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If you’re a U.S. seller on Amazon, your account health can make or break your entire business.
You can have a winning product, high traffic, and positive reviews, but if your account health drops, everything stops. Your listings can get suppressed. Your funds get held. And in worst cases? Suspension.
In 2026, Amazon’s enforcement looks nothing like it did a few years back. Monitoring systems are sharper, reviews happen faster, and tolerance for repeated mistakes is minimal. The platform now expects sellers to anticipate problems before they happen, rather than scrambling to fix them after a warning appears.
Sadly, we still see many sellers operating in crisis mode, constantly resolving Amazon performance notifications in their Seller Central accounts.
This ePlaybooks guide breaks down everything U.S. sellers need to know about Amazon account health and how to maintain a good account health strategically.
Amazon account health evaluates whether your seller account complies with Amazon’s policies and performance standards. It measures your performance in how well you comply with Amazon policies, your customers’ experience, your product’s authenticity, and the reliability of your shipping. This helps Amazon determine your account status, Buy Box eligibility, and other selling privileges.
In simple terms, it’s Amazon’s way of asking, “Are you a trustworthy seller?”
If you fall below Amazon’s thresholds, your account health rating drops. If you consistently meet or exceed standards, your account remains in good standing.
In 2026, Amazon has become even stricter about inauthentic product claims, intellectual property violations, late shipments, and customer complaints. Account health is no longer reactive. It’s proactive. Amazon flags issues faster and expects quicker resolutions.
Your Amazon account health directly affects various aspects of your Amazon business.
Think of your Amazon account health as business insurance you control.
Checking your account health takes less than a minute. All you need to do is:
This page shows your Account Health Rating (AHR), policy compliance issues, performance metrics, and product policy violations. You can make it a weekly or even daily habit of checking your account health status.
Your Amazon account health dashboard is your control center. This is where you can see your account health status and make proactive changes.
In 2026, your account health dashboard includes:
At the top of the dashboard, you’ll see your Account Health Rating, a numerical score that indicates your overall compliance standing:
The score changes dynamically. If you resolve violations quickly, your rating can improve. If issues pile up, your rating drops.
This section lists violations related to Amazon’s selling policies. It’s one of the most important areas on the dashboard. It typically includes
Each violation includes the date reported, ASIN involved, current status (Pending, Under Review, Resolved), and an option to appeal or submit documentation.
The dashboard tracks operational performance tied directly to customer experience. The key metrics displayed are:
If any of these exceed thresholds, the dashboard highlights them in warning colors.
This section reflects how customers experience your products. It includes Customer Experience Health ratings, negative return reasons, and frequently cited complaints. If a product receives repeated complaints, Amazon may suppress the listing even if your account health is technically green.
If your account is trending toward danger, Amazon may display: “Your account is at risk of deactivation”, urgent document requests, or warnings tied to specific policy breaches. These alerts are not suggestions but early notifications for intervention.
Another important feature inside the dashboard is the option to contact Account Health Support directly. Eligible sellers can request a call, speak with a specialist, clarify violation details, and get guidance before submitting an appeal. This feature is especially useful when dealing with complex IP or authenticity claims.
If you’re serious about long-term growth, monitor these account health metrics weekly:
This measures the percentage of orders with A to Z claims, negative feedback, and chargebacks within 60 days. To be safe, your ODR must stay below 1%.
What triggers ODR issues include:
To resolve ODR issues:
This metric measures the percentage of orders shipped after the expected ship date during a 10 or 30-day period. If you can’t ship consistently on time, Amazon sees it as a reliability risk.
To be safe, you need to keep this rate below 4%.
What triggers a high late shipment rate includes:
To resolve these issues:
This measures the percentage of canceled orders by the seller before shipment within seven days. You must keep this rate below 2.5%.
What triggers a high pre-fulfillment cancellation rate:
To resolve this:
This metric shows the percentage of shipments with valid tracking showing delivery within the expected timeframe. This should exceed 95%.
What triggers a low valid tracking rate:
To resolve this, ensure you:
Here are some of the most common account health risk sellers face:
Many account health problems begin at the listing level. When sellers make product claims that cannot be substantiated, use restricted or prohibited keywords, fail to provide required compliance documents, or violate category-specific regulations, it can affect their account health.
Another major challenge in 2026 is that Amazon reviews listings regularly. A product that was compliant last year can suddenly be flagged after a policy update. As a seller on the U.S Amazon marketplace, you want to keep up with all policy updates to avoid this.
Another common account health issue is IP-related complaints. This remains one of the fastest ways to damage your Account Health Rating.
These often involve trademark infringement, copyright violations (such as unauthorized image use), and improper brand references.
In many cases, sellers may not be acting fraudulently. The root problem is weak or incomplete sourcing documentation. Without clear invoices from authorized suppliers, you may be defaulting.
It will interest you to know that a surprising number of suspensions become prolonged simply because of low-quality appeals.
People make mistakes like submitting copy-and-paste plans of action, emotional explanations instead of factual analysis, failing to clearly identify the root cause, and making vague promises.
In 2026, Amazon expects appeals to clearly outline the exact cause of the violation and the corrective steps to be taken. Amazon also expects that you create long-term systems to prevent recurrence.
Improving your account health on Amazon is about building preventative systems that protect your business before issues escalate. Here’s how you can improve your account health as a U.S. Amazon seller:
In 2026, Amazon favors documentation. If you cannot prove authenticity, Amazon assumes risk.
So when it comes to documentation, source only from verifiable wholesalers or manufacturers. You want to avoid retail receipts or online marketplace screenshots. Keep organized invoices that clearly show the supplier name, physical address, phone number, matching product name or model, and purchase quantity consistent with your sales volume.
Most suspensions don’t happen overnight. They build gradually. As an FBM seller, you may have had two negative reviews, one A-to-z claim filed, and several returns cited “not as described” in three weeks, causing your ODR to go over 1%. But this could be avoided if you monitor your account health weekly and resolve the issues immediately. You want to keep an eye on Order Defect Rate (ODR) trends, return reason patterns, customer message complaints, late shipment rate (for FBM), etc.
Many account health problems start with poor communication. When customers don’t get items as described on your listing, it can cause issues that ultimately affect your account health. To avoid this, you want to ensure your listings are clear and accurate. Remove exaggerated or unsupported claims, clarify sizing, compatibility, and usage instructions, upgrade images to clearly show product details, and avoid ambiguous titles or bullet points.
Slow responses can escalate small issues into huge claims. When a customer makes a complaint or inquiry, you want to ensure you:
Not every product is worth keeping. If a product repeatedly triggers authenticity complaints, high return rates, frequent “not as described” feedback, and compliance documentation gaps, you can pause or remove it until you can be fully compliant.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) shifts logistics risk to Amazon’s systems. This means you don’t have to worry about the logistics involved in shipping and customer service.
With FBA, Amazon handles shipping and tracking, which leads to a lower late shipment rate risk, fewer delivery-related A-to-z claims, and better customer trust.
If your Account Health Rating drops into yellow or red, act immediately. Here is a step-by-step guide on what to do when your Amazon account health is at risk:
First, you want to identify what the root cause of the problem is. Don’t rush into submitting a generic appeal. Understand what policy was violated. Was it product-specific or account-wide? Check you account health dashboard and take down key information, including dates, affected ASINs, and performance data, to help you identify the origin of the problem.
When writing a POA, you should include the root cause, corrective action, and preventive measures. A Plan of Action (POA) that gets accepted by Amazon is not about sounding apologetic or defensive. It’s about proving three things clearly.
Amazon does not want a vague explanation like “We did not realize this was against policy,” or “It was a misunderstanding.” They want you to take responsibility. Be specific about what failed, who was responsible, and what system broke down. So instead of saying “The customer thought wrong”, you want to say something like “Our team failed to verify that the product listing images matched the product packaging before shipment, resulting in customers receiving an item that appeared different from the detail page”. This tells Amazon that you are accountable and shows awareness.
In your POA, Amazon wants to see what you’ve already done to fix the issue. So, think damage control. For example, you want to say that you’ve removed affected ASIN(s) or issued refunds to affected customers or contacted buyers to resolve complaints. Be specific and use the past tense. Amazon wants to see that you’ve already taken these corrective actions, not promises that you will take action.
This is the most important section. Amazon wants to know. Why won’t this happen again? You must show process improvement, not good intentions. For example, a preventive measure for slow response to customer complaints could be “We have set automated alerts for negative feedback and return spikes”.
In general, keep your POA bullet-pointed, concise (usually 300–600 words), professional and calm, free of emotional language, and free of blame. Avoid long storytelling, complaining about customers, mentioning revenue losses, or overexplaining irrelevant history.
Next, submit all relevant documents, including invoices, authorization letters, updated product images, and compliance certificates.
In many cases, you can request a call directly from your account health dashboard.
After your account has been reinstated, you want to fix anything that can lead to a recurrence. Audit your catalog, clean up any risky listings, and improve your operations.
In 2026, Amazon is less forgiving and more automated than ever. Winning on Amazon isn’t just about ranking keywords or running ads. It’s about building a compliant and stable operation. Your account health is your foundation. Traffic drives sales. Optimization drives conversion. But your account health determines whether you’re allowed to stay in the game.
At ePlaybooks, we are a dynamic team of Amazon experts dedicated to helping your brand thrive on the world’s largest online marketplace. From account setup and optimization to management and scaling, we handle it all, allowing you to focus on key areas of your business.
A “good” rating is typically in the green zone, meaning your account is in good standing. Yellow indicates risk, and red signals critical issues that may lead to deactivation. As a seller on the U.S. Amazon marketplace, you should aim to maintain zero unresolved violations and keep performance metrics below Amazon’s thresholds.
At a minimum, once per week. High-volume sellers should check it daily. Many suspensions happen because sellers miss early warning signs that are visible in the dashboard.
The most common triggers include:
One serious policy violation can put your account at risk.
If your account enters the red zone, Amazon may suspend your selling privileges, remove listings, and withhold funds temporarily.
Review times vary. Some cases are resolved within 24 to 72 hours, while complex issues (especially authenticity or IP cases) can take longer. Submitting a structured, detailed POA increases the chance of a faster review.
A “good” rating is typically in the green zone, meaning your account is in good standing. Yellow indicates risk, and red signals critical issues that may lead to deactivation. As a seller on the U.S. Amazon marketplace, you should aim to maintain zero unresolved violations and keep performance metrics below Amazon’s thresholds.
At a minimum, once per week. High-volume sellers should check it daily. Many suspensions happen because sellers miss early warning signs that are visible in the dashboard.
The most common triggers include:
One serious policy violation can put your account at risk.
If your account enters the red zone, Amazon may suspend your selling privileges, remove listings, and withhold funds temporarily.
Review times vary. Some cases are resolved within 24 to 72 hours, while complex issues (especially authenticity or IP cases) can take longer. Submitting a structured, detailed POA increases the chance of a faster review.
You’ve probably already considered selling on Amazon but its way easier than you think.
Call Us Now