Amazon product safety warnings: identifying products and checking supporting documents

Has Seller Central flagged a "Food and product safety issue," or has a safety investigation put your listings on hold? If you're unsure which documents to submit, this article is for you. We cover how to tell the types of warnings apart, which products fall within the scope of the review, the supporting documents needed for each product type and what to check before you submit, the submission steps, and the sourcing checks that keep the problem from coming back.

What a "product safety" warning is asking you to do

Sellers must comply with the laws, regulations, and Amazon policies that apply to their products and listings, and must demonstrate that compliance with documentation. Put simply, most safety warnings are a request to "show us, with documents and images, that your product meets the requirements." (As explained later, prohibited or recalled products and investigations triggered by incidents may not be resolved by documents alone.)

This article is based on the Seller Central Help pages and statutory texts we were able to review as of September 2026. Policies and screen names can change, so please also check the notice you received and the latest Help content.

Listings are suspended over safety verification and documents

When customer reports or other information raise concerns about accidents, injuries, fires, explosions, overheating, or similar incidents, Amazon conducts a safety investigation and may temporarily suspend listings while it is underway. Help lists three conditions for suspension:

• The product's safety cannot be verified
• The documents submitted are insufficient
• The required documents are not submitted

Two of the three are document problems. Even if nothing is wrong with the product itself, assume the suspension may continue if you can't provide the required documents.

You can be flagged even without any complaints

Investigations aren't triggered only by buyer reports. Amazon also lists pre-screening of certain categories, ongoing monitoring, test purchases, spot checks of FBA inventory, monitoring of returned products, and cooperation with government agencies, among others. Even if you haven't received any complaints, start by confirming what the notice covers and what action it asks for.

Identifying the type of warning: where it appears determines your response

Even among safety warnings, what you need to do, and whether documents can resolve it, depends on the stage at which the warning was issued and where it appears.

Type	Where you'll notice it	What is required	Can documents resolve it?
Document review before listing	New listings blocked in Manage All Inventory	Check why the listing was blocked and submit documents	If you have documents that meet the requirements, you can proceed to review
Document request for existing listings	Account Health, Manage Compliance	Submit documents and images by the due date	Same as above. Approval depends on the review
Safety investigation triggered by incidents or reports	Email notice	Submit a questionnaire, incident investigation report, and test reports. May include a physical inspection	Restrictions may not be lifted even after documents are submitted
Recalled or prohibited products	Recall notice, classification as a prohibited product	Remove listings and inventory	Prohibited products are not eligible for document review. For recalled products, you may be able to request reinstatement with documents once removal of inventory has been confirmed

Screens to check

In addition to the notice email, check the following screens. Labels vary even within Help, so look for tabs or items with similar names.

• The Product Policy Compliance (商品規約の遵守) tab on the Account Health (アカウント健全性) page: "Food and product safety issues" (食品と商品の安全性に関する問題) or "Restricted product policy violations" (制限対象商品に関する規約違反の問題), and the Next Steps (次の手順) column
• Manage Compliance (コンプライアンスの管理): the required documents, the affected ASINs and SKUs, the due date (提出期限日), and the approval status of documents you've submitted
• Manage All Inventory (全在庫の管理) and Performance Notifications (パフォーマンス通知): suspended listings and details of blocks or removals

Help explains that some safety violations are reported individually in Manage Compliance rather than in Account Health. Even if nothing shows up on one of them, open both. If the issue appears as a restricted product problem, also see Responding to restricted product warnings.

If you can't find the notice email, check that your registered primary email address is up to date and contact Technical Support if necessary (see also Organizing your inquiry to Technical Support).

Identifying the affected products: the scope goes beyond the main unit

Amazon lists the product types that require document review at the time of listing on its "Recalls and Product Safety" (リコールと商品の安全性) Help page (updated from time to time). The most relevant laws and policies are as follows.

Law or policy	Examples of main products covered (from Amazon Help)	Labeling and verification points
Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act (PSE)	Power banks, AC adapters, outlets and cables, cooking appliances, lighting, etc.	Diamond-shaped PSE mark for Specified Electrical Appliances and Materials, round PSE mark for all others. Name of the notifying business, ratings
Consumer Product Safety Act (PSC)	Infant beds, household pressure cookers, riding helmets, toys for infants (from December 25, 2025), etc.	PSC mark. For specified products for children, target age and other details as well
Radio Act	Products that use radio waves, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth	Technical conformity (Giteki) mark, etc.
Amazon policy	Lithium batteries, portable power stations, etc.	Test reports showing compliance with standards such as JIS C 62133-2 and with UN 38.3

Areas of scope that are easy to overlook

• Accessories and batteries: In addition to the main unit, included AC adapters and removable lithium-ion batteries are also subject to document review under the Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act.
• Wireless and other functions: If a product has Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, it is subject to review under the Radio Act. Products with Qi wireless charging or UVC (deep ultraviolet) sanitizing or disinfecting functions require additional documents beyond the standard ones. Because the scope can change, also check the latest "Product Safety Listing Restrictions" (商品の安全性に関する出品制限) Help page before you list.
• Bundles: Prepare documents and images for each product included.
• Products that may be considered intended for children under 3: This is determined by the target age on the packaging, advertising language, general consumer perception, and similar factors, so even products not designed as toys may be covered.
• Batteries outside the scope of the law: Even for lithium-ion batteries that the law doesn't cover, Amazon policy requires a volumetric energy density confirmation along with supporting materials (such as specification sheets).

Conversely, the PSE mark must not be displayed on products that are not covered by the Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act. Amazon states that it cannot advise on the applicable technical standards or the content of conformity assessments. Check with a testing organization, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), or a specialist, including on whether a particular product falls under the law.

"Prohibited" products that documents can't resolve

Document review does not apply to products whose sale is prohibited over safety concerns, such as infant sleep positioners, heated car seat covers, cylindrical rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (sold as single cells; products that use these batteries may also be covered), neck floats for children, and battery-powered heated insoles. Check each product's policy page for the scope and any exceptions. What you need to do is remove the listings and deal with the inventory. If you believe your product has been misclassified, submit an appeal from Account Health.

Checking your supporting documents: documents and images by product

The documents required differ by product and notice. The main ones listed in Help are as follows. For products you source from others, obtain them from your supplier, the manufacturer, or the importer.

Product	Main documents	Main images
Products covered by PSE	Business notification (showing the model classification, etc.) and a copy of the self-inspection records covering every unit (sampling inspections not accepted). For Specified Electrical Appliances and Materials, a copy of the conformity assessment certificate from a registered conformity assessment body	A label showing the PSE mark, the name of the notifying business, and the ratings (and, for Specified Electrical Appliances and Materials, the name of the registered conformity assessment body)
Specified products under PSC	Business notification and inspection records. For special specified products, a certificate of conformity from a registered conformity assessment body (must show an expiration date)	PSC mark, name of the notifying business, usage precautions, etc.
Products that use radio waves	Technical conformity certificate (showing the Giteki number), etc.	A rating plate on which the Giteki mark is legible
Lithium batteries, portable power stations, etc.	Test report from an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory, UN 38.3 test report, and Battery Test Summary (BTS) (verified through an Amazon-approved TIC; follow the notice for how to submit)	Follow the instructions in the notice
Safety investigations due to incidents, etc.	"Product Safety Questionnaire" (製品安全に関する質問事項, Excel), incident investigation report, and test report from a third-party testing laboratory (the standard is specified in the notice)	Follow the instructions in the notice

Documents for safety investigations are submitted in English or Japanese (Japanese-language user manuals and labels are required separately). Note also that when you apply for power banks, submitting is deemed to be a representation and warranty that the information is genuine and accurate. Help also explains that if you import products yourself and have filed a notification, you must keep self-inspection records for three years from the date of inspection, and keep conformity assessment certificates for Specified Electrical Appliances and Materials as originals or official duplicates (saving them as PDFs is not sufficient).

Points to review on or after December 25, 2025

• Some PSC products are now classified as "specified products for children," bringing the number of marks and procedures to four.
• Businesses that sell directly from overseas to consumers in Japan, as "specified import business operators," are subject to obligations including appointing a domestic administrator, filing a business notification, and displaying the mark with the name of the notifying business. Domestic sellers who import products themselves must still file notifications as import businesses, as before.

Amazon Help also states that, in addition to the existing 30% or lower state-of-charge requirement for standalone batteries (UN3480), a 30% or lower state of charge at the time of shipment and delivery became mandatory from January 1, 2026 for lithium batteries packed with equipment (UN3481). This change is based on international air transport rules and is separate from the legal amendments above.

Self-check before submitting

Simply gathering documents doesn't mean they'll hold up in review. Based on the points noted in Help, check the following before you submit.

Documents from suspended verification labs (testing organizations that Amazon has determined do not meet its standards and has published) are automatically rejected. The list is updated, so check it again just before you submit. Amazon also explains that statements such as "PSE certified" may violate the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations. Review the wording on your product pages with How to check and correct product information as a reference.

Response steps: from checking the notice to the review result

STEP 1. Confirm the deadline and list products with the same specifications

Check the due date in the notice and in Manage Compliance. Japan's Help pages on safety investigations do not specify a uniform number of days for responding or for review, so rely on what your notice says rather than applying timelines from other countries. Note that there is a separate mechanism where a "Critical" violation in Account Health carries a three-day grace period before suspension, but that rule concerns your account rating as a whole and is different from this document submission deadline — don't confuse the two. If you're a Professional seller, you can also clarify anything you're unsure of by contacting Account Health Support. At the same time, make a list of products with the same model number or from the same supplier, variations, and bundles, along with where the inventory is located.

STEP 2. Request documents from your supplier

Being specific about what you need reduces back-and-forth. The following is a hypothetical example of a request (not an actual case).

Amazon has requested safety-related documents for the power bank (model number: XXXX) we purchase from your company.
Please provide the following documents in the original format in which they were issued.
1. A copy of the manufacturing or import business notification (bearing METI's receipt stamp or the notification details from Hoan Net, and showing the model classification)
2. A copy of the self-inspection records for this model number (showing that every unit was inspected; records of sampling inspections are not acceptable)
3. A photo of the label on which the PSE mark, name of the notifying business, and ratings are legible
4. The manufacturer's name and the factory name

STEP 3. Submit using the specified method

There are several submission routes, including Account Health, a link in the notice, Manage Compliance, and an approved third-party testing, inspection, and certification provider (TIC), so follow the instructions in the notice and on screen. The flow from Account Health is as follows.

1. On the Product Policy Compliance tab, open "Food and product safety issues"
2. In the Next Steps column for the affected product, click "Submit" (送信)
3. Choose "Add compliance information for this product" (この商品のコンプライアンス情報を追加) or bulk upload
4. Select the files and click "Submit" to send them for review

If you are asked for TIC verification, after receiving the notice, submit a Test Request Form (TRF) from Account Health and send samples or existing test documents to the TIC by the deadline. Help explains that listings are not deactivated while the TIC has the TRF "in process," but are deactivated immediately if the product fails testing or the documents are not verified.

STEP 4. Check the review result and respond to additional requests

Check the approval status and your email. If there's an additional request, figure out what's missing before supplementing your submission. Amazon states clearly that restrictions on some ASINs may not be lifted, and that sales may be restricted even if test reports find no problems.

If you can't get the documents together by the deadline

Don't alter documents or substitute documents for a different product; contact the manufacturer or importer directly. If you still can't meet the deadline, stop selling the product and consider having FBA inventory returned or disposed of, or returning it to the supplier. If the notice includes instructions on inventory, be sure to follow them (see also the FAQ on how inventory is handled). Going forward, also reconsider whether to keep working with that supplier or model number.

If an incident triggered the investigation, report in the right order

If a physical inspection is required, contact the customer to get details of the incident and arrange for the item to be returned (if you can't reach the customer, notify Amazon promptly). Report the inspection results to Amazon before the customer, and wait for notice that the investigation is complete before informing the customer.

Also note that if you are the manufacturer or importer and become aware of an incident that qualifies as a serious product accident, you are obligated under the Consumer Product Safety Act to report it to the government (the Consumer Affairs Agency). This is separate from reporting to Amazon, so check with the relevant ministry or a specialist about whether it applies and what the deadline is. For organizing your preventive measures, see How to structure a plan of action.

If you receive a recall notice

Recalled products cannot be listed. Delete the listings and product ads, do not ship pending orders, and remove inventory from fulfillment centers within the period stated in the notice. After Amazon confirms that the inventory has been removed, you can request reinstatement by attaching documentation of the reason for the recall, the affected ASINs and product names, and documentation showing that future inventory complies with regulatory standards and is not affected by the recall.

If you believe the requirement doesn't apply

If you believe the requirement doesn't apply or that your product was identified in error, go to "Submit" → "Appeal requirement" (申し立ての要件), select a reason, enter an explanation, and provide supporting evidence. For example, make it possible to verify from specification sheets or product photos that the product has no wireless functions, or that it is a USB-powered device sold without an AC adapter or removable battery. Keep in mind, however, that the law and Amazon's requirements are not the same; for example, Amazon policy requires a confirmation even for batteries outside the scope of the law. If you're unsure whether a requirement applies, check with a testing organization.

What not to do

• Altering documents or reusing documents for a different product: Amazon requires genuine, unaltered documents. Altered or reused documents are treated as false submissions and can lead to the loss of selling privileges, among other consequences. For documents you don't have, request them from the legitimate issuer (see also What to do if you're flagged for altered invoices or other documents).
• Opening another account to keep selling: Unless you have a legitimate reason, you're allowed only one account per selling region, and creating or using another account to get around warnings or suspensions violates the policy.
• Submitting nothing and saying nothing before the deadline: Failing to submit the required documents is one of the conditions for listings being temporarily suspended. Even if you can't get the documents together, follow the notice's instructions to take stock of the situation and decide how to handle the listings and inventory.
• Sending repeated inquiries with the same content: Help for power banks notes that duplicate cases cause review delays.
• Fixing only the ASIN in the notice and calling it done: If products with the same specifications remain, the same problem can occur on a different ASIN.

Safety policies count toward Account Health, and if violations of the same policy reach the limit within 180 days, your account may be suspended immediately. If it comes to a suspension, see An overview of account suspension through requesting reinstatement.

Preventing recurrence: before sourcing, before shipping, and routine checks

If you wait until you receive a warning to look for safety documents, they can take time to obtain. Build checks into your operations at three points in time.

Frequently asked questions

Q. I just resell products I've sourced. Do I need documents?

A. If a notice or review asks for them, you as the seller must provide them, even for sourced products. The law also prohibits businesses from selling covered products that lack the required labeling (such as the PSE mark). In addition, under your agreement with Amazon, you are responsible for the safety warnings on your own products. Obtain the documents from your supplier, the manufacturer, or the importer in the form in which they were issued.

Q. What happens to my FBA inventory while my listings are suspended?

A. Amazon's Japan Help pages do not specify a uniform number of days for how inventory is handled during a safety investigation. Under the agreement with Amazon, inventory determined to pose a safety or health risk may be disposed of. Check the instructions in the notice, and if there's no realistic prospect of getting the documents together, consider requesting a return.

Q. All I have are reports from a testing laboratory that isn't approved.

A. If you've been asked for TIC verification, results from testing laboratories that Amazon hasn't approved need to be verified by an approved TIC. You can compare costs using quotes from TICs. Even if you haven't been asked for TIC verification, check that the report wasn't issued by a suspended verification lab and that it meets the requirements stated in the notice.

Q. Will this also affect my Account Health Rating?

A. Safety-related policies count toward the rating, but the examples published in Help don't make clear which severity level they fall under. For how to read the rating, see How to check your Account Health Rating.

Summary

In most cases, a "product safety" warning means you're being asked to show, with documents and images, that your product meets the requirements of the law and Amazon's policies.

• Identify the documents needed not only for the main unit but also for accessories, batteries, wireless functions, and bundles
• Before submitting, check that documents are unaltered originals and that the model numbers and images match the product on the ASIN
• Follow the notice's instructions for how and when to submit, and if an incident is involved, report the results to Amazon first
• Keep checking before sourcing, before shipping, and on a regular basis, and don't carry products for which you can't get all the documents

The documents and steps required vary by product and notice. If you're unsure whether a law applies, check with a testing organization or a specialist.

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

Further reading

Reviewing your Amazon Account Health Rating: warnings and improvement priorities Read article → When Amazon flags a forged or altered invoice: verifying facts and using genuine documents Read article → Repeated documents in Amazon approval applications: checking tool settings and submission history Read article →