Checking Amazon brand information and prior approval: applying for listing approval (Selling Applications) and evidence for responding to warnings

This article is for sellers who have received a notice from Amazon about incorrect brand information or prior approval (listing approval) requirements and are wondering, "I source genuine products, so what is the problem?" We break the notice down into three rules and walk through the order in which to check the notice and Seller Central screens, how to register the brand name correctly, how to apply for listing approval, which documents to use in an appeal, and how to prevent problems before you source products. In Seller Central, you check the status of an application for listing approval on the "Selling Applications" (出品申請) screen. Whether approval is granted is decided by Amazon's review.

Reading the notice: three rules covering brands, listing approval, and ASIN creation

As of September 2026, we could not confirm the official name or wording of notices about incorrect brand information or prior approval in Amazon's public help pages. For that reason, this article does not reproduce the notice text. Instead, it identifies the relevant rule from the policy name, the affected products, and the action requested in the notice. Policy and screen names can change, so please also check the latest help pages and screens.

Rule	What causes the problem	How you notice it / where to check
Amazon Brand Name Policy	The brand name you entered (the brand value) does not match what appears on the product	The brand name on the product itself, the packaging, and the product detail page
Listing approval (prior approval)	You are listing a product whose brand, category, or ASIN (Amazon's product identifier) requires approval without having that approval	"Show limitations" (制限を表示) under "Add a Product" (商品登録)
Brand name approval / ASIN creation approval	You are trying to create a new ASIN under a brand name that has not been approved, or under a brand you do not have permission to create ASINs for	Error codes shown when listing (5665, 5461, etc.)

A single notice can involve more than one rule at once. For example, if you listed a branded product as a generic product, that is a Brand Name Policy problem, and it may also require listing approval when you relist it under the correct brand.

Why you can get a notice "even though the product is genuine"

Amazon requires listing approval for some products to confirm that they are safe, genuine, and compliant with regulations. Restrictions apply at five levels: "individual ASIN," "brand," "brand within a specific category," "category," and "subcategory," and a single product may need approval for both its category and its brand. A product being genuine and you having approval to list it are separate conditions. New restrictions added to existing products, receiving a Performance Notification, or changes to safety or legal compliance requirements can also mean that a product you were able to list before later requires approval.

Gathering the facts from the notice and screens: first steps

Right after you receive a notice, the priority is to gather facts from the notice and the screens rather than guessing at the cause.

STEP 1. Write down the affected items and requested actions from Performance Notifications (パフォーマンス通知)

Note the policy name, the affected products (the ASIN and the SKU, the reference number the seller assigns), the action requested, and whether a deadline is stated. Amazon's help notes that for account-deactivation reinstatement appeals, the list of products under review appears at the bottom of the initial notification, but this is not necessarily true of a notice like this one, so check for the affected products in both the message body and any attachments. If several products are affected, copy them into a spreadsheet and record your findings one row at a time so nothing is missed.

STEP 2. Check the scope of the impact in Account Health (アカウント健全性)

(If your listing has been removed,) review the affected listing and the nature of the issue in Product Policy Compliance (商品規約の遵守); if nothing appears there, look for suppressed listings in Manage Inventory (在庫管理). The Amazon Brand Name Policy is one of the policies covered by the Account Health Rating (アカウント健全性の評価), so also check the list of violations and any change in your score. We explain how to read the score in How to review your Account Health score.

STEP 3. Use "Add a Product" to see whether listing approval is required

When you search for the product in "Add a Product," one of the following appears. You can see the detailed requirements via "Show limitations," and for a product not in the catalog, you can gauge the likelihood of restrictions by checking a similar product.

What you see	Meaning	What to check next
"Sell this product" (この商品を出品する)	No listing approval required	Review the content of your listing, such as the brand value
"Apply to sell" (出品許可を申請)	Listing approval required	Stop listing until approved, check the requirements, and prepare an application
"Not available" (非対応)	You cannot list the product	Stop listing. If you have FBA inventory, check the options for returning or disposing of it on the Seller Central screens. Also find out whether you can return the goods to your supplier

STEP 4. Compare the brand markings against your sourcing records

Take one unit from your inventory and compare the brand name on the product itself, on the packaging, and on the product detail page, down to spelling, capitalization, and spacing, and photograph what you find. Also check whether you registered a product that has a logo as a generic product, or used a name that does not appear on the product as the brand value. At the same time, gather your invoices (issue date, quantity, and supplier information) and any documents showing authorization from the brand, so you know what you have and what is missing.

Reviewing brand information: key points of the Brand Name Policy

The Brand Name Policy requires the brand value you enter when adding a product to match the product's brand name. A product type, product description, SKU, or any name that does not appear on the product or its packaging cannot be used as the brand name, and the brand marking must be permanently affixed so that it cannot easily be removed. Misrepresenting a brand, such as using a spelling that imitates a well-known brand, is also prohibited.

Choosing the brand value, case by case

Product situation	Brand value	Notes
Product with no distinctive name or logo	Generic (ノーブランド品)	Cannot be changed to a brand name later. To sell it under a brand, you must create a new listing
Product bearing a brand name or logo	The brand name exactly as shown	Listing it as a generic product violates the policy. Listing approval may also be required
Compatible product for another company's product	The product's own brand (Generic if it has none)	Do not enter the brand name of the compatible device. Describe compatibility in the product name or description as a "compatible" or "replacement" product
Your own trademarked brand	Your brand name	If you have a registered or pending trademark and meet requirements such as permanent display of the brand name, you can enroll in Amazon Brand Registry and list under your own brand name
Product under your company name without a trademark	The name permanently displayed on the product	A name not yet approved by Amazon triggers error 5665, and you must apply for brand name approval (with a logo image, photos of the actual product and packaging, etc.)
Parallel import	The brand name exactly as shown	Use a different ASIN from the regular product, set the sales format to "JP Parallel Import," and explain why it is a parallel import in the condition note. Depending on the category, some brands are prohibited or subject to prior review, and parallel imports cannot be listed at all in Shoes & Bags
Books, music, video, DVD, digital	May be left blank	No brand value needs to be set

Common mistakes with compatible products

For example, for a generic USB cable compatible with an Amazon Basics speaker, the brand value should be "Generic," with compatibility shown in the product name (using a trademark to suggest similarity is not allowed, while a factual description of compatibility is generally permitted). If you are unsure, also check with a patent attorney or lawyer. Also, even for a similar product, you cannot list a generic product by piggybacking on the ASIN of a trademarked product.

When an existing ASIN has the wrong brand name

Even if the brand name on an existing ASIN you want to list against is wrong, sellers must not overwrite the brand or manufacturer name themselves. If the product you have is the same as the existing ASIN and only the brand display appears to be wrong, do not create a new ASIN; instead, contact Technical Support (Amazonテクニカルサポート) as described below. If the product carries a different trademark and is a different product, list it on a new ASIN without editing the existing one.

• Minor fixes such as typos or capitalization: Ask Technical Support by choosing the issue type "Brand – Update" (ブランド – 更新)
• The brand name is clearly different: Leave the original ASIN unchanged and contact Technical Support with all the evidence you can obtain
• ASIN enrolled in Brand Registry: The brand owner's information takes precedence. Contacting the brand's administrator is recommended, and errors that Support cannot edit can be reported through "Account Health – Report Abuse or Violation" (アカウント健全性 - 不正または違反を報告)
• You get error 5995: The brand owner or Amazon has corrected the brand name in the catalog, so it no longer matches your SKU's value. Professional sellers should update their inventory file with the correct brand field; Individual sellers should delete the SKU and recreate it with the correct brand (or switch to Professional and update it). If you have evidence that the brand was updated incorrectly, you can request a catalog review through "Brand – Update"

For what to include in your inquiry, see Preparing before you contact Technical Support.

Checking prior approval (listing approval) and submitting a selling application

If the product requires listing approval, either apply for approval or stop listing it until you obtain approval. Amazon's help gives Beauty, Food & Beverage, Health & Personal Care, and Watches as examples of restricted categories, but the list can change, and a brand-level list is not available in the help pages.

Examples where listing approval or listing conditions apply: categories, used items, books, and the Individual selling plan

Listing approval and listing conditions vary not only by product category but also by the product's condition, your selling plan, and your situation as a seller. The main examples are below. Because what is covered can change, check, for each product, whether listing approval is required, using what "Add a Product" shows and "Show limitations."

• Used items: In the Food & Beverage, Drugstore, Beauty, Watches, Jewelry, Clothing & Accessories, Pet Supplies, and Shoes & Bags categories, only new items may be sold (Reviewing new and used condition listings).
• Books: In the Books store, creating a new product page (catalog listing) for "Celebrity Photo Books," "Celebrity Books," "Mooks," or "Magazines" requires prior approval from Amazon (Checking celebrity-related and adult products before listing).
• Individual selling plan: On the Individual selling plan, you cannot apply to sell in additional categories (Features you lose when you switch to the Individual plan).
• New sellers: Separately from listing approval, you may be temporarily unable to list until the Installment Sales Act review is complete, and products you have registered may not appear on product pages (How the Installment Sales Act review proceeds).

For how to tell whether the sale itself is prohibited, listing approval is required, or you are being asked to submit documents, see Responding to a restricted-product warning.

How to apply

1. Search for the product in "Add a Product" and click "Apply to sell"
2. On the next screen, check the requirements for that product (requirements vary by product)
3. Fill in the application form and upload the required documents
4. Wait for the review (the help pages cite 2 to 7 business days as a guideline). You can check progress in the "Status" column of the Selling Applications (出品申請) dashboard, or under "Catalog" > "View Selling Applications" (出品申請を表示), and you will also be notified of the result by email

The English-language FAQ explains that an application is rejected if even one requirement is not met, but that you can check the details in your case history or by email and reapply with new documents. If you were told you submitted the same documents repeatedly, see also What to check when told you submitted duplicate documents in a selling application.

Application results and next steps

Message / result	Meaning and next step
"You do not meet the requirements to apply" (申請に必要な要件を満たしていません)	You cannot list the product and cannot appeal the decision. Technical Support cannot provide any further information either, so reconsider carrying the product
Rejected (requirements not met / missing information)	Identify what was missing and reapply with new documents
"Apply to sell" does not appear	Applications are not currently being accepted. Restrictions change, so check again later

The explanations for "Rejected" and "'Apply to sell' does not appear" are based on the English-language FAQ on selling applications, and the wording and handling on the Japanese screens may differ.

The same FAQ also has an item for cases where you believe the brand shown on an ASIN you are asked to get approval for is incorrect, and it directs you to the Amazon Brand Name Policy. Starting with the brand value review described above makes this easier to sort out in that case. Pages for products such as cosmetics and dietary supplements also list "misbranded products" among prohibited examples, so if your product is regulated, see also How to respond to a restricted products warning.

Amazon Seller Reinstatement Support (not an official Amazon contact channel), which publishes this article, also accepts consultations on listing restrictions and on applying for listing approval. Our fees are the same for every engagement, and for an engagement involving an application for listing approval, the success fee is charged when listing approval is obtained (for details, see our pricing page).

Telling them apart by error code: brand name approval and ASIN creation approval

The error codes that appear when you create a new ASIN or submit an inventory file are clues to which approval is missing.

Error	Meaning	Main fix
5664	The product may be unbranded but is not using "Generic"	Register it as "Generic"
5665	The brand name you entered has not been approved by Amazon	Apply for brand name approval. If it should already be approved, suspect a typo
5668	The product has a brand, but the brand name field is blank	Enter the correct brand value and resubmit
5461	You do not have permission to create new ASINs for that brand	Apply for ASIN creation approval for the brand
5882	You tried to list a product that infringes the brand's intellectual property as a generic product	Do not list branded products as generic products
5995	The brand name on your SKU does not match the corrected catalog value	Fix it using the steps in "When an existing ASIN has the wrong brand name" above

Input and images to review before applying

• Did you include a product type, product description, or model number in the brand name?
• Are there capitalization errors, misspellings, or extra spaces between words or at the end?
• Have special characters such as apostrophes been changed into different characters when files moved between Mac and PC?
• Are the images real photos of the product, held in hand or placed on a table, without digital editing?

An application for error 5461 also asks for items such as the product code, the full product name including color and size, the manufacturer name, and images of every side of the actual product and packaging. After approval, it can take up to 24 hours before you can list, and for some brands the window for creating new ASINs is limited to 96 hours after approval. If you are the brand owner and still get error 5461, check that your Brand Registry account is linked to your selling account.

Documents for responding to the warning: sorting what to submit in an appeal

If a listing has been removed, check the details in Product Policy Compliance or Performance Notifications, and either appeal or correct the listing as instructed. If your account has been deactivated, appeal via "Reactivate your account" (出品用アカウントの再開) at the top of Account Health. Each document can prove something different, so sort them by purpose.

Document	What it shows	Notes
Purchase invoices	That you bought the goods from a legitimate supplier	Requirements differ by situation: for appeals, the issue date must be within 365 days before you received the notice; for listing approval applications, the date must be within 180 days, and so on
Letter of authorization (LOA)	That the rights owner has permitted you to use the trademark	Must contain five items: "licensor," "licensee," "scope of the grant," "geographic scope," and "term." A paper or digital document must be on the rights-owning company's letterhead and signed by an authorized signatory; an email must be sent from a valid domain of the rights-owning company
Photos of the actual product and packaging	What the brand marking says and that it is permanently affixed	The brand name must be legible, with no digital editing
Records of listing corrections	That you fixed the brand value or the listing	Keep the before-and-after content and the date of the change

Pre-transaction documents such as quotes, and invoices issued by the seller themselves, are not accepted. Invoices and letters of authorization serve different purposes, as the table shows; think of a letter of authorization as something to prepare only when the notice or application screen asks for one. If specific requirements are stated, follow those instead. If your listing was removed over a trademark issue you cannot account for, see What to check when a listing is removed for suspected trademark infringement.

Sample appeal text

Amazon's help recommends writing your appeal factually and concisely, showing the root cause and the actions you took, along with the dates and related documents. Below is a sample that assumes a product printed with a logo had been registered as a generic product. This is a hypothetical example, not a real case, so rewrite it to match your own facts and fill in the ○ placeholders with actual dates and counts.

The affected products had the brand name and logo printed on both the product and its packaging, but we had registered the brand value as "Generic." The cause was that we decided what to register based only on the supplier's product list, with no step to check the brand markings on the actual product.
As corrective action, on ○/○/○ we deleted the listings for the affected SKUs that had been registered as generic products, and relisted them on the product detail page under the correct brand. We also cross-checked the products against their brand values across all of our listings (○ listings) by ○/○, corrected the ○ listings where we found the same error, and, having confirmed whether listing approval was required, have made the necessary applications.
To prevent recurrence, we have changed our process so that before listing, we photograph every side of the product and packaging, and a second staff member checks the brand value and the content of "Show limitations."

For details on how to structure this, see How to build a plan of action.

What not to do

• Editing the brand name of an existing ASIN yourself: Make corrections by contacting Technical Support as described above; do not edit it yourself.
• Relisting a branded product as "Generic": Listing a product that bears a brand name or logo as "Generic" is itself a policy violation. Relisting it this way to avoid listing approval only adds another violation.
• Forging or altering invoices or letters of authorization: Do not recreate documents issued by suppliers or rights owners yourself, change the date, quantity, or product name, or substitute an invoice you issued yourself (the only changes allowed on an invoice used in an appeal are removing pricing information and highlighting the relevant products on an invoice that lists multiple items). If fraudulent or deceptive activity is suspected, your account may be deactivated immediately regardless of your Account Health score. For more on this, see also How to respond when told your invoice is forged or altered.
• Continuing to sell on another account: Unless you have a legitimate business need and all of your accounts are in good standing, you may maintain only one Seller Central account per region where you sell. Creating a new account, or listing on another existing account, to get around a deactivation or restriction violates the policy.
• Ignoring the notice: Response deadlines differ by notice, so check the stated deadline and the requested action, and respond promptly. For violations rated "Critical" (重大) in the Account Health Rating, the grace period before deactivation is stated as 3 days; check the notice and the Account Health display to see how severe your case is.

Preventing recurrence: building checks into sourcing and listing

Brand and listing approval problems are far less burdensome to deal with if you check before sourcing. The following checks can also form the substance of the preventive measures you describe in a plan of action.

Frequently asked questions

Q. My products are genuine and I have invoices. Do I still need listing approval?

A. You may. Whether approval is required is a separate condition from whether the product is genuine, and you check it for each product via what "Add a Product" shows. In addition, invoices used in an application must meet requirements such as being dated within 180 days, so the invoices you have may not be usable as is.

Q. Can I use receipts or store receipts in an application for listing approval?

A. Whether you can depends on the requirements for that product shown on the application screen. As a document showing your sourcing, the general guidance in the help pages lists purchase invoices dated within the past 180 days. In the Food & Beverage & Alcohol category, an invoice or order confirmation listing an order of 10 or more units of the product is required, and receipts and quotes are stated as not accepted (this is a condition specific to that category). Use the original documents as they are, and do not add to or change the date, quantity, or product name. We cover what to review in each document in Key points for reviewing documents in a selling application. For how to approach an authenticity review when all you have are store receipts or receipts, see Reviewing your documents when you don't have invoices.

Q. If I enroll in Brand Registry, will I no longer need prior approval?

A. Not necessarily. Amazon Brand Registry is a program for managing a brand's product information and intellectual property. Even after enrolling, some categories or products may still require listing approval, so check each product via what "Add a Product" shows, whether or not you are enrolled.

Q. I was told about "brand approval." Is that listing approval or brand name approval?

A. You can't tell from the wording alone, so use what the screens show to tell them apart. If you search for the product in "Add a Product" and "Apply to sell" appears, it is listing approval (prior approval). If error 5665 (the brand name has not been approved) or 5461 (you do not have permission to create ASINs for that brand) appears when you create a new ASIN or submit an inventory file, it is brand name approval or ASIN creation approval. A single notice can involve both, so write down what is shown and any error codes, then follow the steps in "How to apply" or "Telling them apart by error code" above.

Q. Does a distribution agreement with my supplier count as a letter of authorization (LOA)?

A. No. Distribution rights and reseller agreements, as well as invoices and delivery notes, are listed among the documents that are not accepted as an LOA.

Q. Can this notice lead to my account being deactivated?

A. The action taken cannot be determined uniformly from the public help pages. Check the impact through the notice and what Account Health shows. For what happens if your account is deactivated, see The full process from account deactivation to reinstatement appeal.

Summary

Here are the key points for responding to a notice about brand information and prior approval.

• Break the notice down into three rules: "brand value," "listing approval," and "brand name / ASIN creation approval"
• Note the affected ASINs and the policy name from the notice, and confirm the facts in Account Health and "Show limitations"
• Match the brand value to the product's markings, and do not overwrite the brand name of an existing ASIN
• Invoices and letters of authorization (LOAs) serve different purposes. Prepare genuine documents that meet the requirements, without altering them

If you cannot tell which rule applies, or if several issues overlap, organize what the notice and screens show and consider consulting a specialist early.

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

Further reading

Repeated documents in Amazon approval applications: checking tool settings and submission history Read article → Listings removed for suspected trademark infringement: "Trademark misuse" (商標の悪用) notifications, and checking product details and rights Read article → Amazon product safety warnings: identifying products and checking supporting documents Read article →