Overview

Amazon requires every seller to understand and follow product safety and compliance rules before listing items on its marketplace. This foundational reference covers the importance of product safety, how to stay compliant with both Amazon's policies and applicable government regulations, and the potential consequences sellers face when they fall short. Whether you're a new seller preparing your first listing or a veteran expanding your catalog, compliance is non-negotiable.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Product safety is a listing prerequisite — Before you can successfully list and sell products on Amazon, you must ensure those products meet all applicable safety standards. Amazon treats safety as a gating requirement, not an afterthought.
• Dual compliance obligations — Sellers are responsible for complying with both Amazon's internal marketplace policies and all relevant government laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where they sell.
• Violations carry serious consequences — Failing to meet safety and compliance standards can result in listing removals, account suspensions, and in severe cases, permanent bans from the marketplace.
• Proactive compliance is expected — Amazon expects sellers to understand the rules before listing, not to learn them through enforcement actions. Ignorance of policy is not treated as a valid defense.
• Documentation matters — Sellers may be asked to provide safety certifications, test reports, compliance documentation, or other evidence that their products meet applicable standards at any time.

How Amazon's Safety and Compliance Framework Works

Amazon's safety and compliance program operates on multiple levels. At the broadest level, all products sold on the marketplace must comply with federal, state, and local laws in every jurisdiction where they are offered. This includes regulations enforced by agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), among others. Amazon layers its own marketplace-specific policies on top of these legal requirements, which can be more restrictive than what the law alone requires. Sellers are expected to monitor both sets of requirements on an ongoing basis, as regulations and Amazon policies can change without extended notice.