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Selling on the U.S. Amazon marketplace goes beyond simply listing quality products. Today, your ability to grow is heavily influenced by how well you manage key operational metrics.
One of the most critical metrics for seller-fulfilled merchants on the U.S. Amazon marketplace is the Amazon Valid Tracking Rate (VTR).
When your VTR falls below Amazon’s required threshold, the consequences can be serious. You may lose the ability to sell in certain categories, have your listings suppressed, or have your account suspended.
Are you seeing a warning about your VTR in your Account Health dashboards? This ePlaybooks guide will tell you all you need to know about your Valid Tracking Rate, why it may be dropping, and how to fix it fast.
Amazon Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) is a metric that measures the percentage of your seller-fulfilled orders that have a valid tracking number uploaded on time, before the expected ship date.
In simple terms, Amazon wants to know that when you say an order has shipped, there's real, scannable tracking data to back it up. Not just any tracking number, it has to be from an approved carrier, properly formatted, and showing actual scan activity. Amazon's minimum VTR threshold is 95%, meaning at least 95 out of every 100 of your seller-fulfilled packages need to meet those tracking requirements. If you drop below that, you risk losing seller-fulfilled privileges in certain categories.
Keep in mind that VTR only applies to seller-fulfilled orders. If you're using FBA, Amazon handles all of this for you automatically.
Here’s the formula for calculating your Amazon Valid Tracking Rate:
VTR = (Orders with Valid Tracking ÷ Total Seller-Fulfilled Orders) × 100
So, for example, if you shipped 200 orders in a given period and 195 of them had valid tracking uploaded correctly, your VTR would be: (195 ÷ 200) × 100 = 97.5%. This puts you above Amazon's 95% minimum threshold.
It's worth knowing that Amazon calculates your VTR every 30 days. This means that your score is constantly being updated as new orders come in and old ones fall off. This means a bad week can hurt you quickly, but it also means you can recover just as fast once you fix the issue.
So why does Amazon track VTR? Well, at the core, Amazon is obsessed with customer experience, and shipping transparency is a huge part of that.
When a customer places an order, they want to know where their package is at every step of the journey. Valid tracking data makes this possible.
It reduces the number of "Where is my order?" inquiries that both sellers and Amazon have to deal with.
But more than that, Amazon uses VTR to:
As a seller on the U.S Amazon marketplace, this is actually a good thing. Strong tracking practices protect you just as much as they protect the buyer. If a customer claims they never received a package and you have valid tracking showing delivery, you're in a much stronger position to dispute that claim.
Let’s look at the Amazon VTR requirements for third-party sellers (also known as merchant-fulfilled or FBM sellers) to ensure shipment transparency and a good customer experience:
Tracking your Amazon Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) is essential if you want to stay compliant and avoid performance issues. Here’s how:
The primary way to track your VTR is through your VTR Report in Amazon Seller Central:
This report gives you a clear breakdown of your tracking performance over the last 30 days. Your VTR report typically includes total shipments, valid tracking shipments, invalid tracking shipments, VTR percentage by category, and order-level details.
You want to pay close attention to orders marked as invalid, the carrier used, and any missing or incorrect tracking numbers. This is where you’ll quickly spot what’s hurting your VTR.
Amazon calculates VTR by product category, not just overall. This means you can have a healthy overall VTR but still get restricted in a specific category. As a smart seller, always review which categories are below 95% and which SKUs are contributing to the issue. This will help you resolve issues quickly.
Amazon will also notify you directly when there’s a problem. On your account health dashboard, you’ll see warnings if VTR drops below 95%, affected categories, and risk level (e.g., “At Risk”). Don’t ignore these alerts.
Because VTR is calculated on a rolling 30-day window, it can change quickly. A good routine is to check your VTR at least once a week, review invalid shipments immediately, and fix any issues before they compound.
Many US Amazon sellers are seeing their VTR drop unexpectedly. Here are the most common reasons why:
One of the biggest causes of low VTR is using carriers that Amazon cannot verify. If the shipping carrier is not integrated with Amazon, the tracking number may not be recognized as valid. For example, small regional couriers, local postal services, and third-party logistics providers with custom tracking links. Amazon states that using non-integrated carriers can negatively impact VTR. Even if the package is delivered successfully, Amazon may still mark the shipment as invalid tracking.
You want to pay close attention to this. When confirming shipments in Seller Central, Amazon requires you to select the carrier from a dropdown menu. If you manually type the carrier name instead of selecting it from the list, Amazon may mark the tracking as invalid. The tracking number may be correct, but Amazon cannot verify it.
Amazon requires actual carrier scan events to validate tracking. For example, Amazon may require a scan when the package arrives at the carrier facility or a delivery or attempted delivery scan. Without these scans, the tracking number may still be considered invalid. This commonly happens when packages are dropped off but not scanned, carriers forget to scan pickups, or labels are created, but the shipment is never processed.
Many VTR problems are caused by simple data entry mistakes. You may have entered the wrong tracking number, missing digits, or special characters in the tracking field. You may have also accidentally input a tracking number that belongs to another carrier. Amazon requires the tracking number and carrier to match correctly for the shipment to count as valid.
Amazon has also expanded how VTR is calculated. Policy updates have increased the number of shipments included in the VTR calculation and expanded tracking requirements for certain cross-border shipments. This means more shipments now count toward the metric, making it easier for sellers to fall below the threshold.
Amazon calculates this metric over a rolling 30-day period, so every new valid shipment helps you recover, but ongoing errors will keep dragging you down. If your VTR is dropping below the 95% threshold, the good news is that it can often be fixed quickly:
Go to your Amazon Seller Central > Performance > Account Health > VTR. Download the VTR report and look for orders marked invalid, the carrier used, and missing or incorrect tracking numbers. This will help you know exactly what to fix.
The fastest fix is to start using Amazon Buy Shipping for your orders. This is because the tracking is automatically valid, the carrier is correctly matched, and it also reduces manual errors to near zero.
If you’re not using Buy Shipping, switch to Amazon-approved carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc.). You want to avoid local couriers, as Amazon can’t verify unknown international shipping methods. If your carrier is not supported, it will still be invalid tracking even if delivered.
Sadly, many VTR issues are self-inflicted. Double-check every order before confirming shipment. Select the carrier from the dropdown. Don’t type it. Enter the correct tracking number and avoid extra spaces or wrong formats. Small mistakes here are one of the biggest causes of low VTR.
A tracking number alone isn’t enough. It must be scanned. Drop your packages directly at the carrier location, and get a receipt with scan confirmation. Avoid relying solely on pickups. Remember that no scan means invalid tracking.
If you’re dropshipping, you need to audit your suppliers’ shipping methods. Avoid unverifiable tracking links and slow or inconsistent carriers. Switch to suppliers that provide recognized tracking numbers, and use reliable logistics providers.
If you're consistently struggling with VTR on certain product lines, it might be worth moving those SKUs to FBA. Amazon handles all tracking automatically for FBA orders, and those shipments don't count against your VTR at all. It's not the right move for every seller, but for high-volume or high-risk categories, it can take a lot of pressure off.
Since Amazon calculates VTR on a rolling 30-day basis, you can start seeing your score improve relatively quickly once you've fixed the underlying issues. If you make changes today, you will typically start seeing meaningful improvement within one to two weeks as new compliant orders replace the flagged ones in the rolling window. The key is to act fast, fix the root cause, and stay consistent.
Amazon’s Valid Tracking Rate is one of the most important metrics for sellers who fulfill their own orders. Maintaining a VTR above 95% ensures better account health, fewer performance warnings, and eligibility for seller-fulfilled listings. If your account health needs urgent attention, you can easily book a free strategy with our team at ePlaybooks right away.
Amazon may restrict your ability to sell in affected categories, suppress your listings, or flag your account for performance issues. If it continues, your account can be suspended.
Uploading a tracking number isn’t enough. It must be valid. Issues like unsupported carriers, incorrect carrier selection, or missing carrier scans can cause Amazon to mark tracking as invalid.
No. Amazon VTR only applies to seller-fulfilled (FBM) orders. Orders handled through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) are not included.
VTR is calculated over a rolling 30-day period. Once you fix the issues and consistently upload valid tracking, improvement can happen within a few days to a couple of weeks.
Some common causes of low Amazon VTR include unsupported carriers, tracking errors, and a lack of carrier scans. To fix it, you can use Amazon Buy Shipping, select the correct carriers, and ensure all shipments are scanned.
To recover you suspended account, submit a Plan of Action through Amazon Seller Central explaining the root cause, corrective actions taken, and steps to prevent recurrence. Be clear, specific, and provide data.
You’ve probably already considered selling on Amazon but its way easier than you think.
Call Us Now