By the standards established by the options exchanges, securities meeting the following criteria can list options:
- A national stock exchange in accordance with the National Market System (NMS) lists the underlying equity.
- The underlying has a minimum price of $3 per share for three consecutive trading days prior to listing.
- There are at least 7 million publicly held shares outstanding, excluding shares held by directors or holders of 10% or more of the underlying equity shares (e.g., the public float must be 7 million or more).
- There are at least 2,000 shareholders.
Generally, there would be a minimum of three trading days from the IPO date before listing options on any stock, but meeting these criteria alone would not guarantee listing.