This article is for sellers who have been told through Seller Central or by email that "additional documents are needed for identity verification" and are unsure what to prepare, and how far to go. We walk step by step through how to tell requests apart, how to turn the request text into a list of what to submit, how to match your registered information against your documents, what to check before uploading, and how to confirm the outcome after you submit.
What to check first: is the request genuine, and which process is it for
This article is based mainly on the content of Seller Central Help and Amazon's official Selling on Amazon site that we were able to confirm as of September 2026, along with some replies from Amazon staff on the Seller Forums (answers to individual cases). Requirements and on-screen labels can change, and Help and the official site sometimes describe things differently, so always give priority to the notification you received and the instructions on your own request screen.
Confirm the notice is genuine before anything else
Amazon states that it will never ask for bank account information, card numbers, or passwords by email. Genuine emails are sent from an address ending in "@amazon.co.jp," "@amazon.com," "@amazonsellerservices.com," or "@sell.amazon.com." Even if the address looks genuine, don't open links inside the email; log in to Seller Central directly and confirm whether the same request appears there. For security reasons, identity verification documents for registration can only be uploaded from within Seller Central.
Sort the request by type
The word "verification" can mean different things depending on the process, and the submission entry point, deadline, and required items differ accordingly. Try matching the request you received against the table below.
| Type of request | Main entry point / where it appears | Points to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Identity verification at registration | The "Verification" (認証) page at the end of the registration process | In addition to documents, you may be asked for a facial photo capture or a video call. Respond to a resubmission request within 30 days, or the registration process will end without completion |
| Seller performance review after registration | "Submit New Information" under Account Health (アカウント健全性), or "View Appeal" under Performance Notifications (パフォーマンス通知) | Can be triggered by a change to the address, bank account information, or phone number entered at registration, or by a credit card that is invalid or has not been updated |
| Additional request during a suspension appeal | Displayed as something like "View Account Health request" | Submit the documents and information requested in your reply |
| Virtual identity verification (video call) | Booked and joined from the guidance in the notification | In addition to an identification document, a statement, registration document, or sourcing document may also be specified |
| Entering information for the Installment Sales Act | Guidance asking you to enter additional information | This is about entering information, not submitting documents. You're contacted by email only if there is a problem |
| Account review requesting sourcing documents | An email such as "Account Review Notice" | Delivery notes, receipts, and similar documents for the affected ASINs; a separate documentation requirement from identity verification |
There is also a case in which Amazon staff replied that, for a seller whose funds were held under "account verification," no additional documents were needed because it was a delivery-confirmation review (a reply to an individual case). Read what the notification says you should submit, and from where, before doing anything else. How to check held funds is covered in checking funds after a suspension, how to tell review emails apart is covered in reading review emails, and what to do right after receiving a verification email is covered in responding to an account verification email.
Turning the request text into a "submission list"
Once you know the type of request, rewrite the wording of the notification or request screen into a checklist of what to submit. Starting to gather documents before you do this makes it easy to mix up the type, the name on the document, or the date conditions.
Items to extract from the request text
- The document name (is it "any one of" or "all of" a list?)
- Whose name the document must be in (the responsible person, the business entity, etc.)
- Date conditions ("issued within the last X days," "still valid," etc.)
- Photo or format conditions (both sides, color, etc.)
- The affected product (is an ASIN specified?)
- Where to submit it and the deadline
An example of rewriting a request
As an example, here is a list of documents Amazon staff gave in an individual consultation about virtual identity verification requested after a suspension. The documents actually requested in your case will depend on the notification you received.
| Item in the request text | Candidate document to prepare | What to check when matching it |
|---|---|---|
| A valid, government-issued photo ID | A driver's license or passport | Whether the expiration date, both sides or signature block, and name match your registered information |
| A bank statement issued within the last 180 days | A statement issued by your financial institution | The issue date or transaction date, the account holder's name and address, and the institution's name |
| A credit card statement issued within the last 180 days | A statement issued by your card company | The issue date, the cardholder's name, the institution's name, and similar details |
| Company registration documents (if incorporated) | A certificate of registered matters (a corporate register extract), etc. | Whether the issue date, and the company name and address, match your registered information |
| Delivery notes or receipts for the specified ASINs | Delivery notes or receipts issued by your supplier | Whether every specified ASIN can be identified, and the issuer's information |
The rightmost column is what you check when matching. If any row can't be filled in, either obtain a new document or check with whoever sent the request. Full preparation for this is covered in preparing for additional virtual identity verification.
Don't simply copy another seller's example submission
The verification page shown at registration presents choices that depend on your business type, country, or prefecture. The official site's FAQ instructs you to make your country of residence and the country that issued your document the same. Meanwhile, Help for businesses based in Japan says that when the country on your ID doesn't match your country of residence, you should confirm that the country on your proof-of-address document matches your country of residence — worded slightly differently. Don't copy someone else's combination; choose from the options shown on your own screen.
Check the requirements for each type of document
Identification documents
The official site presents a valid, photo-bearing identification document as either a passport or a driver's license, one or the other. Help also lists documents such as a residence card, but since the scope doesn't fully match, check on the request screen whether anything else can be selected. Neither source accepts the Individual Number (My Number) card or the My Number driver's license.
- The full name matches the name entered as your primary contact
- The date of birth, ID number, and expiration date you entered exactly match what's printed on the document
- If the screen doesn't ask you to submit the front and back separately, combine both sides into a single file
- Submit in color: for a passport, the photo page and the signature block; for a driver's license, both sides
Facial-recognition identity verification is optional, and if you don't complete the capture, you move on to verification by video call. The official site's registration guide advises having a government-issued ID and a proof-of-address document ready for the video call.
Proof-of-address documents
In Help for businesses based in Japan, the candidates differ by selling plan.
- Individual sellers: a bank statement, credit card statement, utility bill, lease agreement, or a residency certificate (Juminhyo) without the My Number printed on it, among others
- Professional sellers: most of the items above (excluding the residency certificate, etc.), plus a business license or a business registration extract (check the guidance on your request screen for which specific documents qualify)
The official site's guidance for businesses also lists a residency certificate (without the individual number) as proof of the responsible person's address, so check what's accepted on your own request screen. The common conditions are as follows.
- Issued within the last 180 days, showing an issue date, payment due date, or transaction date (a document with an expiration date, such as a driver's license, must still be valid)
- From a credible issuer, not handwritten, and showing the issuer's name or logo
- Shows the name (the company or business name for Professional sellers, the individual's name for individual sellers) and a complete address
For the seller performance review that happens after registration, a utility bill must have been issued within the last 90 days, and the name and address on at least one document must match your Seller Central registered information.
Corporate and business documents
As proof of company information for a corporation, the official site lists either a screenshot (including the URL) of a search result from the National Tax Agency's Corporate Number Publication Site, or a certificate of registered matters issued within the last 180 days. That site publishes the "three basic pieces of information" — the company or trade name, the location of the head office or principal place of business, and the corporate number — and changing the search conditions also lets you check the history of changes since publication.
As documents showing the relationship between the responsible person and the company, the official site gives examples such as a pay statement (the amount can be redacted), a power of attorney signed or sealed by a company officer, and the articles of incorporation, and lists a power of attorney without a seal or signature as an example of what's not accepted. Upload a power of attorney or authorization document combined into a single file together with your business license or identification document.
Bank account verification documents
A bankbook detail page or a bank statement must show the company name or the responsible person's name, the bank name, and the account number, all together. A photo of a cash card, or an ATM or transfer statement, is not accepted.
Matching your registered information against your submitted documents
Registered information such as your legal/seller name, company address, and bank account information can be checked under Settings (設定) > Account Info (アカウント情報) > "Seller Account Information." For items you entered on the identity-verification screen, such as your date of birth or ID number, compare what you originally entered against your documents.
| Registered information | Main document to check against | What to confirm matches |
|---|---|---|
| Primary contact's name | Identification document | How the full name is written |
| Date of birth, ID number, expiration date | Identification document | Whether the numbers you entered match the document |
| Individual's or the responsible person's address | Proof-of-address document, driver's license | The name and complete address on the document |
| Legal/seller name, company address | Certificate of registered matters, Corporate Number Publication Site, statements, etc. | How the company name and address are written, and the issue date |
| Name on the bank account | Bankbook detail page, bank statement | The company name or responsible person's name, bank name, and account number |
| Cardholder name and billing address | The card itself and the card statement | The name printed on the card in Latin characters, and the billing address on the statement |
Watch for items written in a different format
The name on a bank account may be up to 16 characters in half-width katakana, and businesses can use an abbreviation such as "ｶ" for "Kabushiki Kaisha" (stock company). A card shows the name in Latin characters, and a certificate of registered matters shows the formally registered company name — so different items follow different writing conventions. We couldn't find official guidance on how much variation is acceptable for things like a former surname, full-width versus half-width characters, hyphens versus "chome/banchi" in Japanese addresses, or whether a building name is included.
Where your registered information doesn't match the facts (for example, a data-entry mistake or an outdated address), update it to match the facts. However, your bank account name is an item you enter to match your bank account exactly, so don't change it to match the wording on a document. You can't update your information while verification during registration is in progress. For any remaining differences in wording, check whether they can still be read as referring to the same person or company.
Use the rejection notice to pinpoint the mismatched line
A rejection notice one seller posted on the Seller Forums asked them to update their information because the name they had entered didn't match their identification document. Matching words like "name" or "address" in the reason given against the rows in the table above helps you narrow down what needs fixing.
Two ways to fix a mismatch
Help for the seller performance review after registration lists two ways to deal with a document rejected for a mismatch: updating your Seller Central name, address, or company address to match the document, or submitting a related document that justifies the mismatch. As an example, if you rent shared office space and don't have a utility bill in your own name, it explains that you can submit the shared company's utility bill together with a lease or rental agreement.
Updates are premised on matching the facts. Registering information that doesn't reflect reality just to get a document accepted goes against the Code of Conduct principle of "never provide false information about yourself."
Note that changing your address or bank account information can itself trigger a seller performance review. A bank account change also takes effect only after three days, for security reasons. After making an update, also check whether a new request has appeared under Account Health.
Can a family member's document be used to fill a gap?
Amazon staff have replied that, as a rule, all documents must match the name on the account, and that even a residency certificate listing both the seller and a family member may not be sufficient. If the actual operator and the person named on the document are different, that's a problem with the name itself — a seller account cannot be transferred — so explain your situation to Support and check with them.
Check every document's issue date and deadline in one place
The reference period differs by process and document, so use the table below as a guide and work backward from your planned submission date.
| Period | Main target |
|---|---|
| Within the last 180 days | Proof of address at registration, business verification, and bank statements |
| Within the last 90 days | A utility bill for the seller performance review after registration |
| Within the last 365 days | An example where sourcing delivery notes or receipts were requested for an account review (based on the specification in a notification a seller received and an individual reply from Amazon staff; follow the period stated in your notification) |
| Still valid | An identification document with an expiration date |
| At least 6 months remaining | The expiration date of a credit card being registered (from the time it's added) |
If your notification specifies a period, follow that first; if you're unsure, prepare a more recently issued document. A certificate of registered matters can be requested online, and you can choose to pick it up in person or have it mailed (Ministry of Justice).
Checking your files right before uploading
Even when the content is all there, a document can still be rejected because of the state of the file itself.
Check each file, one by one, before submitting
- Not an expired, revoked, or suspended document
- High resolution and clear, with all four corners visible and no angling or cropping
- Either a scan of the original or a photo taken on a mobile device, submitted in color
- Under 50 MB, in TIF, TIFF, PNG, JPG, JPEG, or PDF format
- The file name doesn't contain special characters such as "$," "&," or "#," or emoji
- Not password protected
- A certified translation is attached for any document not in a supported language
How screenshots are treated differs by process. The official site excludes screen captures from review in general, while accepting a search result from the Corporate Number Publication Site that includes the URL. For the seller performance review after registration, screenshots are not accepted.
What you may redact, and what you must never alter
A document must be genuine and unaltered. The official site allows the amount to be redacted on a pay statement submitted to show the relationship between the responsible person and the company. Help's "Invoice requirements for policy-violation claims" also states that pricing information can be removed from a sourcing invoice (on condition that everything else remains legible). Both are exceptions for specific documents, and the rule otherwise is not to alter anything. For a residency certificate, don't redact the My Number — instead, obtain a version that doesn't include it in the first place.
After submitting, separate "waiting" from "checking"
You're advised not to resubmit or file an appeal during verification at registration, and, for the review after registration too, not to repeatedly submit documents or keep sending inaccurate ones before enough time has passed.
Rough review timelines
These figures are only a guide and don't guarantee completion by a given time.
- Verification at registration: Help gives up to 2 business days at most; the official site gives 3 business days as a guide
- Review after registration: identity documents take up to 2 business days from receipt at most (you can't start selling until it's complete)
- Suspension appeal: a response typically takes up to about 2 days
There are also reports of a status staying "under review" past the expected date. Check your status in the following order.
- Whether any additional request or result notification has arrived at the email address you registered
- Whether a new request has appeared under Performance Notifications or Account Health
- Whether "Verify Account" is shown as still under review under Catalog > "View Listing Applications" (Amazon staff say that if it's shown there, you're at the stage of waiting for a response)
- Whether a reply has arrived in your case log (in some cases, completion of identity verification is announced within the case)
If you still can't tell, contact us through the existing case if one already covers the same issue, or open a new one from Help > "Get support" (on-screen wording may change) if there isn't one. Keep one case per issue, and you're asked not to open a new one while a case is still under review. Professional sellers can also consult a specialist through the [Contact Us] button on the Account Health page. For more detail, see checks to run when a review has stalled and preparing before you contact Account Health Support.
What not to do
- Substitute a document belonging to someone else, such as a family member: An identification document must belong to the actual person who operates the account as the responsible person. As a rule, proof of address must also be a document showing the name of the person it belongs to (or, for a business, the company itself).
- Altering or assembling documents: If you don't have a document on hand, ask the issuer to legitimately reissue it.
- Registering again under a different name or a new account: Don't register again just because your documents didn't pass. Registering under a different name can amount to providing false information. Under the Code of Conduct, you may generally keep only one account per region where you sell, unless you have a legitimate business reason and all your accounts are in good standing, and a problem with one account can lead to all of them being suspended.
Help's FAQ for new registrations states that "decisions on verification are final" (the official site says that if something is missing, you'll be asked to resubmit). It's important to meet the requirements on your first submission. Under your seller agreement, you're also required to keep the information you provide accurate, complete, and current at all times.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I submit my My Number card as identification?
A. Neither Help nor the official site accepts it (the same goes for the My Number driver's license). We couldn't find official guidance on whether a driving history certificate, issued after surrendering your license, can be used, so check which documents can be selected on your request screen.
Q. I received a notice asking me to enter information for the Installment Sales Act. Do I need to submit documents?
A. What's being asked for is information, not documents — your business category, corporate number (if applicable), representative's information, and store information, among other items. Existing sellers are said to be able to keep selling while under review. For more detail, see preparing for the Installment Sales Act review.
Q. I lost my two-step verification device and was asked for identity documents.
A. This is a separate process from a listing review; two-step verification is disabled after confirmation (up to 48 hours). Technical Support is said to be unable to handle it. See checks to run when you can't log in for how to tell these situations apart.
Q. I run a company and an employee who isn't the representative manages the account. Whose identification document should I submit?
A. You're instructed to register the person who actually operates and manages the account as the responsible person, and submit that person's identification document. You may also be asked for a pay statement or power of attorney showing the relationship to the company, so also check whether the registered responsible person matches who's actually running things.
Q. Does my statement have to be for the credit card I registered?
A. The official site's registration guide states that a transaction statement issued within the last 180 days is fine even if it's for a card other than the one registered when the account was created. Check that the name and address match your registered information.
Summary
For additional identity-verification documents, checking "what is being asked for" and then "does it match my registered information" in that order can cut down on the guesswork in preparing your submission.
- Confirm the request in Seller Central, not through a link in an email, and sort out which process it's for
- Rewrite the request text into a list of document name, name it must be in, issue period, format, target, and deadline
- Match your registered information against your documents line by line, and resolve any mismatch either by updating your registered information to match the facts, or by submitting a document that explains the mismatch
- Check dates and the state of your files before submitting, and don't resubmit while a review is in progress
In the end, follow the instructions in the notification you received. If you keep being rejected and can't identify the cause, consider organizing your notification and documents and consulting a professional.
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Further reading
Responding to Amazon misconduct warnings: preparing for additional virtual identity verification Read article → 
An Amazon seller account verification email: steps for identity verification Read article → 
Checking funds after an Amazon suspension: holds, disbursement requests and video interviews Read article →