Overview

Amazon maintains strict policies governing the sale of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and related accessories on its marketplace. Sellers must understand these rules thoroughly, as violations can result in listing removals, account suspensions, and legal liability. This reference guide breaks down what is permitted and what is prohibited across several key categories.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Full legal compliance is mandatory — Sellers must follow all federal, state, and local laws applicable to their products, listings, and the jurisdictions they ship to and from.
• Licensing is your responsibility — Any required permits or licenses for selling permitted products must be obtained by the seller, and sellers bear full liability for non-compliance penalties.
• FBA adds further restrictions — Products fulfilled through Fulfillment by Amazon are subject to additional prohibited product rules beyond the standard marketplace restrictions.
• Geographic sales restrictions apply — Many permitted items, such as airsoft guns, BB guns, and signaling flares, are subject to geographic limitations based on state and local laws.
• Imitation weapons have specific requirements — Many states regulate the size, color, and markings of imitation weapons, and non-compliant replicas are prohibited on Amazon.

Ammunition Restrictions

Amazon broadly prohibits the sale of firearm ammunition and ammunition components. This includes cartridges for pistols, rifles, assault weapons, shotgun shells, slug loads, hollow point rounds, musket balls, and all ammunition components such as gun powder, brass casings, bullet tips, primers, smokeless powder, and black powder. However, certain non-lethal or non-explosive ammunition types are allowed with geographic restrictions. Sellers may list BB, air, pellet, and airsoft ammunition, paint gun pellets, and non-explosive training aids such as solid plastic ammunition rounds. The critical distinction Amazon draws is whether the ammunition contains lead or gunpowder — products without those materials generally fall into the permitted category.

Explosives Policy