Amazon Seller Reinstatement Support ("we" below) is not an official Amazon contact channel and has no ownership or partnership relationship with Amazon. This article is for sellers who are worried about the effect on their own account after the Amazon account of a family member living in the same home, or an Amazon account used for a family member's business, has been stopped.
To give the answer first: as far as we have confirmed, no official statement setting out how accounts are treated when family members sell separately can be found. Amazon has also not made public what it uses to decide that accounts are related to each other. For this reason, we cannot say either "if you share an address, you will be stopped together" or "accounts in a family member's name are treated separately." What is clear is that recreating your own account by borrowing a family member's name results in a registration that does not reflect reality.
This article is based on our explanatory articles (which draw on Help and other sources we checked as of September 2026) and on Seller Central's official Help, which we checked on October 17, 2026. Policies and screens can change, so please also check the notice you received and the latest Help.
Our role is to prepare submission drafts and advise on revisions. You log in to your account and handle appeals and submissions to Amazon yourself.
What is and is not officially known
| Item | What is officially known | What is not known |
|---|---|---|
| Number of accounts | As a rule, one per region where you sell. The exception is when there is a legitimate business reason and every account is in good standing | How accounts are counted when each family member sells |
| How one problem spreads | If any account has a problem, all selling accounts may be stopped | Whether a family member's account counts as a "related account" |
| How links are determined | The specific criteria for the determination have not been made public | Whether addresses, internet connections, or devices are used in the determination |
| Login | Do not share your credentials with anyone. If several people use the account, set up User Permissions for each person | ― |
| Name on the account | Keep your account information up to date and accurate at all times. Selling accounts cannot be transferred | ― |
As the table shows, much remains officially unknown about connections with family members. Rather than filling in the unknown parts with guesswork, it is important to organize things so you can answer with facts when asked.
Checking what tends to overlap with family members
Write down the points of connection you are likely to be asked to explain if a link is pointed out. This check is not for guessing the cause; it is so that you can answer when asked.
| Where to check | What to look at |
|---|---|
| Settings > Account Info (アカウント情報) | Whether any of your store name, email, phone number, business address, bank account, card used for billing, or return address overlaps with a family member's information |
| A business run at the same address | Whether a family member's business uses the same address or office |
| Registered card | Whether the card is in a family member's name. The verification code is sent only to the cardholder |
| Two-Step Verification | Whether the phone or device used for verification belongs to a family member |
| Login information | Whether you share your ID or password with a family member |
| Devices and internet connections used to log in | Whose device is used, and where you log in from. It has not been made public whether these are used in the determination, but keep track of them so you can answer |
| Documents | Whether your identity or address documents are in a family member's name |
Even if the check turns up overlaps, do not re-register with an address or contact details that differ from reality in order to avoid a link. This is because registration information must always be accurate. If you switched a phone number or card you had been sharing to your own to match reality, record what you changed and the date.
How to check, by situation
A family member's account was stopped, and your account is still active
First, check whether any new notifications or violations have appeared in your account's Performance Notifications and on its Account Health page. Then go through the check in the previous section. The aim is to be able to explain with facts, if asked, the reason for your family member's suspension and how it connects to your account.
Your account was also stopped because of a link to a family member's account
Copy the wording of the notice without paraphrasing it, and if part of a name is shown as the related account, note it down. If a family member sells separately, organize your information so you can show that ownership, funds, inventory, logins, and bank accounts are each independent, and if you're unsure, check with Seller Support. Record the date you checked, the contact you used, and the answer you received. However, even if you organize and explain all this, it is Amazon that decides how to judge it. If another related account has an unresolved problem, dealing with that comes first. An official Amazon news post (February 2026), introduced in our article on related accounts, also explains a flow in which the suspended account is restored before the other accounts are reactivated.
How you structure your explanation depends on whether you have no idea of any connection, had a connection in the past, or still have one. Our article on related accounts explains this step by step. If you are unsure which part of the notice to read, you can send us the text of the notice on LINE (see the consultation box at the end of this article).
A family member helps with your business
If you have a family member help you operate the screens, do not hand over your own ID and password; instead, create a login for them through User Permissions and grant only the permissions they need. The seller is responsible for the actions of people added through User Permissions. Revoke permissions that are no longer needed. As a basic rule, set up Two-Step Verification with a phone or device on which you can receive the codes yourself. Even if you register a family member's phone as a backup number, do not tell them your password, and receive codes only when you yourself are logging in.
"Recreating an account in a family member's name" is not a way around a suspension
When your own account is stopped, you cannot open a new account in a family member's name and actually run it yourself. If the person who actually runs it is the same, the registration does not reflect reality, which may amount to the false information or misleading conduct prohibited by the Code of Conduct. Another of our articles also explains that a registration made by borrowing the name of a family member who does not actually run the business can be subject to suspension, holds on sales proceeds, and other measures.
Opening an account in a family member's name or similar, which you actually run yourself, to keep selling in place of your own suspended account does not fall under the exception to the one-account-per-region rule. Official Help states that if conduct attempting to circumvent Amazon's systems is suspected, the account will be suspended regardless of its score. Selling accounts also cannot be transferred.
Things that tend to become violations when family members are involved
- Reviews by family members: Family members and close friends may not write reviews of the seller's products or negative reviews of competing products. Even reviews written with good intentions may be treated as a violation on the seller's part.
- Using a family member's documents for identity verification: Submit identification for the person who actually runs the account. There is an example in which Amazon staff replied that a utility bill in a family member's name, or a certificate of residence listing both spouses, was not sufficient.
- Registering a card in a family member's name: The verification code is sent only to the cardholder, so problems with verification and management are more likely to occur.
- Sharing a buyer account within the family: Assume that orders and returns placed under your account and password become part of your own usage history.
Frequently asked questions
Q. My family member's Amazon account has been suspended. Will my own account be stopped too, since we live in the same home?
A. No single answer has been given officially. No official statement setting out how family members' accounts are treated can be found, and the criteria for determining links have not been made public. However, Help does state that if any account has a problem, all related selling accounts may be stopped. Check the notifications on your own account, and check any information that overlaps with your family member's.
Q. My account was stopped. May I start selling again under a family member's name?
A. If you are the one who actually runs it, then even if it is opened in a family member's name, the registration does not reflect reality and may amount to false information. If it is an account you actually run, it does not fall under the exception to the one-account-per-region rule while you have a suspended account. Proceed first with the appeal for the suspended account.
Q. Is it a problem if each family member sells as their own business?
A. As far as we have confirmed, no official statement setting out how sales by individual family members are treated can be found. Organize your information so you can show that ownership, funds, inventory, logins, and bank accounts are each independent, and if you're unsure, check with Seller Support before opening an account. Even if you can show this, it is Amazon that decides how the accounts are treated, and there is no promise that they will be treated separately.
Q. Can our accounts be linked just because family members share the same Wi-Fi or computer?
A. It has not been officially stated whether internet connections or devices are used in the determination. There is no need to jump to conclusions, but keep track of who uses which device so that you can explain it if asked.
Q. Can a utility bill in a family member's name serve as proof of address?
A. As a rule, documents should match the name on the account. There is an example in which Amazon staff replied that a bill in the husband's name, or a certificate of residence listing both spouses, was not sufficient. If the person who actually runs the account and the person in whose name it is registered are different, treat it as a problem with the name on the account itself, and explain the situation to Support to confirm.
Q. If my family member closes their account, will the linking problem go away?
A. There is no official explanation that closing an account removes a link. A closed account cannot be reactivated, even by Amazon. If a related account has an unresolved problem, dealing with that comes first. Do not rush to close an account; check what the notice instructs.
Q. A family member wrote reviews of my products on their own initiative.
A. Reviews by family members are listed as an example of a violation in Amazon's official guidance. Such reviews are described as possibly leading to action even if the seller did not know about them. Establish the facts, and show specifically the scope of what you checked, the results, and how you will inform people going forward.
Summary
- No official statement setting out how sales by individual family members are treated can be found, and the criteria for determining links have not been made public.
- If any account has a problem, all related selling accounts may be stopped.
- Check where you overlap with family members, such as your address, card, Two-Step Verification, login, and documents, so that you can answer with facts when asked. Do not re-register with information that differs from reality.
- Recreating an account by borrowing a family member's name results in a registration that does not reflect reality, and it is not a way around a suspension.
When a family member's account has been stopped and you have also received a notice
We are not an official Amazon contact channel and have no ownership or partnership relationship with Amazon. You can send us the text of the notice you received from Amazon on LINE (a screenshot is fine). Looking at the notice, we help you sort out what is being asked of you and prepare and revise submission drafts for Amazon. You log in to your account and handle appeals and submissions to Amazon yourself. Whether your account is reinstated is decided by Amazon, and we cannot promise reinstatement. Consultations are free, as often as you need.
Please do not send your login ID, password, or verification code.
Free consultation, 24/7 *This article provides a general explanation. The appropriate response in individual cases depends on the circumstances.
