Overview

In 2025 Amazon overhauled its policy‑compliance system, adding stricter enforcement, higher documentation standards, and a two‑track review process that blends automated scans with human audits. The changes now tie compliance directly to account‑health scores, listing visibility, and a seller’s ability to stay active on the platform, making it a top‑priority task for every third‑party vendor.

Key Points

• Account‑Health weighting increased — Amazon now factors policy breaches, defect metrics, and response times into a single health score; dropping below the set threshold triggers warnings or suspension.
• FBA reimbursement calculations tightened — Reimbursements are based on Amazon’s internal valuation rather than the seller’s cost estimate, forcing sellers to keep precise inventory and cost records.
• Listing accuracy requirements raised — Every product detail must be factual and verifiable; any misleading claim is treated as a direct policy violation.
• Intellectual‑property enforcement intensified — Sellers must upload proof of authorization for branded items, and IP infractions now carry heavy weight in health‑score calculations.
• Star‑only feedback launched — Buyers can leave ratings without written comments, reducing sellers’ ability to dispute negative feedback and increasing the need for internal record‑keeping.
• Packaging compliance mandatory — FBA shipments must use cut‑ and puncture‑resistant packaging; Amazon has stopped offering prep services for non‑compliant parcels.

How Enforcement Works

1. Automated monitoring — Continuous algorithms scan listings, order data, and customer interactions. For example, a seller who repeatedly uses prohibited keywords in a title will be flagged within hours of the first infraction.
2. Manual review trigger — When the system flags an account, a human team examines the case, checks supporting documents, and validates the violation. A seller whose shipment tracking consistently falls below 95 % may receive a manual audit that reviews carrier logs and packaging photos.