Seller account suspensions on overseas Amazon: identifying the region, English notices and reinstatement requests

This article is for sellers whose selling account has been suspended in an overseas store, such as Amazon.com in the US or Amazon.co.uk in the UK, and who are unsure how to read the English notification or what it means for their Japanese account. We walk through, in order, how to pin down where the suspension applies, how to read the notification, the steps for requesting reinstatement, how rules differ by country, and the checks that help prevent another suspension.

This article is based on publicly available information as of September 2026. Policies, screens, and the stores covered by unified accounts can change, so please also check the latest screens and Help pages.

What to check first: which region and which store were suspended

With Amazon Global Selling, you can list in stores in multiple countries from a single Seller Central, but selling accounts are separated by region. North America covers the US, Canada, and Mexico stores, and Europe covers stores such as the UK, Germany, and France, each handled through a single unified account.

Narrow it down on three levels: region, store, and reason

Level	What to check	Where to look
Region	Which region's account is affected: Japan, the North America unified account, the Europe unified account, etc.	The store name stated in the notification
Store	Which store the rating or notification relates to, such as the US or UK	Account Health (アカウント健全性) and Performance Notifications (パフォーマンス通知) for each store
Reason	Which policy or procedure was flagged as the problem	The body of the notification and the violation details

The Account Health Rating (AHR) is shown separately for each country store you sell in, so even if your score in Japan is good, there may be separate violations in the US or UK. For how to read it, see how to check your Account Health score.

How to think about the impact on your Japanese account

The Seller Code of Conduct states that you may have only one Seller Central account per region in which you sell, unless you have a legitimate business reason and all of your accounts are in good standing. It also states that if any of your accounts is not in good standing, all of your selling accounts may be deactivated until all accounts are in good standing.

Whether the impact extends to other regions can't be determined uniformly from notifications or Help pages, so don't assume it's "only an overseas problem." Check the Account Health and notifications for your Japanese account on the same day as well.

Reading English notifications: a screen name reference and five boxes

Amazon says that by switching the display language, you can generally operate your overseas accounts in Seller Central in Japanese. However, notifications and materials for overseas stores often use the English screen names, so we've put together a reference table.

English label	Japanese label	Purpose
Performance → Account Health	「パフォーマンス」→「アカウント健全性」	Ratings and list of violations for each store
Performance → Performance Notifications	「パフォーマンス」→「パフォーマンス通知」	Full text of warning and suspension notifications
Product Policy Compliance	「商品規約の遵守」	Product-level violations and appeals
Reactivate your account	「出品用アカウントの再開」 (the label used in Japanese Help; check how it appears for overseas stores on your screen)	Entry point for appealing a suspension (per US guidance)
View Appeal	Check the Japanese label on your screen	Reviewing your appeal and submitting additional documents
Notification preferences → Notification options → Emergency notifications	「設定」→「通知設定」→「緊急通知」	Checking and updating emergency contacts

Sort the notification into five boxes

Rather than translating an English notification sentence by sentence, sorting it into the following five boxes makes the key points clear.

Box	What to extract	Examples in notifications
1. Action	Whether it's a suspension, a closure, or listing removal, and which store is affected	deactivated, listings removed
2. Reason	Which policy or conduct was flagged as the problem	Suspected intellectual property infringement, identity verification, related accounts
3. What to submit	Documents, a plan of action, booking an interview, etc.	Invoices, letters of authorization, a resubmitted plan of action
4. Where to submit	Which screen or form to submit through	Reactivate your account, View Appeal, booking form
5. Deadlines and expected contact	Deadlines or scheduled phone calls	A call within 24 hours, interview scheduling instructions

Machine translation can blur how serious the action is, such as whether it's a suspension or a closure, or whether it affects listings or the whole account. Put the original and the translation side by side, and confirm boxes 1 and 3 using the wording in the original. We explain the difference between suspension and closure in how to read notifications to tell suspension from closure.

Notifications with "Urgent" in the subject line

Seller University materials for Global Selling (created in February 2024) say that if you receive a notification with the subject line "Urgent: Amazon seller account under review," the Account Support team will contact you within 24 hours, and advise you to be ready to take the call. Calls may come late at night or early in the morning Japan time, so decide in advance who will answer or set up call forwarding. Amazon recommends registering your emergency contact number with the country code. For a Japanese number, drop the leading 0 and add "+81" (for example, 090 becomes "+81 90").

What "Section 3" in a notification means

Section 3 of the Business Solutions Agreement is the "Term and Termination" clause. As grounds for immediate suspension or termination, the Japanese version lists items such as failure to cure a material breach and deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, while the US version also adds "if required by law." There is a separate agreement for each country or region, so check the agreement for the store in question. We explain the Japanese version of this clause and how to read a notice element by element in our explanation of Section 3 in suspension notices.

Common patterns in suspension reasons for overseas accounts

Based on notifications that sellers have reposted and Amazon's own materials, here are the suspension reasons seen overseas (formats and conditions vary depending on timing and other factors).

Identity verification (including video interviews)

In one example posted to the forums by a Japanese seller, a notification in Japanese arrived for their accounts in the three North American countries, saying in effect that "we have closed your account under Section 3 of the agreement" and that "identity verification is required," while their Japanese account remained active. An Amazon staff member replied that completing virtual identity verification by video interview was required and provided a booking form. For preparation, see preparing for additional virtual identity verification.

Related accounts

Reposted notifications include wording to the effect that the account is related to an account that may not be used for selling. There is also a report that a seller's Japanese account was reinstated after they went ahead and completed an unfinished UK account registration, but Amazon has not explained any causal link. We explain how to think about this in sorting things out when Amazon flags related accounts.

Intellectual property

In a notification posted to the US forums, the suspension was continued because the appeal did not sufficiently address suspected intellectual property infringement. The seller was asked either to prove authenticity with documents such as invoices or letters of authorization, or to resubmit a plan of action describing the root cause in detail. You can review the documents needed for each type of right in sorting out intellectual property warnings.

How the score relates to suspension: critical violations and immediate suspension

The Japanese AHR policy explains that when a critical violation is detected, the score drops to 0, and if you respond appropriately within the 3 days before suspension, your account won't be suspended. Whether overseas stores handle this the same way should be confirmed on that store's Account Health page and against the deadline stated in the notification. On the other hand, where required by law, or where fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or similar conduct is suspected, an account may be suspended immediately regardless of its score.

How to request reinstatement: 5 steps

STEP 1. Record the scope and dates of the suspension

For Japan and each overseas store, list the Account Health status, the date and subject of each notification, and the status of your listings and funds on a single memo so your explanation stays consistent. If a notification states a deadline or time, convert it to Japan time and note both. The US and the UK observe daylight saving time, so their time difference with Japan changes by one hour depending on the time of year (for example, US Pacific Time is 17 hours behind Japan, or 16 hours behind during daylight saving time).

STEP 2. Write out what the notification requires

Using the five boxes, make a bulleted list of "what to submit" and "where to submit it," and copy down any specified document formats or languages. In some example notifications, Amazon asked for a notarized translation to be attached if a document was not in a supported language.

STEP 3. Identify the root cause and build your plan of action

A plan of action (POA) normally includes three elements: (1) the root cause of the issue, (2) the actions you took to resolve it, and (3) the measures you've put in place to prevent it from happening again. The guidelines in Amazon's Japanese Help pages say to write clearly and concisely based on facts, avoid emotional language, present your actions along with the dates they were carried out and any related documents, and provide evidence for every ASIN under review.

On the US forums, there is also advice that boilerplate-style wording tends not to be trusted. This isn't an official standard, but make sure your writing clearly reflects your own company's facts (see what's missing when you reuse a template).

Below is an example outline of a plan of action. It's a hypothetical example, not an actual case, so rewrite it to match your own facts.

Root cause: When handling a new brand, we had no procedure for checking whether the product was subject to listing restrictions or required the rights holder's authorization, and we listed on existing product pages without verifying our supply source.
Actions taken: We stopped listing all affected ASINs and reconciled our inventory against our suppliers' invoices. We will not sell any inventory we cannot prove was sourced legitimately.
Preventive measures: We established a procedure to check for listing restrictions and the legitimacy of the supplier before handling a new brand, and to keep copies of invoices (and letters of authorization where required). Checks are carried out by two people, the staff member in charge and a manager, and the records are reviewed once a month.

When submitting in English, separate (1) through (3) under the headings Root cause / Actions taken / Preventive measures, and state one fact per sentence. The US and UK write numeric dates in a different order, so writing the month as a word, as in "September 5, 2026," helps prevent misreading.

STEP 4. Submit through the specified screen

According to guidance from Amazon staff in the US, when the entire account is deactivated, you go to "Reactivate your account" at the top of the Performance → Account Health page, follow the instructions to submit (you may be asked to complete a questionnaire or quiz, or provide supporting documents), and click "Submit." Additional documents are submitted through "View Appeal," and product-level violations are appealed one by one from Product Policy Compliance.

For UK and European stores as well, start by checking that store's Account Health page and the submission destination given in the notification. Button names and procedures may differ from the US, so follow the notification's instructions first.

STEP 5. Wait for a reply and answer any follow-up requests

Amazon staff advise waiting about 2 days for a reply to an appeal (another post says 24 to 48 hours). This is only a guideline for when to expect a reply and says nothing about when or whether your account will be reinstated. If you're asked for additional materials, figure out what was judged to be missing and fill the gap.

Seller University materials list the Account Health Support team, the Seller Forums, and Seller Support via Help as places to go with questions, and note that you will not necessarily receive a phone call. Don't just wait.

Example consultations: hypothetical US and UK cases

The following three are all hypothetical examples, not actual cases, and do not indicate any outcome.

Hypothetical case 1. Suspended in the US store over intellectual property, Japan still active

• Other stores: Check listings and notifications for the same brand in Canada, Mexico, and Japan as well
• What to submit: Documents proving authenticity, or a plan of action that digs into the root cause. First confirm whether your sourcing documents can support your explanation
• What to avoid: Don't try to prove the authenticity of inventory you can't show was legitimately sourced by using unsupported documents

Hypothetical case 2. Asked for additional identity verification documents in the UK store

• Region: The Europe unified account. Check the status of the other European stores too
• Documents: Confirm the specified format, issue date, and language, and check that the name and address match your registered information
• What to avoid: Even if the address you registered in English is written differently on your documents, don't alter the documents to make them match. Explain the difference as a fact

Hypothetical case 3. A related-account notification arrived, and the only possible link is an overseas registration you abandoned partway

• Check: In the menu, go to Inventory (在庫) → Global Selling (グローバルセリング) and see whether any region is still shown as "Registration pending" (登録保留中)
• Assessment: The unfinished registration may be relevant, but completing it doesn't necessarily mean your account will be reinstated
• What to avoid: Don't assume that rushing to complete the pending registration will solve the problem, and don't act ahead of the notification's instructions

How rules differ by country and region: rules outside Amazon's policies

Country/region	Main regulation	Key points for sellers
US	INFORM Consumers Act (effective June 27, 2023)	Sellers with 200 or more sales of new or unused consumer products and $5,000 or more in gross revenue in any continuous 12-month period during the past 24 months are subject to verification of their bank account, taxpayer ID number, contact information, and more. If the information isn't provided within 10 days of notice from the marketplace, future sales activity is suspended until it is provided. Sellers must also certify at least once a year that their information has not changed
EU/UK	P2B Regulation	A written statement of reasons is required before or at the same time as a restriction or suspension of services. Full termination requires at least 30 days' notice with reasons (with exceptions). A free internal complaint-handling system and the designation of two or more mediators are required. In the UK, it remains in force as UK law after Brexit. However, it covers businesses established or resident in the EU (for the UK version, the UK) that sell to consumers in the same area
EU	Digital Services Act (DSA)	An explanation of the reasons for any action, the right to lodge an internal complaint for at least 6 months after being informed of a decision, and access to certified out-of-court dispute settlement bodies (covering services to users established or located in the EU)
Japan (for reference)	Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms	When refusing all transactions, such as by suspending an account, the platform must in principle disclose the reasons at least 30 days in advance (with exceptions). It covers Amazon.co.jp; for overseas stores, the rules and agreements of that country or region apply (whether they apply must be checked case by case)

The P2B Regulation and the DSA define where the covered businesses and users must be located, so whether they apply to a seller based in Japan must be checked case by case. Please consult a local attorney, including about how Amazon's European and UK agreements treat this.

Listing requirements also differ by country

In European stores, you need to write your listing information in the local language and determine whether your products comply with the regulations of the country where you sell. Amazon also says you need to submit a VAT (value-added tax) number, but whether and to what extent you're required to register is an individual tax matter, so check with a tax professional.

What not to do

• Creating a new account during a review: Opening another account in the same region while suspended violates the one-account-per-region principle. Trying to keep selling by creating an account in another region or under another name may also be treated as a related account and could lead to your other accounts being suspended too. Amazon staff have also warned that creating a new account during a review may lead to permanent suspension.
• Altering documents: If falsification is suspected, your account can be suspended regardless of its score. In some example notifications, screenshots were not accepted, so prepare original PDFs or images in the specified format.
• Submitting text produced only by machine translation as is: The meaning may shift, resulting in an explanation that differs from the facts.

Checks to prevent another suspension: registration information, unused accounts, and notifications for each store

Take stock of your registration information

Based on the official registration guide (as of July 31, 2025), here is a checklist to prepare for identity verification.

In one example identity verification notification, the conditions specified included PDF, PNG, JPEG, or GIF format, and utility bills issued within the past 90 days. For overseas stores, follow the specifications in the notification you receive.

Don't leave unused overseas accounts unattended

A region where you stopped registering partway is shown as "Registration pending," and you can resume from "Continue registration." If you plan to use it, complete the registration and check its health regularly; if not, consider closing it. On the forums, there is a reply quoting a Help page stating that each region must be closed separately (see also preparing to close your seller account). However, there is also a post saying the seller was told to restore a suspended account to good standing before closing it, so don't try to resolve things by closing the account; follow the notification's instructions.

Check notifications and account health for each store regularly

Seller University materials recommend that if you sell in multiple stores, you regularly check the Performance Notifications for each store, and state clearly that good account health is no guarantee against suspension. Make a list of the stores you sell in and decide who checks them and how often.

As in Japan, the US also has Account Health Assurance (アカウント健全性アシュアランス). An official post explains that Professional sellers who meet conditions such as maintaining an AHR of 250 or higher for at least 6 months will not be suspended even if a violation occurs, as long as they respond within 72 hours of being contacted by Amazon and work to resolve it. However, for serious violations such as fraud, deception, or illegal activity, an account may be suspended immediately.

Frequently asked questions

Q. My US account was suspended. Will my Japanese account be suspended too?

A. It's possible. Whether the impact extends to it can't be determined uniformly, so please check the Account Health and notifications for your Japanese account as well.

Q. I'm not confident in English. Can I write my appeal in Japanese?

A. Amazon says its screens and contact channels generally support Japanese, but for the language of your appeal, follow the instructions in the notification or on the appeal screen.

Q. Does the EU's Digital Services Act also apply to the UK store?

A. The DSA is an EU regulation, and since the UK has left the EU, it is unlikely to apply directly to transactions on Amazon.co.uk. The P2B Regulation that remains in the UK also covers businesses established or resident in the UK that sell to UK consumers, and whether it applies to a seller based in Japan is a case-by-case question, so please consult a local attorney.

Q. When can I receive the funds from my overseas stores?

A. The reserve period described in Japan is Japan's policy. Check the reserve period and payment contacts for overseas stores in each store's notifications and Help pages. We explain how this works in Japan in how to check your funds after a suspension.

Summary

Even on overseas Amazon, the basics of an appeal are the same as in Japan: bring together the root cause, the actions taken, and the preventive measures. Here's a recap of the key points specific to overseas stores.

• Pinpoint where the suspension applies on three levels: region, store, and reason
• Sort English notifications into five boxes and read the original and translation side by side
• Match your appeal to the screen, format, and language specified in the notification, and submit a plan of action that clearly reflects your own company's facts
• Understand each country's rules, including who they cover, and confirm individual questions with local professionals
• Prevent another suspension by taking stock of your registration information, cleaning up unused accounts, and checking notifications for each store

The more uncertain things feel, the more important it is to confirm the facts one by one and follow the notification's instructions. If you can't make a judgment on your own, consider consulting a professional.

*This article provides a general explanation. The appropriate response in individual cases depends on the circumstances.

Further reading

When Amazon links your accounts: multiple-account rules and preparing an appeal Read article → Amazon Seller Agreement and Code of Conduct warnings: identifying conduct deemed a policy violation and corrective steps Read article → Responding to Amazon misconduct warnings: preparing for additional virtual identity verification Read article →