Quick answer. The Amazon Seller Code of Conduct is the rule set that bars sellers from damaging or abusing another seller, contacting buyers outside Buyer-Seller Messaging and steering buyers off Amazon. A violation is logged on your Account Health page and costs Account Health Rating points, and severe or repeated conduct can end in deactivation. Clearing it means stopping the conduct the same day, naming who did what and when, and proving the business now has controls that block a repeat.

What the Amazon Seller Code of Conduct Requires

Amazon publishes the Code on its Selling policies and seller code of conduct page in Seller Central. The page opens with the purpose. Sellers must act fairly and honestly on Amazon to ensure a safe buying and selling experience. It then sets out nine obligations that apply to every seller.

• Provide accurate information to Amazon and customers at all times.
• Act fairly and not misuse Amazon’s features or services.
• Not attempt to damage or abuse another seller, their listings or ratings.
• Not attempt to influence customers’ ratings, feedback and reviews.
• Not send unsolicited or inappropriate communications.
• Not contact customers except through Buyer-Seller Messaging.
• Not attempt to circumvent the Amazon sales process.
• Not operate more than one selling account on Amazon without a legitimate business need.
• Not engage in conduct that violates price fixing laws.

The same page states that violating the Code or any other Amazon policy may result in cancellation of listings, suspension or forfeiture of payments, and removal of selling privileges. Near the top it adds that seller offenses and prohibited content can result in suspension of the account. Those three outcomes cover listings, money and the account itself, which is why a Code case is never only a metrics problem.

How a violation reaches your account

The notice arrives as a policy warning in Account Health, usually with an email pointing you there. Amazon’s list of policies included in Account Health Rating names “Selling policies and seller code of conduct” and, separately, its Communication guidelines. Both feed the same score, so a messaging breach and a competitor complaint can stack against one account.

The Account Health Rating program policy sets the mechanics. Amazon scores each store account on a scale from 0 to 1,000, built on the last 180 days of policy adherence and selling activity. Every new seller starts at 200. A score of 200 to 1,000 is green and Healthy, 100 to 199 is yellow and At Risk, and 99 or lower is red and Unhealthy, meaning the account is eligible for deactivation or already deactivated. You lose points when a new violation is detected and gain them back when you successfully address it.

Points depend on severity. Amazon uses four levels, critical, high, medium and low, and states that critical violations can lead to immediate account enforcement. Repeat violations of the same policy carry higher point values each time. An account may be at immediate risk of deactivation once it reaches the maximum number of repeat violations for a single policy in a 180-day period, and Amazon says that maximum can be as low as two for higher severity violations. Regardless of the score, Amazon may deactivate an account immediately if it suspects fraudulent, deceptive, illegal or otherwise harmful activity.

For most Code of Conduct cases the sequence runs warning, lost points, then deactivation for severe or repeated conduct. That gives the seller a window to fix the practice before the account is at stake, which few other Amazon policies offer. Our guide on the Amazon Code of Conduct warning walks through that first stage, and our breakdown of Code of Conduct deactivation after repeat cases covers what changes once the window closes.

The business models that trigger it

Three operating models produce most of the Code of Conduct files we open.

• Private label sellers in crowded niches. When a copycat listing appears every few weeks, test-buying competitor products to file complaints, or reporting competitors without solid grounds, crosses into abuse.
• Brands policing resellers without valid IP grounds. Complaints filed to remove competing offers, rather than to stop real infringement, lead straight to a Code violation.
• Sellers moving buyers off the platform. Emails, package inserts or messages that send buyers to another website or ask them to transact elsewhere.

Each model can run compliantly. File complaints only where you hold the right and can show infringement. Use Buyer-Seller Messaging only for order fulfillment and customer service. Never place orders on competitor listings to manipulate them. Pull any insert or message that invites buyers to deal with you off Amazon. Dropshippers face an overlapping set of rules on packing slips and seller of record, set out in our guide to the Amazon drop shipping policy violation.

Account access matters here too. A competitor or former contractor with a working login can send messages or file complaints in your name, so read Amazon seller account security setup and, if access was already taken, our steps to recover a hacked Amazon seller account and payouts.

Actions Treated as Abusing Another Seller

The Code’s acting fairly section lists examples of unfair activity. Two entries speak to how sellers treat each other. The first targets a rival’s listings and ratings directly. The second covers allowing other people to act on your behalf in a way that violates Amazon’s policies or your agreement with Amazon. The rest of the list describes conduct that shows up in competitor disputes. It includes providing misleading information such as multiple detail pages for the same product, manipulating sales rank through non-authentic or externally refunded orders, raising a price after an order is confirmed, inflating web traffic with bots or paid clicks, and inflating search ranking through keyword manipulation.

Orders placed to manipulate a competitor

Buying a competitor’s product so you can file an authenticity or safety complaint, leave a negative review or return it to damage their metrics is an attempt to damage another seller. The Code’s review rules make the point twice, because sellers may not review their own products or a competitor’s products. A purchase made for genuine product comparison differs from one made to generate a complaint. The reviewer judges by what happened after the order arrived.

Complaints without valid grounds

Intellectual property complaints are a legitimate tool for rights owners. Used against competitors without a valid right, they become abuse. The Code addresses one version by name. Amazon accepts submissions from authorized agents and brand protection agencies, but it does not permit individuals with active selling accounts to file infringement notices as an agent of a brand when those notices could benefit their own selling account, for example by removing competing listings. Sellers filing notices as an agent to benefit their own status as a seller may have their selling account terminated.

The same logic applies to complaints filed in your own name. Before filing, confirm that you own the right, that the listing infringes it, and that you can show how. Our guide on abusive IP notice warnings covers the audit we run on a brand’s filing history when Amazon questions it.

Attacks on ratings and reviews

The Code bars paying for or offering an incentive such as coupons or free products in exchange for providing or removing reviews. Funding negative reviews on a competitor, or reviewing a competitor’s product yourself, damages another seller and manipulates reviews in one act. Our article on review manipulation deactivation shows how fast that conduct escalates once Amazon links it to your account.

Listing and rank interference

Creating duplicate detail pages for the same product, posting misleading content to a page you share with other sellers, or pushing sales rank with orders you paid for all fall inside the Code’s unfair activity examples. If your team edits detail pages shared with other sellers, every edit must be accurate and supportable under Amazon’s detail page rules, with a record of who made it.

If a complaint campaign or a test-buy program has already cost you the account, our Amazon suspension team rebuilds the filing record and drafts the appeal around it.

Buyer Contact Rules

The second half of most Code of Conduct cases is buyer contact. The Code is short on this point. You may not send unsolicited or inappropriate messages. All communications to customers must go through Buyer-Seller Messaging and be necessary for fulfilling the order or providing customer service. Marketing communications are prohibited.

Customer information

If you receive customer information such as addresses or phone numbers to fulfill orders, the Code says you may use it only to fulfill orders and must delete it after the order has been processed. You may not use customer information to contact customers, except through Buyer-Seller Messaging, or share it with any third party. Adding Amazon buyers to an email list, a text campaign or a retargeting audience breaks this rule the moment the upload runs.

Circumventing the sales process

The Code says you may not attempt to circumvent the Amazon sales process or divert Amazon customers to another website. You may not provide links or messages that prompt buyers to visit an external website or complete a transaction elsewhere. Package inserts that promote your own store, offer a discount for buying direct, or ask buyers to register on your site fall inside that rule.

The Communication program policy

Amazon’s Communication program policy sets the detailed rules for Buyer-Seller Messaging. It states that all communications between buyers and sellers must occur through the messaging service, and that direct contact through any other channel, including email, phone, mail or social media, is strictly prohibited. Failure to comply may result in Amazon blocking delivery of your message, restricting your ability to compose proactive messages, and suspension or termination of selling privileges under the Business Solutions Agreement. Our guide to Amazon Buyer-Seller Messaging covers templates line by line.

Print the main rules on one page for anyone who touches the inbox.

The prohibited content list also bars language discouraging buyers from filing a claim with Amazon, asking unhappy buyers to reach out first while asking happy buyers for a review, and requesting that buyers submit a cancellation when you are out of stock. Templates written three or four years ago often contain at least one of these lines. Audit every saved template against the current policy, because the policy gets updated and saved templates stay frozen.

Responding to a Code of Conduct Warning

Our method for these cases starts from one position. The business’s conduct is compliant, and the cited concern traces to a narrow, now-closed cause. Every line of the response supports that sentence with specifics.

Amazon is asking whether the seller used platform tools against someone else. The first diagnostic question we ask is who in the business can file complaints or message buyers, because these violations usually trace to one person or one agency acting without controls.

The first 48 hours

1. Open Account Health, select the violation and record the policy cited, the date and any ASIN, order or complaint ID shown.
2. Stop the practice the same day. Pause the template, pull the insert from packing, or freeze the complaint program.
3. Pull the records the violation points to, including Report Infringement and Brand Registry filings, the Buyer-Seller Messaging history, orders placed on other sellers’ listings and current insert artwork.
4. Widen the audit to the last 180 days, the same window the Account Health Rating uses.
5. Change user permissions so only named owners can file complaints or send proactive messages.
6. Write and sign a conduct procedure, then have every user re-attest to the Code. We target finishing steps 1 to 6 within 24 to 48 hours of the notice.
7. Draft the response and submit it through the violation on the Account Health page.

Read the violation and identify the conduct

The notice names a policy, not a person. Match it to your own records until you can point to the specific message, complaint or order, with dates and IDs. If you cannot find it, say so and list what you searched. A response built on a guess about the cause fails when the reviewer compares it with the data Amazon holds.

Stop the conduct and audit related activity

If one template broke the rules, check all templates. If one complaint was filed without grounds, review every complaint filed in the period. If an agency filed it, pull its full filing history on your account. The audit result belongs in the response, including the number of items reviewed and the number corrected.

Write the root cause precisely

Name the specific conduct, message or complaint, with dates and IDs, and the gap that allowed it. A composite example of a strong root cause reads “On three dates last month, a contractor managing our customer service used a message template that invited buyers to register on our website for warranty support. The template was created before our current policy review and was never checked against the Communication program policy. No one other than the contractor reviewed outgoing proactive messages.” It owns the cause and does not shift blame to the contractor, Amazon or a competitor.

List corrective actions and preventive measures

Corrective actions are what you have already done. Examples include the template deleted, the inserts removed, complaints withdrawn where they lacked grounds, and the contractor’s access changed. Preventive measures are the permanent controls, a written procedure with an owner, a checkpoint before any complaint is filed or any template is used, and a monthly audit. Generic promises to be more careful fail.

Submit with evidence

Amazon’s guidance to complete an appeal questionnaire asks sellers to be clear, concise, factual and direct, to avoid emotive language, to explain all root causes and to include specific actions, dates of changes or documentation. For a conduct case the evidence pack is usually five items. They are the notice, a corrective action log, the written procedure, the signed attestation and a dated chronology.

First violation compared with repeat violations

A first violation tied to one template, one complaint or one contractor is usually answered at the violation level. The response shows the conduct stopped, the related activity was audited and a control now sits in front of the gap. Because Amazon returns points when a violation is successfully addressed, a prompt and complete answer also repairs the score.

A repeat violation is a different conversation. The points for the same policy rise each time, and two higher severity repeats inside 180 days can put the account at immediate risk. At that stage the reviewer is no longer asking whether one message was fixed. The reviewer is asking whether the business has governance over who can act in its name. The response has to show the permission changes, the checkpoints and the audit record, each with a date. A permanent loss of the account after that point usually arrives as a termination under the agreement, which our guide on Amazon Section 3 termination explains.

Some sellers with a long healthy record are enrolled in Account Health Assurance. Amazon describes it as a commitment not to deactivate the account as long as the seller works with Amazon within 72 hours of being contacted. It is open to professional sellers who keep an Account Health Rating of 250 or higher for at least 6 months, with no more than 10 days below 250, and a valid emergency contact number on file. Amazon can still remove a seller from the program and deactivate immediately for suspected fraudulent, deceptive, illegal or harmful activity, so enrollment never replaces fixing the conduct.

What Never to Do Toward Competitors

Most Code of Conduct cases start with a seller who felt wronged by a competitor. The competitor may well have broken the rules first. The response still has to stay inside Amazon’s tools. These are the actions we tell every client to stop.

• Never place orders on a competitor’s listing to trigger a complaint, a return or a review.
• Never review a competitor’s product, or arrange for anyone else to do so.
• Never file an intellectual property complaint without a right you own and infringement you can show.
• Never file as an agent of a brand when the filing would benefit your own selling account.
• Never post misleading content to a shared detail page to disadvantage a competitor.
• Never contact a competitor’s buyers, or use buyer data you obtained to reach them.
• Never coordinate prices with competitors, since the Code bars conduct that violates price fixing laws.

If a competitor is breaking the rules, report it through Amazon’s own channels with the evidence you have and let Amazon act. A documented report protects you. A retaliatory action puts your account in the same position as theirs.

Regional differences and the law

Amazon applies the Code on its US store and publishes a UK version of the Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct that expresses the same principles in different wording. The UK page lists actions that intentionally damage another seller, their listings or their ratings, and it limits each seller to one Seller Central account for each region unless there is a legitimate business need. Your relationship with Amazon is a contract under the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement in every region. Its Term and Termination section lets Amazon end the agreement for convenience with 30 days’ advance notice, or immediately after a material breach that is not cured within 7 days of a cure notice. The law adds context on top of the contract, and in Europe and the UK it adds procedural rights. The table is general information, and a lawyer should review your own facts before you rely on it.

For EU sellers the timing rules are specific. Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 requires a statement of reasons under Article 17 for a suspension or termination of the seller’s account. Article 20 keeps the internal complaint route open for at least six months after the decision, and Article 21 requires certified out-of-court bodies to decide no later than 90 calendar days after receiving the complaint. Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 adds a 30 day notice period under Article 4(2), an internal complaint system under Article 11 and at least two named mediators under Article 12. In the UK, the retained Article 4 carries the same 30 day notice, with exceptions for repeated breaches of the terms. For data, compare GDPR Article 5 with the UK GDPR Article 5 text. In the US, the copyright rule sits in 17 U.S.C. 512 and the email rules in 15 U.S.C. 7704.

Team Conduct Policy

The Code makes the account responsible for everyone who acts on its behalf. Its acting fairly section lists allowing other people to act on your behalf in a way that violates Amazon’s policies as unfair activity. A contractor’s message, an agency’s complaint or a virtual assistant’s review request is treated as yours.

Route all buyer contact through Buyer-Seller Messaging, and ban any action aimed at a competitor’s listings. The controls below turn those two rules into daily practice.

Permissions

Give each person in Seller Central only the permissions their role needs. Customer service staff need messaging. They do not need Brand Registry or the Report Infringement tool. Agencies filing complaints for your brand should do so under written authority with a filing log you can see. Remove access the day someone leaves.

Checkpoints

• Before any IP complaint. A named owner confirms the right, the infringement and the evidence, and logs the filing.
• Before any template is used. The owner checks it against the Communication program policy and records the check date.
• Before any insert is printed. The owner confirms it contains no external links, discount offers for buying direct or requests for reviews of a particular sentiment.
• Before any purchase on another seller’s listing. The purpose is written down and approved. If the purpose is a complaint, the answer is no.

Monthly audit

Once a month, the owner reviews the complaint log, a sample of outgoing messages, current templates and inserts, and the user permission list. The audit is dated and filed. If Amazon ever asks, twelve dated audits a year are the proof that the controls run in practice and not only on paper.

Other Code obligations that sit alongside this one

The Code also covers multiple accounts and accurate information. Sellers who run more than one account without a legitimate business need, or who give Amazon documents that are not accurate, face separate enforcement. Our guides on the multiple seller accounts policy and on forged or edited documents cover those obligations. If the account is already in trouble across several policies, our guide on an unhealthy Account Health Rating explains how the score combines them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does abusing another seller mean on Amazon?

It means attempting to damage another seller, their listings or their ratings, for example by placing fake orders on their listings, filing complaints without valid grounds or misusing messaging. The Seller Code of Conduct prohibits it directly. Allowing someone else to do it on your behalf counts too.

Can I contact Amazon buyers by email?

No, all buyer contact must go through Buyer-Seller Messaging. Amazon’s Communication program policy prohibits direct contact through email, phone, mail or social media. Customer information you receive for fulfillment may be used only to fulfill the order and must be deleted afterward.

What happens after a Code of Conduct violation?

The violation is recorded on your Account Health page and reduces your Account Health Rating, because the Code is one of the policies included in the rating. Repeat violations of the same policy carry more points each time. Severe or repeated cases can lead to deactivation, sometimes after as few as two higher severity repeats in 180 days.

How do I respond to a Code of Conduct warning?

Explain the cause, the corrective action and the controls that stop it, with dates and IDs. Stop the conduct the same day, audit related activity and put a written policy with an owner and a monthly audit in place. Submit the response through the violation on the Account Health page.

Can staff actions count against my account?

Yes, actions taken through your account count as yours. The Code lists allowing other people to act on your behalf in a way that violates Amazon’s policies as unfair activity. Limit permissions and review what staff and agencies do.

Does Account Health Assurance protect me from a Code of Conduct deactivation?

Only partly, because Amazon keeps the right to deactivate immediately for suspected fraudulent, deceptive, illegal or harmful activity. Enrolled sellers must still work with Amazon within 72 hours of being contacted. The conduct still has to be fixed.

Get Help With an Amazon Code of Conduct Violation

Most first violations can be fixed with the method above. Once a warning becomes a deactivation for repeated conduct, the appeal has to prove a governance change, and that is where we help structure the record. We trace the conduct to its source, build the permission and checkpoint controls, and write the response so the reviewer can see the change.

Go straight to our Amazon suspension and reinstatement service, submit your case for an assessment, or book a consultation to review your team’s conduct controls.

Selling on Walmart, eBay or TikTok Shop as well? Our marketplace suspension services hub lists the desk for each platform.

Sources

1. Amazon Seller Central (US): Selling policies and seller code of conduct
2. Amazon Seller Central (UK): Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct
3. Amazon Seller Central: Communication program policy
4. Amazon Seller Central: Policies included in Account Health Rating
5. Amazon Seller Central: Account Health Rating program policy
6. Amazon Seller Central: Account Health Assurance, frequently asked questions
7. Amazon Seller Central: Complete an appeal questionnaire to reinstate selling privileges
8. Amazon Seller Central: Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement
9. GovInfo: 17 U.S.C. 512
10. GovInfo: 15 U.S.C. 7704
11. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the General Data Protection Regulation
12. legislation.gov.uk: UK GDPR, Article 5
13. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services
14. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the Digital Services Act
15. legislation.gov.uk: Regulation (EU) 2019/1150, Article 4, as it applies in the UK