Reviewing your Amazon Account Health Rating: warnings and improvement priorities

Has the score on the Account Health (アカウント健全性) page in Seller Central dropped? Are you seeing yellow or red, or a long list of warnings with no idea where to start? This article is for sellers in exactly that situation. We walk step by step through how the score rises and falls, how to check each screen, how to sort warnings by severity and set priorities, when to choose a reconsideration versus a dispute, and how to build a habit of routine checks.

What the Account Health Rating is: a 0–1,000 score and three colors

The Account Health Rating (アカウント健全性の評価, AHR for short) is a metric that shows the risk of your selling account being suspended for failing to comply with certain selling policies. It appears in near real time on the Performance (パフォーマンス) > Account Health page in Seller Central as a score between 0 and 1,000, along with a color code. If you sell in stores in more than one country, a separate rating is shown for each store.

This article is based on official Amazon materials we were able to review as of September 2026 (PDF versions of Help pages and announcements from Amazon on the Seller Forums). Policies and on-screen labels can change, so please also check your actual screens and the latest Help content.

The three categories and what they mean

Color	Status	Score	Meaning
Green	Healthy (健全)	200–1,000	No risk of suspension on the basis of the policies covered by the rating
Yellow	At Risk (リスクあり)	100–199	The account is at risk of being suspended
Red	Unhealthy (健全でない)	99 or below	The account is subject to suspension or has already been suspended

Even within Amazon's official materials, the red category is labeled inconsistently, as either 不健全 or 健全でない (both meaning "unhealthy"). When you contact Amazon, use the category name exactly as it appears on your screen.

The numerical score was added to the existing color coding in a revamp on June 15, 2023, and the revised enforcement process has applied since September 13, 2023. The number can change even while the color stays green, so recording your score once a week makes it easier to match the point when it started to fall with the cause.

Green doesn't guarantee you won't be suspended

Green means there is "no risk of suspension on the basis of the policies covered by the AHR." It does not mean your account is protected from every kind of suspension. Amazon's official FAQ explains that an account may be suspended immediately, regardless of its score, where required by law, where fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or otherwise harmful activity is suspected (including attempts to circumvent Amazon's systems), or where a policy not covered by the AHR has been violated.

To see which policies count toward the score, log in to Seller Central and search Help for "Policies included in the Account Health Rating" (アカウント健全性の評価に含まれるポリシー). The list can be updated, so for peace of mind, review it again before you start selling products in a new category.

Think of the score as one entry point for your checks, and be sure to also review the performance metrics and notifications covered later in this article.

How the score rises and falls: points added, points deducted, and the 180-day window

Amazon's official FAQ explains how the score is calculated as follows. Keep in mind that Amazon itself states the formula and point values may change in the future based on seller feedback.

• New sellers start at 200
• To reflect the size of the business, 4 points are added for every 200 orders shipped successfully in the past 180 days
• Points are deducted each time a new policy violation is found. Deductions normally range from 2 to 8 points depending on severity
• If a "Critical" violation is detected, the score automatically drops to 0
• Repeated violations of the same policy result in larger deductions each time (the English-language materials explain that in some cases the deduction may double with each violation)
• Addressing a violation appropriately lets you win back the points it cost you

One thing to note: the dashboard does not show how many points each violation deducted (according to the official materials as of when they were written). Since you can't tell exactly from the screen "how many points did this violation cost me?", it's more practical to work through your unresolved violations one by one than to fixate on reverse-engineering the numbers.

Sample calculations (rough estimates based on Amazon's explanation)

To help you get a feel for how this works, here are some rough examples based on the official explanation. They are not real cases, and the figures may not match what you see on your screen.

• 1,000 orders shipped successfully in the past 180 days: points from shipments are 1,000 ÷ 200 × 4 = 20. With no violations, roughly 220
• Same conditions, but with one violation that deducts, say, 6 points: roughly 214
• 3,000 orders shipped successfully in the past 180 days: 60 points added. With no violations, roughly 260

What these examples show is that while your shipment volume is still low, the points added are small and your score sits close to 200, the line between green and yellow. In theory, then, even a single violation could push you into the yellow range. Rather than focusing on the number itself, keeping an eye on "how much headroom do I have within the green range?" makes it easier to decide your next move.

Why your score can drop without any new violations

The score is calculated from your policy compliance and sales activity over the past 180 days. That means successfully shipped orders drop out of the calculation once 180 days have passed since shipment, and the points they contributed disappear. For example, once a busy season ends and your shipment volume settles down, your score may fall even without any new violations. Conversely, when a past violation ages out of the 180-day window, your score may rise by the corresponding amount.

If it feels like your score dropped "even though I didn't do anything," first check whether any new items have appeared in the violations list. If not, compare how your shipment volume has trended over the last six months. This will help you pinpoint the cause faster.

How to check: which screens to look at and what to look for

The key to checking your score is not to stop at looking at the number, but to review everything in one continuous sequence: the details of the violations, the notifications, and your contact information. Going through them in the following order helps you avoid missing anything.

STEP 1. Get the big picture on the Account Health page

In Seller Central, open Performance > Account Health. This page brings together an overview of how you're doing against the performance targets and policy compliance. According to Amazon's English-language Seller University materials, the page is broadly divided into three sections: "Customer Service Performance" (Order Defect Rate), "Policy Compliance" (the Account Health Rating and the list of violations), and "Shipping Performance" (Late Shipment Rate, Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate, and Valid Tracking Rate, for seller-fulfilled orders only). The section headings on the Japanese screen may be worded differently, so check "the section that shows your score" and "the section that lists your metric values" separately.

STEP 2. Check the violations list and the "Impact" column

The Policy Compliance section lists the violations that count toward your score. Opening each violation shows its details and the next steps you should take. If you have repeatedly violated the same policy, a repeat-violation label appears in the "Impact" (影響) column. According to Amazon, since the policy update on July 23, 2025, repeat violations are also displayed prominently at the top of the dashboard, together with the policy concerned. Whether a violation carries this label helps you decide which violations to tackle first within the same severity level, so don't overlook it.

STEP 3. Review product-level violations in Product Policy Compliance

Policy violations tied to specific products are reviewed in Product Policy Compliance (商品規約の遵守), where you file an appeal for each violation. According to the English-language Seller University materials, this page lets you see the history of removed listings and images, their current status, and the next steps to resume selling. Keeping a record of which product was affected, under which policy, and when, will help you analyze causes and plan measures to prevent recurrence.

STEP 4. Read your Performance Notifications and notification emails

Amazon communicates with you about account health through Performance Notifications (パフォーマンス通知). You can open them from the Seller Central menu (the three-line icon at the top left of the screen) > Performance > Performance Notifications. A warning email may, for example, contain guidance to the effect that you should review the warnings shown on your Account Health page and follow the steps next to each warning to submit the required information, and some notifications state a deadline for submission. Because the number of days allowed may differ from one notification to the next, check what the notification you received actually says rather than relying on a general rule of thumb.

If you don't understand a notification or how to resume selling, Amazon directs you to contact a specialist using the [Contact Us] (［お問い合わせ］) button on the Account Health dashboard. What to organize before you reach out is covered in preparing before you contact Account Health Support.

STEP 5. Check your emergency contact and notifications for multiple stores

You can check your emergency contact phone number under Emergency Notifications (緊急通知) in Settings (設定) > Notification Preferences (通知設定) (menu locations and labels may change). This number is used to reach you when a serious problem arises with your selling account, and during the grace period for a critical violation, an Account Health specialist may call you. Amazon also recommends keeping it up to date, so review it whenever the person in charge changes or the number changes.

If you sell in stores in multiple countries, ratings and notifications may differ from store to store. Don't feel reassured just by looking at the Japan store; check the screens for each store you sell in on a regular basis.

Where to check	What to look for
Performance > Account Health	Score and color, list of violations, overview of each metric
"Impact" column in the violations list	Whether any violations carry a repeat label
Product Policy Compliance	Affected listings, current status, next steps
Performance > Performance Notifications	Details of warnings or suspensions, any stated submission deadline
Emergency Notifications in Settings > Notification Preferences	Whether your emergency contact phone number is up to date

Reading warning severity: Critical, High, Medium, and Low

Violations have four severity levels: Critical (重大), High (高), Medium (中), and Low (低). Amazon says it determines severity by considering factors such as how much the violation harms customer satisfaction, legal requirements, and the number of past violations of the same policy. Here is a summary of the definitions and examples given in the official materials.

Severity	Official definition (summary)	Examples given in the official materials
Critical	Violations that have a serious, unacceptable impact on buyers, or that break the law or infringe on the rights of others. Even a single one can result in suspension (the official FAQ explains that there is a three-day grace period between notification and suspension)	Products determined to be counterfeit or pirated through test buys; soliciting product reviews or package inserts (flyers) that violate policy; harming or harassing other sellers; manipulating search results or sales rankings
High	Violations with minimal room for tolerance because of their potential negative impact on buyers or potential legal violations	Valid infringement notices from rights owners; buyer reports that a product is infringing or counterfeit
Medium	Violations that could significantly damage the trust of buyers and sellers if they continue	Listings that contain links directing people to external websites
Low	Violations that are tolerated if they are infrequent and minor	Buyer reports of expired products or incorrect condition (such as listing a used item as new)

Even for the same type of violation, the severity may be changed if its impact on buyers or other sellers changes. Some violations are also determined based on buyer complaints or notices from rights owners. If you believe a determination is wrong, open the violation on the Account Health page and follow the instructions to contact Amazon.

Note that fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or harmful activity falls outside this severity table and, as mentioned earlier, can lead to suspension independently of the score. Don't assume something is minor just because it doesn't fit the table.

Improvement priorities: the order for sorting warnings

Amazon recommends promptly addressing every violation shown on the Account Health page, prioritizing those with the highest severity. Building on this principle and factoring in the deadline before suspension and the repeat-violation label, sorting warnings in the following order makes them easier to manage in practice.

Order	What to address	Why it comes first
1	"Critical" violations (score 0, red)	Only a three-day grace period before suspension
2	"High" violations	Minimal room for tolerance, and the limit on repeat violations tends to be set low (it may be two from July 2025 onward)
3	"Medium" → "Low" violations	Deductions are determined by severity, and even "Low" violations bring larger deductions and move you closer to the limit if repeated
Within each level	Violations with a repeat label in the "Impact" column first	Once the limit is reached, they are treated as "Critical" violations (score 0, red) and lead to suspension if not addressed within three days
Separately	Order Defect Rate and shipping-related metrics	These have targets separate from the score, and missing them can lead to suspension

Priority 1. Act on "Critical" violations within the three-day grace period

When a Critical violation is detected, you are notified on the Account Health page and by email, and your rating turns red with a score of 0. Amazon explains that there is a three-day grace period before suspension, and that if you complete your response during that time, your account will not be suspended and your score will be updated. During the grace period, an Account Health specialist may also call you to offer support.

Three days is not much time, so once you receive the notification, work on the following tasks in parallel.

1. Open the notification and the violation details, and write down the affected product, the conduct in question, and the action requested
2. Confirm the facts with the people responsible for sourcing, listing, and shipping, and determine whether the determination is correct or mistaken
3. If the determination is wrong, gather supporting documents; if it is accurate, put together a specific account of the cause, the corrective actions, and the measures to prevent recurrence
4. Make sure someone is available to answer calls to your emergency contact number

Priorities 2 and 3. Resolve violations in order: "High" → "Medium" → "Low"

Once the Critical violations are under control, address the remaining violations in order of severity, starting with the highest. High-severity violations are those with minimal room for tolerance because of their potential negative impact on buyers or potential legal violations, and Amazon explains that the higher the severity, the lower the limit on repeat violations is set. If you leave a violation alone because it's "only Low," repeating it under the same policy will increase the deductions and move you closer to the limit. Also, if you remain "At Risk" (yellow) without addressing your violations, the risk of suspension remains; the English-language materials state that if you don't respond and Amazon can't reach you, suspension is likely. When you have many violations, it's more efficient to group together those that stem from the same cause and address them cause by cause.

Within the same severity, handle violations with a repeat label first

When you have several violations of the same severity, start with those that have a repeat label in the "Impact" column. Repeatedly violating the same policy increases the deduction per violation (the higher the severity of the repeated violation, the greater the impact), and once you reach the limit, the violation is treated as Critical. In that case, too, failing to respond within three days leads to suspension (details below). As of July 23, 2025, this rule was expanded from two areas, infringement and restricted products, to all policies covered by the Account Health Rating. For high-severity violations, the limit may be as low as two.

Official materials from before the update (a PDF version of the Help page created in March 2025) explained that the limit within 180 days was, in most cases, five for infringement-related policies and two for restricted-product policies. We have not been able to confirm the per-policy limits after the update as of this writing, so check the current numbers on your screen and in Help, and don't assume "I should still have some room."

The official FAQ created in March 2025 explains that when repeat violations reach the limit, the violation is shown as Critical and you are notified by email. Your rating turns red with a score of 0, and you have a three-day window to respond before suspension. You follow the steps in the banner at the top of the Account Health page and submit a reconsideration request from the Product Policy Compliance dashboard; if you don't respond within three days, your account is suspended until the request is completed. Check how things are currently displayed and the current steps in the actual banner and notifications.

If infringement warnings keep coming in, also review how to sort out intellectual property warnings; for restricted products, see steps for responding to restricted-product warnings. Then identify any other listings with the same underlying cause that may still be live.

Check separately: targets for performance metrics such as the Order Defect Rate

The score components Amazon officially describes are "deductions for violations" and "points for successful shipments"; performance metrics such as the Order Defect Rate are not listed in the formula. However, these metrics have their own targets separate from the score, and missing them can lead to suspension. Even if your score is green, check these metrics separately.

Metric	Period	Target	Notes
Order Defect Rate	60 days	Under 1%	"Defects" include negative feedback, A-to-z Guarantee claims (Amazonマーケットプレイス保証) that were not denied, and credit card chargebacks
Cancellation Rate (Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate)	7 days	Under 2.5%	Percentage of orders canceled by the seller. Seller-fulfilled orders only
Late Shipment Rate	10 or 30 days	Under 4%	Percentage of orders whose shipment confirmation was sent after the expected ship date. Seller-fulfilled orders only
Valid Tracking Rate	30 days	Not below 95%	Calculated by product category. Categories that fall below the target may have their eligibility to sell with seller fulfillment suspended. Seller-fulfilled orders only

These figures are based on Japanese-language materials from 2021, and some details may have changed. Other metrics, such as the On-Time Delivery Rate, may also be displayed, and how they are treated can vary by period and store. Check the current targets on your Account Health page and in Help. Ways to improve each metric are covered in detail in reviewing your Order Defect Rate, improving your Late Shipment Rate, and improving your Valid Tracking Rate.

Reconsideration vs. dispute: choosing how to respond to a violation

There are two official ways to raise your score. One is to keep shipping orders successfully (earning points from your shipment record); the other is to address unresolved violations from the Account Health page. There are two ways to respond to a violation: a reconsideration (再審議) and a dispute (異議申し立て). If either is approved, the violation and its effect on your score are removed.

Item	Reconsideration	Dispute
Approach	You acknowledge that the violation occurred and demonstrate improvement	You argue that the determination itself is wrong
When it fits	When a violation actually occurred, such as a listing error or insufficient checks	When the determination is mistaken, such as when the policy in question doesn't apply or the product is genuine
What to prepare	Root cause analysis, the corrective actions you took, and measures to prevent recurrence	Documents showing the determination is wrong (whatever the notification or violation details ask for; for example, purchase invoices, documents showing authorization from the rights owner, or records of your listings)

A violation is removed from the page when, for example, a dispute is approved and the determination is confirmed to be wrong, a rights owner retracts an intellectual property infringement complaint, or a reconsideration is approved and Amazon determines that, although a violation occurred, it was unintentional and should be excused. Amazon explains that once your response is confirmed, your rating is updated within a few hours.

Things to keep in mind when choosing

• Even a violation removed through reconsideration may still count toward the 180-day repeat limit if you did not dispute that the violation occurred. It disappearing from the list doesn't necessarily mean it disappears from your repeat count.
• Avoid choosing a dispute when a violation actually occurred. If your explanation contradicts the facts, it may undermine the credibility of all your subsequent appeals.
• Depending on the type, an intellectual property violation may not be resolved simply by deleting the listing (according to a reply from Amazon staff on the Seller Forums). Check your Performance Notifications and contact Seller Support as needed.

Example of what to include in a reconsideration

Below is a sample outline of an explanation, assuming you received a report of incorrect condition (a used item listed as new), one of the examples given for Low severity. It is not a real case, so rewrite it to match what actually happened in your business.

The affected listing was registered with the condition "New," but the inventory actually included opened items that had been returned by buyers. The cause was that we had no defined procedure for inspecting returned items and verifying the listing condition before relisting them.
As corrective action, we corrected the condition on the affected listing and inspected all orders scheduled to ship from the same inventory.
To prevent recurrence, we have changed our procedures so that returned items are logged at inspection and stored on shelves separate from regular inventory, and two staff members verify the condition before any item is relisted.

The basic approach is to cover the three points of cause, corrective action, and prevention in concrete terms, down to who did what and when. For details on how to structure it, see how to build a plan of action.

If your account has been suspended

Amazon's official FAQ explains that even if your account was suspended because of your score, it will be reactivated once a reconsideration or dispute is approved and your score returns to 100 or higher. Amazon also describes the option of appealing by submitting a plan of action (パフォーマンス改善計画) to resolve the issue that led to the suspension. A plan of action generally includes three elements: the root cause of the issue, the steps you took to resolve it, and the measures you've put in place to prevent it from happening again. The full process, from reading a suspension notice to filing an appeal, is laid out in an overview of the path from account suspension to reinstatement.

What not to do

Actions taken in a panic can make things worse. Avoid the following.

• Opening another account to keep selling: Creating a new account to get around a suspension or warning violates Amazon's policies and makes the problem bigger.
• Altering or forging invoices or other documents: Tampering with documents or creating documents that don't reflect the facts is deceptive conduct and may lead to suspension regardless of your score. If you don't have a document on hand, obtain it the proper way, for example by asking your supplier to legitimately reissue it.
• Filing dispute after dispute when the determination is correct: Instead of resubmitting until something gets through, choose a different response that matches the facts.
• Stopping at deleting the listing: Depending on the type of violation, deletion alone may not resolve it, and if other listings with the same cause remain, the problem can recur.
• Submitting template text as is: An explanation that doesn't make clear what happened in your business and what you changed won't convey the substance of your improvements.
• Ignoring notifications or missing deadlines: If you stay "At Risk" without responding, the risk of suspension remains, and a Critical violation may lead to suspension once the three-day grace period has passed.
• Trying to manipulate ratings or rankings: Soliciting product reviews and manipulating sales rankings are themselves violations listed as examples of Critical severity.

A preventive check routine: keeping headroom in your score

Rather than scrambling to check your score after a problem occurs, catching small changes through regular reviews keeps the burden lighter. We recommend splitting your checks by frequency and building them into the responsible staff member's regular tasks.

Professional sellers should also keep Account Health Assurance in mind

In Japan, Account Health Assurance (アカウント健全性アシュアランス) launched on April 24, 2024. It covers Professional sellers who have maintained an Account Health Rating of 250 or higher for at least six months (with up to 10 days below 250 allowed) and have a valid emergency contact registered. Eligible sellers are enrolled automatically at no cost. If an issue arises that could lead to suspension, an Account Health specialist explains the problem and how to address it, and your account will not be suspended as long as you can be reached within 72 hours of the issue arising and are working with Amazon to resolve it. The eligibility requirements are based on the launch announcement and may change. Check the current requirements in Seller Central Help and announcements.

Being in the green range (200 or higher) doesn't necessarily mean you'll reach 250, so looking at your score not only in terms of "Am I staying above 200?" but also "Am I keeping it at 250 or higher?" gives you a defensive buffer. However, for serious policy violations such as fraud, deception, or illegal or harmful activity, action such as immediate suspension may be taken even against eligible sellers. Also, eligible sellers are protected from suspension only while they can be reached within 72 hours and are working with Amazon to resolve the issue. Deciding who will reliably answer your emergency contact phone and putting that arrangement in place is a prerequisite for making the most of this program.

Frequently asked questions

Q. If my score turns yellow (100–199), will my account be suspended right away?

A. Yellow means your account is "at risk of suspension." Under Amazon's official categories, it is red (99 or below) that indicates the account is subject to suspension or already suspended. However, if you remain yellow without addressing your violations, the risk remains. In addition, a Critical violation sets your score to 0 and may lead to suspension once the three-day grace period passes, so check the details of your violations, not just the color.

Q. I responded to a violation, but my score hasn't recovered.

A. Amazon explains that once your response is confirmed, your rating is updated within a few hours. If nothing has changed after some time, check your Performance Notifications to see whether your appeal was actually submitted and whether you've been asked for additional information. If you don't understand what it says, you can consult a specialist via the [Contact Us] button mentioned earlier.

Q. If my Order Defect Rate worsens, will my score drop too?

A. It's tracked separately from the score. The Order Defect Rate has its own target of under 1%, and if it reaches 1% or higher, your account may be suspended. See the table above for the targets.

Q. If a violation disappears from the list after a reconsideration, is the repeat count reset?

A. Not necessarily. Amazon officially explains that violations removed through reconsideration without disputing that the violation occurred may still count toward the limit for 180 days. Putting systems in place to eliminate the underlying cause is essential.

Q. A violation I don't recognize is showing up. What should I do?

A. Some violations are determined based on buyer complaints or notices from rights owners. First, open the violation to check the affected product and date, and compare them against your sourcing and listing records. If you believe the determination is wrong, follow the instructions to file a dispute. If your review shows that a violation did in fact occur, switch to a reconsideration that lays out the cause and your improvements.

Q. I sell only through FBA. Do I still need to look at the shipping metrics?

A. Amazon explains that Late Shipment Rate, Cancellation Rate, and Valid Tracking Rate apply only to seller-fulfilled orders. On the other hand, the Order Defect Rate and policy compliance violations are not described as limited to seller-fulfilled orders, so even if you sell only through FBA, be sure to check both the violations list and your Order Defect Rate.

Summary

The Account Health Rating is a gauge of suspension risk, driven by deductions for violations and points for successful shipments over the past 180 days. Here's a recap of the key points for checking and improving it.

• The score ranges from 0 to 1,000. Check the details of your violations along with the green (200–1,000), yellow (100–199), and red (99 or below) categories
• As a rule, respond in order of severity (Critical → High → Medium → Low). Within the same severity, address violations with a repeat label first. Check your performance metrics in parallel
• If the determination is wrong, file a dispute; if you accept the violation, choose a reconsideration and provide the cause, corrective actions, and prevention measures
• Green doesn't guarantee you won't be suspended. Regularly check your notifications, your emergency contact, and the rating for each store

Especially when multiple warnings pile up, it's important to verify the facts one at a time and act on the most severe issues first. If you're unsure how to read a notification or how to proceed, consider organizing your situation and consulting a specialist early.

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

Further reading

Reviewing Amazon's Order Defect Rate: affected orders and corrective actions Read article → Improving Amazon's Valid Tracking Rate: carriers, tracking numbers and shipment confirmations Read article → Navigating Amazon returns: from the request to return shipping and refund checks Read article →