Amazon account suspended: why it happens, and how to write an appeal that gets read
An Amazon account suspended, or deactivated in Amazon's words, means you cannot sell until Amazon accepts an appeal. This guide explains why Amazon suspends seller accounts, how the Account Health Rating warns you first, what an appeal must contain, the invoice rules, and what not to do while you wait.
Key takeaways
- Amazon deactivates accounts for missed performance targets and policy violations, and can act immediately on suspected fraud or harmful activity.
- The Account Health Rating runs from 0 to 1,000: 200 and above is Healthy, 100 to 199 At Risk, 99 or lower eligible for deactivation.
- You appeal from the Account Health page with Reactivate your account; Amazon says to expect a reply within two days.
- A strong appeal covers the root cause, the corrective steps taken, and the preventive changes, with dates and specifics.
- Invoices for appeals must be dated within 365 days before the notification and cover your sales for each cited ASIN; pro formas and self-issued invoices are rejected.
What "Amazon account suspended" means
Sellers say suspended; Amazon's help pages say deactivated. Amazon's appeal page explains that failing to meet its performance metrics and policies may lead to temporary deactivation of your account, removal of listings, or limits on your use of the Merchant Fulfilled Network. An account deactivation stops selling in that store until Amazon accepts an appeal.
There are lighter outcomes too. A single listing can be removed for a listing violation, or your ability to ship orders yourself can be restricted for poor shipping metrics, while the rest of the account keeps selling. Reading the performance notification carefully tells you which one you are facing.
This guide is about Amazon seller accounts. If a shopping account is on hold, for example for unusual payment activity, that is handled through Amazon customer service, not Seller Central.
- Account deactivation
- No selling in that storeUntil an appeal is accepted
- Listing removal
- One product stopsAppeal or fix that listing
- MFN restriction
- No seller fulfilled offersFor shipping performance
- Immediate action
- Suspected fraud or harmRegardless of health rating
Why Amazon suspends seller accounts
| Cause | Examples | What Amazon measures or reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Order defect rate over 1%, late shipment rate over 4%, cancellation rate over 2.5% | Order Performance targets for seller fulfilled orders |
| Product authenticity | Customer complaints that items are not authentic | Invoices proving legitimate supply |
| Intellectual property | Trademark, copyright or patent complaints from rights owners | Complaint details, authorization |
| Product safety | Safety complaints, recalls, expired items | Compliance documents |
| Listing policy | Inaccurate keywords or categories, detail page tampering | The listing itself |
| Customer reviews | Manipulating or incentivizing reviews | Review activity |
| Pricing | Violations of the Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy | Price history |
| Fraud or harm | Suspected fraudulent, deceptive or illegal activity | Immediate action possible |
Amazon's Account Health guidance lists violations that usually need an appeal: customer product review violations, certain listing violations, fair pricing violations, a high negative customer experience rate, intellectual property complaints, and product authenticity complaints. Performance targets for orders you ship are covered in our guide to Amazon FBM.
The Account Health Rating: the warning before a suspension
Amazon's Account Health Rating shows your risk of deactivation for each store you sell in. It is a color-coded score from 0 to 1,000: you lose points for new policy violations, gain them back when you address violations, and new sellers start at 200. The score reflects the last 180 days.
| Rating | Score | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy (green) | 200 to 1,000 | Not at risk of deactivation from the policies in the score |
| At Risk (yellow) | 100 to 199 | At risk of deactivation |
| Unhealthy (red) | 99 or lower | Eligible for deactivation, or already deactivated |
Violations carry points by severity, critical, high, medium or low, and repeats cost more each time. Amazon also says you can face immediate deactivation after reaching the maximum repeat violations for one policy in 180 days, which can be as few as two for severe violations. And regardless of the score, Amazon may deactivate immediately if it suspects fraudulent, deceptive, illegal or harmful activity.
What to do first when your account is suspended
- Read the performance notification in full; note the policy, the ASINs and the date.
- Open the Account Health page and find every violation linked to the deactivation.
- Stop the cause: remove or fix listings, pause shipments, contact suppliers.
- Gather evidence: invoices, supplier details, order records, photos.
- Find the root cause before writing anything.
- Write the appeal, then submit it through Reactivate your account.
One rule from Amazon's own forum guide stands out: do not create new accounts while your current account is under review, as this can lead to permanent suspension. Keep your emergency contact number current too; Amazon says it may call to offer support when account health degrades.
How to appeal an Amazon account suspension
Amazon's help page gives the route: at the top of the Account Health page, click Reactivate your account, follow the instructions, and click Submit. Depending on the violation, you may be asked to complete a questionnaire, acknowledge the violation, complete a quiz, or provide supporting documents. Amazon says to expect a reply to your appeal within two days, and to use View Appeal if it asks for more information.
Amazon's Account Health team describes a good appeal in three parts. It is worth following exactly, because vague or generic replies, in Amazon's words, are not likely to be accepted.
| Part | What Amazon asks for | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Root cause | How the violation occurred, using the performance notification's "Why is this happening?" | The specific process or supplier that failed, not a general apology |
| Corrective actions | The immediate fix: affected ASINs, product, brand or vendor, and the time frame | Listings removed, stock quarantined, supplier dropped, on these dates |
| Preventive measures | Solutions, procedures or system changes for the root cause, with time frames and dates | New supplier checks, a listing review step, staff training, dated |
If the appeal is rejected, you address the reasons and resubmit, and the process repeats until Amazon accepts it. Amazon's guide also mentions a Call me now option on the Account Health page to speak with a specialist; sellers in the same thread report mixed results reaching the right team.
Invoice requirements for suspension appeals
Many policy violations, especially authenticity and intellectual property complaints, need supplier invoices. Amazon says it requires them to verify you source products from legitimate suppliers, and it may contact the supplier to verify, keeping the supplier's details confidential.
What an invoice must show
- An issue date within 365 days before the performance notification
- Quantities covering your sales and stock for each cited ASIN over 365 days
- Supplier name, phone number, address and website
- Clear product identifiers: name, model number, UPC, EAN or ISBN
- A completed, fulfilled transaction, as a PDF or image under 10MB
What Amazon will not accept
- Invoices sent by email or third-party sharing instead of Seller Central
- Sales quotes, pro forma invoices or anything before the final sale
- Self-issued invoices, or a supplier that is the same entity as the buyer
- Editable files such as Excel or Word, or manipulated documents
- Illegible, low resolution or inconsistent invoices
You can remove prices from invoices, but everything else must stay visible. This is where sourcing decisions made months earlier matter: retail receipts and invoices from unverifiable sellers rarely satisfy an authenticity appeal. Our guide to wholesale products to sell on Amazon covers sourcing that holds up.
Appealing a removed listing instead of the whole account
When only a listing is removed, Amazon's help page says to check the Product Policy Compliance tab first, then Manage Inventory for inactive listings, and then your performance notifications for the removal details. From there, you either submit an appeal or change the listing so it complies with Amazon's policies.
Listing issues are the most fixable. Many come from listing content: prohibited claims, wrong category, keywords that do not match the product, or images that break Amazon's rules. Fixing the content and documenting what changed often resolves them without a full plan of action.
Our Amazon SEO and listing optimization service rewrites listings to Amazon's rules, and our guide to product listing on Amazon covers them.
How to prevent an Amazon suspension
Amazon's advice is simple: check the Account Health page often, address violations quickly, starting with the most severe, and keep your emergency contact number current. The Account Health guide recommends checking the dashboard daily. Beyond that, most suspensions trace back to a few controllable areas.
Source with invoices
Buy from brands or authorized distributors, and keep invoices that meet Amazon's rules.
Watch performance
Order defect rate under 1%, late shipment under 4%, cancellations under 2.5% for orders you ship.
List accurately
Correct categories, honest claims, conditions that match the item.
Never buy reviews
Incentivized or manipulated reviews are a policy violation.
Respect IP
No brand names, images or designs you do not have rights to.
Act on warnings
An At Risk rating is the time to fix things, before Unhealthy.
Our guide on how to get Amazon reviews covers the routes that stay within the rules, and our brand protection service helps brand owners on the other side of IP complaints.
Inventory, orders and funds during a suspension
A suspension raises practical questions about stock, open orders and money, and the answers depend on the reason and the notice Amazon sends. Read the notification for instructions about removal orders and funds, and keep fulfilling or canceling open orders as it directs, since customer experience still counts while the appeal is open.
For FBA stock, a long suspension means storage fees keep running, so decide early whether to request removal. For reimbursements, Amazon's policy requires your account to be in normal status when you file a claim, so claims may have to wait until reinstatement; our guide to Amazon reimbursement covers the windows.
| Question | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Can I still ship open orders? | The deactivation notice and Account Health page |
| What happens to FBA stock? | The notice; removal orders if you choose to remove |
| Can I file reimbursement claims? | Not while the account is not in normal status, per the reimbursement policy |
| When will I hear back? | Amazon says to expect a reply to an appeal within two days |
Appeal mistakes that keep accounts suspended
Arguing with Amazon
Appeals that blame Amazon or the customer rarely address the root cause.
Generic plans
Amazon says vague or generic replies are not likely to be accepted.
Wrong invoices
Pro formas, self-issued or editable invoices are rejected.
Opening a new account
Amazon warns this can lead to permanent suspension.
Ignoring every violation but one
Address all violations tied to the deactivation.
Appealing before fixing
Corrective steps should be done, with dates, before you submit.
If your account is suspended and you want a second pair of eyes before submitting, our Amazon consulting service reviews the notification, your evidence and the appeal draft. We do not promise reinstatement; no one can.
Amazon account suspended: FAQ
Why was my Amazon seller account suspended?
Usually for missed performance targets or policy violations, such as authenticity or IP complaints, listing violations, review manipulation or pricing violations. The performance notification names the reason.
How do I appeal an Amazon account suspension?
On the Account Health page, click Reactivate your account, follow the instructions, add any requested documents, and submit. Amazon says to expect a reply within two days.
What should an Amazon appeal include?
Amazon's guide asks for the root cause, the corrective actions taken, and the preventive measures, with specifics and dates.
What is a plan of action?
The older name for an Account Health appeal: your explanation of the root cause, corrective steps and preventive measures.
What is a good Account Health Rating?
200 to 1,000 is Healthy. 100 to 199 is At Risk, and 99 or lower means the account is eligible for deactivation or deactivated.
What invoices does Amazon accept for an appeal?
Supplier invoices dated within 365 days before the notification, covering your sales for each cited ASIN, with supplier contact details and product identifiers, as a PDF or image.
Can I open a new Amazon account if mine is suspended?
Amazon's forum guidance says not to create new accounts while your account is under review, as it can lead to permanent suspension.
Can Amazon suspend an account without warning?
Yes. Amazon says it may deactivate immediately if it suspects fraudulent, deceptive, illegal or otherwise harmful activity, regardless of the health score.
How long does an Amazon appeal take?
Amazon's help page says to expect a reply within two days; rejected appeals can be revised and resubmitted.
What if only one listing was removed?
Check Product Policy Compliance, Manage Inventory and performance notifications, then fix the listing or appeal that removal.
Can I file reimbursement claims while suspended?
Amazon's reimbursement policy requires the account to be in normal status when you file and during review.
Sources
- Appeal an account deactivation or listing removal, Seller Central helpLast verified September 24, 2026.
- Account Health Rating, Seller Central helpLast verified September 24, 2026.
- Invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation, Seller Central helpLast verified September 24, 2026.
- How to: appeal account suspension, Amazon Seller ForumsLast verified September 24, 2026.
- Writing an Amazon Account Health appeal, Amazon Seller ForumsLast verified September 24, 2026.
- Order Performance program policy, Seller Central helpLast verified September 24, 2026.
Get a free review of your suspension notice
Send the performance notification and your Account Health page. You get a written read of the likely root cause, the evidence Amazon will want, and what the appeal needs to cover.
See the Amazon consulting service