Amazon Policy Tracker 2026: Seller Compliance Changes, Dated
The Amazon policy tracker: every 2026 compliance change, dated.
Independently maintained by Autopilot · Updated October 8, 2026 · Not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon
Amazon announces policy, compliance and account health changes inside Seller Central, behind a login. This page keeps the public record: every 2026 change that alters what sellers must do or what listings must contain, with dates, scope, required action and current status. Announcement dates are Amazon's own; the tracker started in August 2026 and is backfilled to the start of the 2026 cycle.
The record
Amazon seller policy changes in 2026
Twenty changes tracked so far, newest first. Rows link Amazon's original announcement; Seller Central links may require a seller login. Status reflects where each change stands today.
| Announced | Change | Applies to | Key dates | Required action | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2026 | New compliance questions for dangerous goods. Creating or editing a listing in selected categories will require answers to new questions that identify dangerous goods, which Amazon says enables more ship methods and reduces unnecessary disposal costs and fees. | Refrigerators, air conditioners, freezers and similar products; shock absorbers and suspension lift supports; markers and writing instruments; pool and spa water treatment products | Applies from Oct 26, 2026 | No action needed on existing listings before Oct 26; the questions appear the next time you create or edit a listing | Announced | Amazon |
| Sep 10, 2026 | Bundles must be manufacturer-packaged. Most product bundles listed as a single ASIN must be packaged by the original manufacturer or brand. Amazon also removes several restrictions: bundles in Books, Music, Video, DVD and Video Game categories, bundles with secondary generic products or service plans, bundles with gift cards, and multi-brand Consumables bundles with letters of authorization. | Sellers listing bundles as a single ASIN. Excepted: gifting browse nodes, camera product types, Virtual Bundles created by brand owners or authorized resellers, and authorized repackaged products with a letter of authorization covering all brands included in the bundle | Effective Jan 11, 2027 | Review bundles before Jan 11, 2027; noncompliant bundles are deactivated and recorded as listing violations on Account Health | Announced | Amazon |
| Sep 3, 2026 | Commercial liability insurance requirements expand. Sellers with products in categories carrying enhanced safety listing requirements must maintain USD 1 million per-occurrence and aggregate coverage for those products regardless of the existing USD 10,000 monthly gross-proceeds threshold, for new and existing listings. Separately, sellers based in Mainland China must obtain insurance through the Amazon Insurance Accelerator. | Sellers in enhanced-safety categories, which include but are not limited to children's products, cosmetic and ingestible products and lithium battery products; separately, sellers based in Mainland China | Effective Nov 2, 2026 | Confirm coverage extends to the affected products. For Mainland China sellers, valid third-party policies that meet the coverage requirements and were submitted before Nov 2 may run until they expire | Announced | Amazon |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Meltable inventory accepted at FBA again. Heat-sensitive products that melt when exposed to 155 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods, including chocolate, gummies and select jelly- and wax-based products, can be sent to FBA again on a schedule by product type. | FBA sellers of heat-sensitive products | Gummies (coated and pectin), protein bars, cookies and coated candy: send from Aug 31, orders from Sep 14, 2026. Chocolate, chocolate-coated nuts, fruit, caramel and gelatin gummies: send from Sep 21, orders from Oct 5, 2026 | Create shipments in Send to Amazon; the meltable ASIN list is on Amazon's Meltable FBA inventory page | In effect | Amazon |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Optional total product quantity variation theme. A new variation theme shows total quantity in a standard format, X count for single packs and X count (Y packs of Z) for multipacks, separating quantity from attributes such as size and color. | 193 product types, primarily hardlines categories, with more categories planned later in 2026 | Announced as available Aug 28, 2026 | Optional; if used, unit count is required and number of packs is required only for multipacks | In effect | Amazon |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Selling roles move to Account IDs. Brand Registry Administrators assign and manage selling roles with a single worldwide Account ID instead of multiple Merchant Tokens. | Brand Registry Administrators and selling-role holders | Effective Jul 29, 2026 | Find your Account ID under Settings, then Manage Accounts, and use it for role assignments | In effect | Amazon |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Title update FAQ published. Amazon confirms Item name and Item highlights are both inputs for search, with neither prioritized over the other, details the 14-day brand review window, and reports more than 984 million titles already updated. | All sellers except media categories | AI recommendations since Jul 27; display change applied Aug 10, 2026 | See the consolidated record | In effect | Amazon |
| Jul 22, 2026 | AI-generated people must be tagged. Images and video that contain photorealistic AI-generated people require the IPTC keyword contains-synthetic-performer in the dc:subject (XMP) field before upload. Amazon then shows customers an indicator. | Listings and A+ content, all stores worldwide | In effect since Jul 22, 2026 | Tag affected media with an IPTC-compatible editor. Media showing only real people, characters from expressive works such as films and games, or nothing photorealistic is exempt | In effect | Amazon |
| Jul 21, 2026 | Direct lab validation for regulated categories. Compliance results must come directly from an approved testing, inspection and certification provider. Self-uploading documents is no longer accepted. Applies to categories including dietary supplements, children's toys and e-mobility. | Sellers in TIC-required categories | Testing typically takes 30 days from sample receipt | Request lab service via Account Health, then Policy Compliance, before the date in Amazon's notification | In effect | Amazon |
| Jul 21, 2026 | Variation Wizard retires; Add Products takes over. Variation-family additions move to the Add Products page, which downloads a pre-filled spreadsheet covering the full family. The workflow replaces the Variation Wizard, which retires by the end of August 2026. | Sellers managing variation families | Announced retirement date passed: end of August 2026 | Use Add Products, then View Variations, to add variants or offers | In effect | Amazon |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Featured Offer eligibility gate removed. The seller-eligibility step is being dropped. All offers are considered and ranked on criteria such as competitive pricing, delivery speed and performance. Selection criteria themselves are unchanged. | All sellers, all stores | Rolling out through end of 2026 | None required | Rolling out | Amazon |
| Jun 29, 2026 | INFORM Act verification reminder. High-volume sellers must keep identity, address, bank and tax details verified. Accounts that skip required verification or annual certification can be deactivated. | US sellers with 200+ transactions and $5,000+ revenue in 12 months | Annual certification when prompted | Review Settings, then Account Info, and complete certification | In effect | Amazon |
| Jun 10, 2026 | 75-character titles announced. Titles in all categories except media capped at 75 characters, with a new searchable 125-character Item highlights field. Over-limit titles receive AI recommendations from Jul 27. | All sellers except media categories | Announced Jun 10; AI recommendations from Jul 27; display change applied Aug 10, 2026 | See the consolidated record | In effect | Amazon |
| May 27, 2026 | Accurate handling time required. Seller-fulfilled SKUs must carry handling times that match actual shipping speed. SKUs consistently shipped at least one day faster than stated get flagged with 30 days to fix, after which Amazon manages them with 180 days of late-shipment-rate protection. | Seller-fulfilled (FBM) SKUs; custom, handmade and Heavy and Bulky LTL shipments exempt | Requirement live since Jun 29, 2026 | Enable Automated Handling Time or keep SKU-level values accurate | In effect | Amazon |
| Apr 2, 2026 | 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge. Applied to fulfillment fees, not sale price. Roughly $0.17 per unit on average for US FBA. | FBA and MCF in US and CA; Buy with Prime in the US; Remote Fulfillment from the US to CA, MX and BR | FBA and Remote Fulfillment from Apr 17; Buy with Prime and MCF from May 2 | Check the updated Revenue Calculator and fee reports for per-unit impact | In effect | Amazon |
| Mar 26, 2026 | Related-account enforcement explained. A policy violation on one account can deactivate every related account. Reactivation requires a successful appeal on the responsible account first, then on each related account. | Sellers operating multiple accounts | Standing policy | Appeal the responsible account via Account Health before appealing related accounts | In effect | Amazon |
| Jan 21, 2026 | SAFE-T filing window halved to 30 days. Claims for US seller-fulfilled orders must be filed within 30 days of return delivery or refund, whichever is later, down from 60 days. | US seller-fulfilled sellers | Effective Feb 16, 2026 | File claims older than 30 days before the cutoff. In-progress claims are unaffected | In effect | Amazon |
| Dec 8, 2025 | Commingling ends. Brand Representatives can rely on manufacturer barcodes without Amazon stickers. Resellers must apply Amazon barcode stickers even when a manufacturer barcode exists. | All FBA sellers | Inventory shipped on or after Mar 31, 2026 | Brand Representatives may rely on manufacturer barcodes. Resellers must apply Amazon stickers. Products without a manufacturer barcode need stickers in all cases | In effect | Amazon |
| Nov 20, 2025 | Lithium-ion air-shipping rules. Batteries over 2.7 Wh packed with products must ship at 30% or less state of charge under ICAO rules. Products without confirmed compliance move to ground-only fulfillment. | Sellers of products packaged with lithium-ion batteries in FBA | Info due Dec 31, 2025; effective Jan 1, 2026 | Answer the battery compliance questions when listing or relisting | In effect | Amazon |
| Oct 15, 2025 | 2026 US fee schedule. FBA fees rise an average of $0.08 per unit sold, under 0.5% of an average item's price. No new FBA fee types in 2026, and Amazon gave at least 90 days before any increase takes effect. | US sellers | Effective Jan 15, 2026 unless otherwise noted | Model the impact in the Revenue Calculator and Fee and Economics Preview report | In effect | Amazon |
About this tracker
Where do these entries come from?
Every entry summarizes an official Amazon announcement from Seller Central's seller news, in our own words, with a link to the original. Nothing here is speculation or commentary; analysis lives separately on the blog.
How often is this page updated?
Whenever Amazon publishes a change that affects seller obligations or listing content. Statuses are re-checked on every update, so effective dates that have passed move from rolling out to in effect.
Why do some source links require a login?
Amazon publishes seller news inside Seller Central, which needs a seller account. The summaries on this page carry the substance: what changed, who is affected, the dates and the required action, so the record stays readable without one.