Notes
This symbol format has been used by the OCC and US options exchanges since 2010. It is typically referred to as Options Symbology Initiative (OSI) or "OSI symbol".
- Total 21 characters
- Example:
"AAPL 260918C00260000" - Character 0-5: Options symbol, in most (but not all) cases same as underlying symbol, right padded with spaces to six characters, can contain digits. Example:
"AAPL ". Some sources remove the spaces when displaying symbols; this parser works with or without spaces. - Character 6-11: Expiration date as
yymmdd - Character 12: Option type
"C"or"P" - Character 13-20: Strike * 1000, left padded with zeros to eight digits, no decimal point, e.g.
"00022500"= $22.50
References
There is no single official resource documenting the format itself on the OCC, OIC, or exchange websites. The closest to that are memos and announcements from the time it was introduced.