Whether you are a buyer looking for an authentic shopping experience on Amazon or a seller who has just joined the third-party marketplace, you may wonder how Amazon verifies its sellers. Amazon has a strict verification process to protect its buyers and sellers.
To ensure a safe marketplace, Amazon verifies the sellers on its platform through the following method:
- A detailed online form with questions about their business and identity that sellers need to fill out and answer.
- Verification by collecting original documents about the user and their business.
- A video call.
- And in some cases, a Postcard OTP.
We have covered everything you need to know about Amazon’s seller verification process, including all the steps involved. So read on and find out the details.
How Does Amazon Verify Sellers?
Amazon has a strict seller verification process that involves multiple steps. As a first step, they are required to fill out an online form with a series of questions about the seller and their business.
Next, they have to provide the relevant documentation to prove their claims about who they are.
You can also open multiple seller accounts, provided that:
- You have more than one brand
- You make products for two different companies
- You have signed up for the seller program that requires two separate accounts
Seller Information Required by Amazon
Here’s a list of documents Amazon will ask for from its customers:
- Business information: includes their legal business name, contact information, and business address.
- Email address: is required to send in policies, contracts, and other relevant documentation for the seller.
- Phone number: is used to verify the seller’s account and to contact them during the onboarding process.
- International credit card: to verify the validity of their bank account.
- Federal Tax ID: includes the seller’s social security number and their business’s Federal Tax ID number.
- State Tax ID: if the seller is based in the U.S.
Amazon will cancel a seller’s registration if their credit card is invalid.
Once the sellers submit their documents to Amazon, they will schedule a video call for in-person verification.
Verification via Video Call
Amazon video calls its potential sellers during the registration process for in-person verification. Once the sellers have submitted their documents and information, they must schedule a video call with Amazon based on their availability.
They will need to log in to Seller Central (the internal seller portal) to join the video call on the scheduled date and time. The sellers can also select their preferred language for the video call.
Moreover, they can also reschedule the video call or cancel their appointment if needed.
After the video call verification, Amazon’s team takes 2-3 business days to review the seller’s case internally. At this point, they may also reach out to the seller for any further clarification.
Address Verification via Postcard OTP
In some cases, Amazon further verifies sellers using a postcard OTP. The team will contact the seller in case they need to verify their business address.
Once the seller confirms the business address on Seller Central, Amazon will send a postcard through the mail.
Sellers can track the delivery of their postcards on Seller Central. Once they receive the postcard, they will find a verification code.
They are required to enter that code on Seller Central to verify their business address.
You’d be given 60 days to complete postcard OTP verification. If you fail to provide the verification code, Amazon reserves the right to block your account.
What Happens Next?
Once you have submitted your documents and verified your identity and business address via postcard OTP (if applicable), Amazon’s Seller Identity Verification team will review the documents and all the information. This review can take up to 3 business days.
Successful Application
If your application is successful, Amazon will notify you through email. But if you haven’t received any email yet, you can log in to Seller Central after 3 business days to see if the Seller Central Home Page is accessible. If it is, you can start listing and selling the products.
Unsuccessful Application
If you fail to make it through, you can resubmit your documents to the seller’s portal after reviewing them once again and ensuring they comply with Amazon’s requirements.
Final Word
Amazon has taken multiple steps recently to ensure sellers and buyers can enjoy an authentic shopping experience on their platform.
To ward off illegal businesses and black hat sellers from selling counterfeit and low-quality products on their marketplace, Amazon has an elaborate seller verification process.
The e-commerce giant verifies its sellers by collecting original business and personal documents. They schedule an in-person video call for identity verification and even mail postcard verification codes to the sellers’ business address to verify it.
This way, Amazon has successfully kept black hat sellers off its platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Amazon Verify Its Sellers?
Amazon has a strict seller verification process that involves information and document verification, in-person verification via video call, and business address verification via postcard OTP.
The internal team at Amazon verifies all the information and documentation the seller provides to determine its legitimacy.
How Long Does It Take for Amazon To Verify Seller Accounts?
It can take up to 6 working days for the entire seller verification process at Amazon. They require 2-3 business days to verify the seller’s documents, identity, business address, and other personal and business information.
How Do I Know if My Amazon Seller Account Is Verified?
Amazon notifies you via email about your seller account’s verification. However, suppose it’s been 3 business days since you submitted your application, and you haven’t received an update yet.
In that case, you can log in to Amazon’s internal seller portal, Seller Central, to see if you can list the products. If you can list the products, your account is verified.
