The Amazon policy tracker: every 2026 compliance change, dated.

Independently maintained by Autopilot · Updated August 7, 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

Fifteen 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
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 Aug 10	See the consolidated record	Rolling out	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	Variation Wizard retires by end of August 2026	Use Add Products, then View Variations, to add variants or offers	Rolling out	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	See the consolidated record	Rolling out	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.

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