“What if I get assigned?” is the #1 fear for new covered call sellers. It sounds like something bad happened — like you lost control of your position. In reality, assignment is usually a profitable outcome you agreed to in advance.
Let's walk through exactly what happens, step by step.
What happens when you get assigned?
Your shares are sold at the strike price
Your broker automatically sells your 100 shares at the strike price. This happens overnight — you'll see the transaction in your account the next morning.
Cash appears in your account
You receive (strike price × 100 shares) in cash. For example, if you sold the $240 call on AAPL, you receive $24,000.
You keep the premium
The premium you collected when you sold the call is already yours. It was deposited when you opened the trade. Assignment doesn't change that.
Your total profit is calculated
Total profit = (strike price − your purchase price) × 100 + premium collected. If you bought AAPL at $230, sold the $240 call for $4.20, and got assigned: ($240 − $230) × 100 + $420 = $1,420 profit.
Real example
You own 100 shares of AAPL, purchased at $230. You sell the $240 call for $4.20 per share ($420 total). At expiration, AAPL is at $245.
YOUR PROFIT
$1,420
$1,000 stock gain + $420 premium
WHAT YOU “MISSED”
$500
The move from $240 to $245
You made $1,420 profit. Yes, if you hadn't sold the call, you could have made $1,500 ($15/share). But you gave up $80 in potential gains in exchange for $420 in guaranteed income. That's a good trade.
Can you be assigned early?
American-style options (which is what you're selling on stocks) can be exercised at any time before expiration. But early assignment is rare — it almost only happens in one situation:
Near ex-dividend dates
If your call is in-the-money and the stock goes ex-dividend soon, the call buyer may exercise early to capture the dividend. This is economically rational when the dividend exceeds the remaining time value of the option.
When early assignment happens, the mechanics are exactly the same as regular assignment — your shares are sold at the strike price, and you keep the premium. The only difference is timing.
What should you do after assignment?
You now have cash where you used to have shares. Three options:
- Rebuy the stock and sell another covered call. If you still like the stock, buy 100 shares and start a new cycle. See our guide on exit strategies for how to manage the next round.
- Sell a cash-secured put to get back in at a lower price. This lets you collect premium while waiting for the stock to pull back — and if you keep cycling between calls and puts, you're running the Wheel strategy.
- Move on to a different stock. You took profit — there's no rule that says you have to rebuy the same stock.
Mindset shift
Don't think of assignment as “losing your shares.” Think of it as “selling at a profit you chose in advance.” You picked the strike price. You were comfortable selling at that level when you made the trade. The fact that the stock went higher doesn't make your decision wrong — it just means the buyer was right too. Want to control how often this happens? Learn how delta sets your assignment odds.