Overview

Amazon's return authorization system determines how seller-fulfilled return requests are handled — either automatically or through manual seller review. Understanding when and how to authorize returns is essential for maintaining good account health, staying compliant with Amazon's policies, and keeping customers satisfied. This guide covers the key distinctions between automatic and manual authorization, which product categories require seller involvement, and the step-by-step process for managing return requests efficiently.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Most returns are auto-authorized — Amazon automatically approves US seller-fulfilled return requests that fall within its standard return policy, so sellers don't need to take action on routine returns.
• Category-exempt items require manual review — Certain product categories and subcategories are excluded from automatic authorization, meaning sellers must personally review and approve or deny these requests.
• 24-hour response deadline — Sellers are required to respond to return requests that need manual authorization within 24 hours of receiving the notification.
• SKU exemption requests are honored — If sellers have previously filed requests to exempt specific SKUs from Amazon's Prepaid Returns Label program, return requests for those items are also automatically authorized.
• Bulk authorization is available — Sellers can authorize multiple return requests simultaneously rather than processing them one at a time.

Automatic vs. Manual Authorization

Amazon handles the majority of seller-fulfilled returns automatically when the request falls within its published return policy. This means that for standard, in-policy returns, the system approves the request without any seller intervention. However, when a return request falls outside of Amazon's return policy or involves a category-exempt product, the system flags it for manual seller review. Amazon sends an email notification to the seller when manual authorization is needed, so it's important to keep notification preferences up to date. Failing to respond within the 24-hour window can negatively impact account metrics and customer satisfaction.