees apply only when a trade executes. A rest that never matches is not a rebate and not a fee. We will not invent a live dollar or a percent those pages do not print here.
The formula lives on the fees how-to — this page does not reprint it
Named, not cloned
Official Fee Schedule publishes a formula and a role table. How Polymarket fees work is that cost stack. This page only names why the two roles are billed differently: one removed posted size, the other added it. We will not paste a theta table, a 100-lot dollar grid, or a volume-rebate percent onto this how-to. Confirm any live charge on the order screen after KYC.
Official Taker Fee / Maker Rebate · no invented percent · no cloned theta table
How to tell which role you are before you confirm
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Step 1
Open one market on the US app and confirm it is still Open
Official Prices & Market Data: Open accepts orders; Pre-open, Suspended, Halted, or Expired does not trade the same way. Official Place a Trade: tap any market to open it. Official Website vs App: US residents browse and trade in the Polymarket US app; polymarket.com is a different product and US residents cannot deposit or trade there. If the sports desk is hidden where you live, stop.
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Step 2
Read whether you will rest a price or lift the other side right now
Official Orders & Trading: a limit sets a price and can sit; a market fills immediately at the best available price and you pay the spread. Official Spreads: a take-now buy pays the ask; a take-now sell receives the bid. Official Place a Trade does not reprint a Maker or Taker chip on the swipe we checked — we will not invent one. The action is: will this order wait on the book, or will it take posted size now? We do not reprint a live bid or ask.
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Step 3
If it sits without crossing — official docs call you a maker
Official Prices & Market Data: a limit that does not fill immediately sits on the book; you are a maker — you are providing liquidity. Official Glossary: maker means you added size by placing an order on the book; an open order is waiting. That rest is not a sportsbook line you parked, and it is not a fill until someone trades against it. How to place a limit order is the swipe. This step only names the role.
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Step 4
If it lifts posted size now — official docs call you a taker
Official Prices & Market Data: a market order fills at the best available price on the other side — you are a taker; you are taking liquidity. Official Glossary: taker means you removed liquidity by filling an existing order. Official Prices & Market Data: a limit that crosses the other side fills immediately, like a market. Official Order Types: leftover size can then rest as an open order. The now-fill is the taker action. The leftover that stays is size you added.
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Step 5
Do not invent a Maker/Taker stamp or a fee percent — then leave the other how-tos alone
Official Fee Schedule is a taker-versus-maker split: takers are charged when a take-now fill executes; makers are credited when a resting order is hit. We will not reprint a live fee dollar or invent a percent. How Polymarket fees work is the published formula. How to place a limit order is the rest. How to read the order book is the ladder. How to read the bid-ask spread is the top gap. Event contracts can settle at zero. Trade only what you can afford to lose. Nothing here is investment advice.
Blocked and contested states
Reported unavailable as of June 2026: Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Ohio. That list is not a promise it stays still — litigation around sports event contracts in particular can narrow or shift access. If you are in a listed state, do not rest size or lift the book on the assumption the desk is open. If you are in Florida or another green-light state, still confirm the ticket appears and still accepts orders before you send money.
Age is 18+ with identity verification. That is a different gate from the 21+ / responsible-gambling frame on our DFS pages, because these are traded financial instruments. If you also want NFL DFS, start at the picks hub — those lineup rules do not carry over. Compare platforms on the prediction-markets hub.
What you will not get from this page
A dollar welcome match, a paste-this promo code, a live bid or ask, an invented Maker or Taker chip on the swipe, a fee percent or a cloned theta table, a cloned fees / limit-order / order-book / bid-ask walkthrough, or claim buttons for Kalshi, DraftKings, FanDuel, Underdog, Sleeper, PrizePicks, Hard Rock or BetRivers. We could not verify a standing official US welcome bonus on Polymarket’s own terms. Other publishers’ partner codes are theirs; we do not copy them. The honest user-facing line is still US access via CFTC-regulated QCEX — a maker adds size that sits, a taker lifts posted size or crosses the spread, official US help bills those roles as Taker Fee versus Maker Rebate, the retail swipe does not have to print those words, that role is not a sportsbook line, and anything those public pages do not print is not a label or a number we invent. Last verified August 8, 2026.
Related reading
US access via CFTC-regulated QCEX — confirm live sign-up terms in-app
CFTC-regulated US exchange (QCEX) · confirm live terms in-app
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a maker versus a taker on Polymarket?
If I rest a limit, am I a maker?
If I lift the book or cross the spread, am I a taker?
Does the Polymarket US swipe print Maker or Taker?
Do makers and takers pay the same fee on Polymarket US?
Is maker versus taker the same as a sportsbook line?
Is this the same as the fees, limit-order, order-book, or bid-ask how-to?
Can I rest or take a Polymarket book in every US state?
Which claim button is actually live on this page?
Is there a Polymarket maker or taker bonus or promo code on this page?
Is telling maker from taker the same as reading a sportsbook line or an NFL DFS slate?
Advertising disclosure: Polymarket links are affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you, which never affects our ratings. Kalshi, DraftKings, FanDuel, Underdog, Sleeper, PrizePicks, Hard Rock and BetRivers have no live outbound claim on this page. Event contracts are CFTC-regulated financial products, not gambling. Trading involves risk and you can lose money, including your entire stake. Not investment advice. 18+. DFS pages on this site use a separate 21+ / 1-800-GAMBLER frame. Availability and terms can change — confirm current terms on Polymarket. Last verified August 8, 2026.