Amazon Account Reinstatement: Process, Appeals & Mistakes

Getting suspended from Amazon is one of the most stressful moments for any seller.

One day, you're running your business, and the next, you're locked out with no revenue coming in. 

Also, Amazon account reinstatement isn't automatic. You need a clear plan, the right documents, and a solid appeal that actually addresses what went wrong. 

Here's everything you need to know to get back to selling.

TL;DR - How to Reinstate an Amazon Account

If you're suspended, here's the quick version:

1. Check your Account Health Dashboard to understand why you got suspended.

2. Gather all required documents (invoices, supplier info, proof of authenticity).

3. Write a Plan of Action with three parts: what caused the problem, what you fixed, and how you'll prevent it from happening again.

4. Submit through Seller Central's "Reactivate your account" option.

5. Wait 24-72 hours for simple cases, longer for complex violations.

6. Don't open a new account while suspended (this guarantees a permanent ban).

7. If your first appeal fails, consider professional help before trying again.

The process takes 7-14 days for most simple cases. However, Section 3 violations and fraud allegations can take months to resolve.

Reasons Amazon Suspends Seller Accounts

According to SmartScout's Voice of the Amazon Seller report, 35% of Amazon sellers experienced account suspensions. Mid-sized businesses ($100K-$1M revenue) report the highest rates.

The platform has gotten stricter, and enforcement has ramped up across the board.

Here are the most common reasons accounts get suspended:

• Linked or related accounts top the list. This has been the number one suspension type since September 2021. Amazon's systems track everything: IP addresses, bank accounts, physical addresses, device fingerprints, and login patterns. If you share any of these with another account (even accidentally), you're at risk.
• Inauthentic item claims happen when customers complain about product authenticity or when Amazon flags items from unauthorized suppliers. You need proper invoices tracing back to the manufacturer to fight these.
• Intellectual property complaints come from trademark, copyright, or patent issues. Sometimes these are legitimate. Other times, they're competitors' sabotage. Either way, you need to respond quickly with documentation.
• INFORM Act verification failures affect high-volume sellers. If you sell 200+ items or make $5,000+ annually, you must complete identity verification. Missing this deadline triggers suspension.

Performance metric violations are another major cause of suspensions. These happen when you exceed the following Amazon thresholds:

• Order Defect Rate above 1%
• Late Shipment Rate above 4%
• Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate above 2.5%

Amazon monitors these metrics closely because they directly impact customer experience. If your performance slips, you'll receive warnings first. But if you don't fix the issues quickly, suspension follows.

Beyond tracking individual metrics, Amazon uses an Account Health Rating to measure your overall compliance.

This score ranges from 0-1,000 and acts as an early warning system. A score of 200-1,000 means you're in good standing.

Between 100 and 199 means you're at risk and should address issues immediately. Below 100 signals a critical status, and deactivation is either imminent or already in effect.

Types of Amazon Account Suspensions

Not all suspensions are equal. Amazon categorizes them by severity, which affects your chances of getting reinstated:

• Listing-level suspensions: Affect individual products. Your account stays active, but specific ASINs get removed. These are the easiest to fix because you can still sell other items while you work on the problem.
• Account-level suspensions: Shut down everything. You can't sell anything, and your revenue drops to zero immediately. A concerning trend over the last few years shows Amazon moving more toward full account suspensions rather than ASIN-level actions.
• Section 3 violations: This is the most serious and requires extensive documentation. This is Amazon's catch-all for serious breaches like fraud, counterfeiting, and deceptive practices. These carry the lowest reinstatement rates and can take months to resolve. Many require video verification calls with Amazon.
• Related account issues: These are incredibly complex. If Amazon links your account to another suspended account, you often can't be reinstated until the original account is resolved.
• Permanent bans: Have no appeal process. These are reserved for counterfeit sales, review manipulation, and fraud. Once you get a permanent ban, that's it.

The severity directly impacts your timeline and success rate.

Minor ASIN suppressions might resolve in days. Standard deactivations take weeks. Section 3 violations can take months, and some may never get resolved.

How the Amazon Account Reinstatement Process Works

The Amazon seller account reinstatement process follows specific steps. Skip any of these, and you'll likely get rejected:

Step 1: Analyze the Suspension Notice

Read the suspension email and check your Performance Notifications in Seller Central. Amazon tells you exactly why they suspended you.

Don't guess what happened. Go to your Account Health Dashboard and find out which products caused the problem.

Step 2: Gather Documentation

You need invoices dated within the past 365 days. These must show the complete supply chain back to the manufacturer. 

Include supplier contact information, dates, and quantities that match your sales volume.

For authenticity issues, get Letters of Authorization from brand owners. Everything must be clear, high-resolution, and match your seller profile information.

Step 3: Write Your ‘Plan of Action’

This is the most critical part. Your POA needs three components:

• Root cause analysis (what actually went wrong)
• Corrective actions (what you already fixed)
• Preventive measures (how you'll stop it from happening again)

Keep it to one page. Use short paragraphs and bullet points. Amazon investigators read these quickly, about one every four minutes.

Step 4: Submit Through the Right Channel

Go to your Account Health Dashboard and use the "Reactivate your account" option. 

• Don't use regular Seller Support.
• Don't call.
• Don't email multiple departments.

Amazon explicitly warns that submitting through multiple channels delays your review.

Step 5: Wait for Response

Simple cases get responses in 24-72 hours. Complex violations take 7 business days or more. 

Don't resubmit the same appeal while waiting. This resets your case in the queue.

Step 6: Respond to Requests

If Amazon asks you for more info, send it fast and make sure it's complete. Every time you go back and forth with them, you add more days to your wait.

Your timeline depends on what type of violation you’ve got:

• Performance issues usually resolve in 4-7 days.
• Amazon IP complaints take 10-30 days.
• Section 3 violations can stretch to months.

What Amazon Expects in a Successful Appeal

Amazon's Seller Performance team evaluates policy-violation appeals based on one core principle: they need confidence that you won't repeat the violation.

Your appeal must prove you understand what went wrong and have systems in place to prevent it from happening again.

Root cause analysis needs to show exactly what broke in your system.

Don't just describe the symptom.

Bad example: "We had high ODR."

Good example: "A software glitch in our inventory system failed to sync stock levels between our warehouse and Amazon for 48 hours between [Date] and [Date]. This caused us to oversell 32 units."

Be specific. If you're vague, Amazon rejects you instantly.

Corrective actions show what you've already fixed.

Include dates and proof.

Examples:

• Removed all problem listings on [Date]
• Refunded all affected customers on [Date]
• Ended our relationship with that supplier on [Date]
• Re-checked all supplier documents between [Date] and [Date]

It’s essential to convey that you’ve made the corrections. Amazon wants to see that you've already done the work, not that you promise to do it.

Preventive measures matter most.

This is where you prove you won't repeat the mistake. Your plan needs to be specific, measurable, and long-term.

What works:

• Set up a 3-step supplier check: verify invoices, get authorization letters, and do test purchases.
• Added barcode scanning before we ship anything.
• Started monthly compliance checks with dated records.
• Created automated alerts when our metrics hit 75% of Amazon's limit.

What doesn't work:

• "We'll be more careful."
• "We'll train our staff better."
• "We'll watch our account daily."

Taking full responsibility is essential, even if you don't think it's your fault.

Phrases that work:

"We have identified that..." or
"After conducting a thorough review, we discovered..." or
"We take full responsibility for..."

Phrases that fail:

"This isn't fair,"
"We've been selling this way for years,"
"The customer was wrong," or
"Amazon's system made an error."

Keep your POA to one page maximum. Use professional, factual language without emotion.

No complaints about Amazon policies. No excuses. Just facts and solutions.

Common Mistakes Sellers Make During Appeals

Most failed appeals make the same mistakes. Avoid these, and you'll have a way better shot at getting reinstated:

• Using generic templates: Amazon reviewers read hundreds of appeals every day. They spot copy-paste jobs instantly. Your POA needs to be written specifically for your case.
• Fixing symptoms instead of root causes: Saying "We'll ship faster" doesn't explain why you shipped late in the first place. You need to show what broke in your system.
• Missing required sections: Your appeal needs all three parts - root cause, what you fixed, and how you'll prevent it. Skip one, and you get auto-rejected.
• Writing too much: It might backfire. Keep your appeal short. Amazon won't read a five-page essay. Make it one page and easy to scan.
• Contacting the wrong teams: Regular Seller Support can't reinstate you. The "Call Me Now" button connects you to people who have zero power over suspensions.
• Opening multiple cases: Don't submit the same issue to Amazon. Their system flags it and auto-denies you.
• Resubmitting the same appeal: If Amazon rejected it once, they'll reject it again. Each new attempt needs to fix what failed before.
• Opening a new account: This is the worst mistake you can make. Amazon will permanently ban both accounts. Their systems are smart enough to link accounts even if you logged into a friend's account years ago.
• Rushing your first appeal: A lot of sellers panic and fire off a weak appeal in the first few hours. This hurts you because Amazon's team will remember the bad attempt. Slow down and get it right the first time.

Documentation errors account for a significant number of failed appeals, too.

Here's what can get you rejected:

• You sent retail receipts when Amazon wants supplier invoices.
• Your invoices don't show supplier contact info.
• Your invoices are older than 365 days.
• The quantities on your invoices don't match what you actually sold.
• You can't prove your products came from the real manufacturer.

If you've already failed a few appeals, don't wait to get help. Every rejection makes it harder to win the next one.

Get Expert Help for Reinstatement and Prevention

For many brands and resellers selling products on Amazon, the reinstatement process becomes overwhelming when you're already dealing with halted revenue and uncertain timelines. 

If you've tried appealing on your own without success, or if this is a high-stakes suspension you can't afford to get wrong, working with specialists who handle these cases daily can make the difference.

Seller Candy's Amazon reinstatement services take the entire process off your plate. Our team handles everything from root cause analysis to appeal submission and follow-through with Amazon. 

Here's what that looks like:

• Complete case review to identify exactly what Amazon flagged and what your appeal must address
• Expert-written Plan of Action that matches Amazon's internal review standards
• Documentation preparation to ensure you submit everything Amazon needs for a fast decision
• Full Seller Central management, including monitoring responses, replying to requests, and escalating when necessary
• Post-reinstatement guidance to reduce the risk of future suspensions

We've achieved a 98% resolution rate across 70,000+ cases, handling everything from Section 3 violations to IP complaints and linked account issues. 

Get expert help early and let us navigate the reinstatement process for you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Let’s look at answers to the most common questions about getting your account reinstated:

How Long Does Amazon Account Reinstatement Usually Take?

Simple cases like performance issues typically resolve in 1-7 days. 

Complex violations like Section 3 issues or fraud allegations can take 2-6 weeks or longer.

Can a Third Party Help with Amazon Account Reinstatement?

Yes. Third-party reinstatement services are allowed and often help sellers get approved faster. 

Many specialists are former Amazon employees who understand the review process.

Does Amazon Charge Fees for Account Reinstatement?

No. Amazon doesn't charge any fees to submit appeals or get reinstated. 

However, they typically hold your funds for 90 days during suspension, and you'll lose revenue while you're unable to sell.

Will Reinstatement Affect Seller Metrics or Rankings?

Your reviews and ratings don't change when you get reinstated. Your search rankings will take 1-4 weeks to bounce back. 

You'll usually get Buy Box access again within 24-72 hours.

Conclusion

The reinstatement process gets harder with each failed attempt. First appeals matter most because Amazon's review team builds bias after repeated rejections.

We take the guesswork out of appeals at Seller Candy with expertly written Plans of Action that align with Amazon's internal standards. 

Our team handles everything from root cause analysis to documentation to follow-through. Every day your account remains suspended costs revenue you can't recover.

Get your free consultation and let our specialists, who've handled 70,000+ cases, get your account back online.