Updated September 2026
Selling an option — a cash-secured put or a covered call — means someone else holds the right, not the obligation, to exercise it. Assignment is what happens when they do: as the seller, you're required to fulfill the contract, whether or not it's convenient. Understanding when that's likely, and seeing it across every position you hold rather than one at a time, is the practical core of managing the strategy.
An option is far more likely to be exercised — and you, as the seller, assigned — when it's in the money at or near expiration:
Out-of-the-money options are rarely assigned, since exercising would mean the holder paying more (or receiving less) than the open market offers — there's no economic reason for them to do it.
American-style equity options (the standard type for individual stocks) can technically be exercised, and therefore assigned, on any trading day up to expiration — not just at the end. Deep in-the-money positions carry that risk throughout their life, not only in the final days. A common trigger for early assignment on a covered call specifically is an upcoming dividend: if a call is in the money and the dividend captured by exercising early exceeds the remaining time value left in the option, assignment right before the ex-dividend date becomes economically rational for the holder.
Checking assignment risk position-by-position across several tickers and accounts is exactly the kind of thing that's easy to lose track of manually. Every open position here shows a color-coded price cell — red when in the money (assignment risk), green when out of the money — with the percentage distance from strike shown directly underneath, so scanning the full table surfaces every at-risk position at once rather than requiring a lookup per ticker.
For a cash-secured put, assignment converts cash into 100 shares per contract at the strike price — the cash reserved for that put is spent, and the position moves from the put side to a stock holding you can then sell covered calls against (the next leg of the wheel strategy). For a covered call, assignment converts shares into cash at the strike price — the shares are gone, and the cash they were replaced by is no longer tied to that ticker's share-coverage requirement.
Since assignment risk concentrates around in-the-money positions near expiration, the two usual responses are: let it happen (acceptable if you're comfortable owning the stock at that strike, or having it called away at that strike — which is the whole premise of selling covered calls and cash-secured puts you'd be fine with either outcome on), or roll the position — closing it and opening a new one at a different strike or expiration before assignment becomes likely. Either way, the earlier an in-the-money position is visible, the more choice you have in how to respond.
Does out-of-the-money mean zero assignment risk? Practically, yes for equity options — exercising an out-of-the-money contract means the holder loses money relative to the open market, so it essentially never happens rationally.
Can I be assigned on only some of my contracts, not all? Yes — assignment happens per contract (per 100 shares), so partial assignment across a multi-contract position is common and normal.
Does this tracker predict assignment? No — it shows in-the-money status and distance from strike, which correlates with assignment likelihood, but actual assignment decisions are made by the option holder and only your broker will notify you if it happens.