Market structure

CHoCH: change of character

A CHoCH is when the structure's protected level is broken by a close. In an uptrend a close below the protected low, in a downtrend a close above the protected high, shows that the structure has changed direction. Breaks of smaller lows and highs in between do not count as a CHoCH.

The lower orange band is the protected low, the upper one the new protected high. The dotted grey line is the inner low that broke; that break is not an event. The orange dots are the BOS and CHoCH closes.

What is a CHoCH?

Every break of structure (BOS) leaves a protected level: in an uptrend, the lowest low between the broken swing high and the BOS candle. As long as price stays above that low, declines are read as pullbacks inside the rising structure.

When price closes below the protected low, the rising structure no longer holds and the direction turns down. That close is called a change of character (CHoCH). In a falling structure the same holds the other way round, with a close above the protected high.

A CHoCH is often confused with the first small break in the opposite direction. In the definition on this page only the protected level decides.

How it forms

The rising structure has a protected low. The last BOS set the protected low. As long as price stays above it, the structure counts as rising.
Price fails to make a new high. The rise weakens and price pulls back. Smaller lows inside the structure may break along the way.
A close comes below the protected low. A candle closes below the protected low. That close is the CHoCH; the direction turns down.
The new protected high is set. The highest high between the broken protected low and the CHoCH candle, the high the decline started from, is now the protected high of the falling structure.

Which break means what?

When price turns down in a rising structure, different levels can break. Which one breaks changes the reading.

Inner low broken

The close came below a smaller low that sits above the protected low. This is not an event; the rising structure still holds.

CHoCH

The close came below the protected low. The rising structure is broken and the direction has turned down.

Wick touch

The wick went below the protected low but the close stayed above it. This is not a CHoCH; it often shows the low being tested.

Measuring a CHoCH

A CHoCH forms only when the protected level breaks. The first small break in the opposite direction is not a CHoCH.
The close decides the break, and it is expected to clear the level by a small margin.
After a CHoCH the direction changes. Later BOS events are looked for in the new direction.

What it shows, what it does not prove

What it shows

That the structure's protected level was lost on a close
That the direction has changed, and where the new protected level is
A measurable way to tell a pullback from a broken structure

What it does not prove

That the new direction will last, or how far price will go
That the break will not be reversed in the next candles
That a CHoCH on one timeframe changes the trend on larger timeframes too

The MarketLevelMap view

How it relates to zones

In MarketLevelMap's Price Action view a CHoCH is marked by these rules.

Only closed candles are used; the break margin is measured in ATR.
In an uptrend the protected low is the lowest confirmed swing low between the broken swing high and the BOS candle; if there is none in that span, the lowest price is used. A downtrend is symmetrical.
Breaks of inner lows and highs that stay inside the protected level produce no event.
On the chart it shows as a short line from the broken protected level to the break candle, labelled CHoCH ↑ / CHoCH ↓; the "Structure" table updates the direction and the protected level.

Often confused with

For general information only. Not investment advice.Last updated: 26 October 2026