Quick answer. During seller registration, after you upload your documents, Amazon may ask you either to take a photo of your face and your government-issued ID or to join or schedule a video call with an Amazon associate. Amazon says to bring your government-issued ID and your proof of residential address to that call. The person on camera must be the person whose identity document was submitted for the account. Every detail you hold up, including name, date of birth, ID number, expiry date and address, has to match what you typed into Seller Central exactly. Most failed calls are not fraud. They come from mismatched documents, an expired or cropped ID, an old address proof, or a call taken in poor conditions. Prepare the originals, check every data point against your account before the call, and if Amazon asks you to resubmit, use the window it gives you.
Sellers dread the video call more than any other part of registration. It happens live, it feels like an interrogation, and there is no chance to edit an answer afterward. In practice it is a narrow check. Amazon wants to see that a real person matching the identity document is behind the account, and that the documents in that person’s hand are the same ones uploaded.
This is educational information, not legal advice.
What the video call is, and when Amazon asks for one
The video call is one route through Amazon’s seller identity verification. Amazon’s registration guide sets out the order of events. You enter business information, seller information, billing details and store information, then reach identity verification. There you upload documents, and Amazon then prompts you either to take a photo of your face and your government-issued ID, or to join or schedule a video call with an Amazon associate. Amazon does not publish which sellers get which route, so being asked for a call is not an accusation.
What Amazon is checking
Amazon’s help page on global seller identity, address, and business verification says Amazon must verify the identity of the legal representative or beneficial owner registering the account, and the legitimacy of the business and address information. The person registering, whom Amazon calls the primary contact person, must provide an identity document, business verification documents and proof of address. In the verification section you confirm details under Identity, Address verification, Beneficial owner and Business verification.
Registration versus re-verification
Most video calls happen during onboarding. Existing accounts face a related process. Amazon’s Seller performance review page says an account may need to go through review if you change the address you registered with, your bank account details or your phone number, or if your credit card information is not updated or is invalid. Amazon notes that list is examples only and is not exhaustive. If your account was deactivated after passing verification, that page is where Amazon points you. Our guide on business verification suspensions and how to get the account back covers that deactivation path. This article stays on the identity check and the call itself.
What Amazon tells you to bring to the call
Amazon’s registration guide says to bring your government-issued ID and proof of residential address. The call checks the same documents as the upload, so the rest of this section follows Amazon’s document requirements.
The identity document
For a business located in the United States, Amazon’s United States requirements page accepts passports, passport cards, national identity cards, driving licenses, enhanced driving licenses, citizenship cards, permanent residency cards, health cards and military identification cards. Under certain circumstances, to meet its obligations under US law, Amazon may ask for a specific type of identity document and will tell you if so. The document must meet these conditions.
- Be a government-issued photo ID recognized and issued by the country where you are a citizen or resident.
- Show first and last name, and that name must match the name entered as the primary contact person in your seller account.
- Include a date of birth showing the holder is 18 or older, and show the unique ID number.
- Have an expiration date if one applies, and the bearer’s signature if one applies.
- Include both sides if the back carries important information such as a signature, expiry date, birth date or barcode, and be a color copy when uploaded.
Amazon’s FAQ on global seller identity verification adds that it does not accept visas or travel permit documents such as NEXUS, SENTRI or Global Entry. The date of birth, ID number and expiry date you typed in must match the document exactly. One transposed digit in the ID number creates a mismatch the associate cannot resolve on the call.
Proof of address
Amazon lists accepted address documents by seller type. For individual sellers, the US list includes a bank statement for a checking, savings or loan account, a credit card statement, an account statement from an e-commerce payment provider, a certified bank letter, a utility bill, rent or lease documents, a credit union statement, a mortgage statement, a benefits letter or a tax identity document containing the address. Professional sellers can also use a business license or business extract. The US page sets three criteria. The document must have been issued within the past 180 days and show the issue date, due date or transaction dates. It must show at least one of the financial institution’s name, stamp, signature or logo. It must have the name and address of the account holder. The global page adds that proof of address cannot be handwritten and must carry the provider’s name or logo, the customer’s name, the complete address and the date of issue.
Business documents, if you registered as a business
Business sellers also provide government-issued documents that must match the business information in the account. Examples are a certificate of good standing stating the business is active and compliant as of the past 180 days, a business license issued or renewed within the past 180 days, a tax clearance certificate, or an official registry extract showing the business is active. The point of contact and business owner also upload business association documents such as a letter of authorization, articles of association or incorporation documents. Keep these on the desk during the call.
Form standards that apply to every document
Amazon’s global verification page sets general requirements for every document. It must be valid and not expired, clear and in focus, and complete rather than angled or cropped. It must be a scan or photo of the original, front and back where relevant, under 50MB, and in TIF, TIFF, PNG, JPG, PDF or JPEG format with no special characters in the file name. It must be authentic, unaltered, not password-protected, and in an accepted language or accompanied by a notarized translation. The registration guide adds no screenshots or blurry images, all four corners visible, and a signature where one is required.
| Item | Amazon’s stated standard | What sinks it on the call |
|---|---|---|
| Government photo ID | Name matches primary contact. Date of birth, ID number and expiry entered exactly. Both sides if important data is on the back | Expired card, a middle name on the ID that is missing from the account, a visa or trusted-traveler card offered as ID |
| Proof of address | Issued within the past 180 days, institution identified, name and address of the account holder, not handwritten | A statement older than 180 days, an address from before a move, a document in a spouse’s name |
| Business document | Government-issued, matches account business information. Good standing or license within the past 180 days | A formation certificate from years ago, a trade name that differs from the legal name entered |
| Letter of authorization | Signed by the legal representative, director, beneficial owner or trustee, with the issue date | Unsigned, undated, or signed by the person it authorizes |
Who has to be on the call
This question ends more verifications than any document problem. Amazon ties the identity document to the primary contact person, and the ID name must match the primary contact name in the account. Its FAQ says the primary contact has access to the account, provides registration information for the account holder and initiates transactions, and that the primary contact’s actions are deemed to be the account holder’s. The face on the call has to belong to the person on the submitted ID.
The rule we hold without exception
Only the genuine account holder, the person whose identity document was submitted, appears on the call. Not a business partner, a spouse, a virtual assistant, an employee, a consultant, or anyone from our team. If someone offers to sit the call for you, decline. Having another person present themselves as the account holder is impersonation. It is exactly what the check exists to catch, and it puts the account at risk of permanent loss. If the wrong person was named as primary contact during registration, correct the account details through Seller Central before verification. Do not send the person who matches the wrong details.
When the business has more than one owner
Business sellers list each beneficial owner, director or trustee, meaning a natural person who directly or indirectly owns more than 25 percent of the shares or voting rights, or a senior manager if nobody qualifies. Amazon says you can list up to four. If the primary contact is not the owner, a letter of authorization signed and dated by the legal representative, director, beneficial owner or trustee is required, merged with the business license or ID into a single upload. Amazon does not publish whether co-owners must join the call, so follow the instructions in your own request.
How to schedule the call and run your pre-call check
Amazon offers scheduling inside the verification step of registration. You either join a call or book a time. Amazon does not publish the call length, the software used or a rescheduling limit, so none are given here. Read the scheduling screen and the confirmation email carefully, note the time zone, and keep the confirmation where you can find it. Book a time when the account holder is free, rested and somewhere quiet.
Reconcile before you book
Do the matching work before the appointment. Open the Seller Central identity page beside the physical documents and compare them field by field. Legal first and last name, middle names and suffixes, date of birth, ID number, ID expiry, residential address down to unit number and postal code, business legal name, registration number and business address. Every difference is a reason to stop and correct either the account or the document set before the call, using genuine documents only.
Prepare the room and the connection
Amazon does not publish technical requirements for the call. In our experience a few conditions remove most avoidable failures. A stable connection, a charged device with a clean lens, light on your face from the front, a closed door, notifications silenced and the originals laid out within reach. Test camera and microphone the day before, on the same device in the same room.
What commonly goes wrong
Failures fall into a few predictable patterns. Each has a legitimate fix, and none involves changing a document.
Mismatched documents
The most common failure is a genuine document that disagrees with the account. A seller registers as “Jon A. Smith” while the passport reads “Jonathan Andrew Smith”. The bank statement shows the apartment before a move. The LLC was entered under its trade name while the state certificate shows the legal name. Nothing is fake, but the associate cannot match them. For a mismatch, Amazon’s Seller performance review page says to update the name or address in Seller Central to match the documents, or to provide relevant documents that justify the difference.
Expired, cropped or unacceptable documents
A driver’s license that expired last month, an ID photographed at an angle with one corner missing, a black and white copy, a screenshot of a banking app, a trusted-traveler card. Each fails the published standards before the call starts. Check expiry dates the week you book, not the day of the call.
The wrong person
One partner opened the account and another takes the call, or a relative registered with their own details for someone else’s business. The face on camera does not match the identity on file. Verification exists to stop this, and the only legitimate fix is to make the account reflect the real person who operates and controls it.
Poor connection and poor conditions
Frozen video, a camera that cannot focus on the ID number, glare on a laminated card or interruptions can make a clean file inconclusive. You control all of these.
An address proof in the wrong format
An internet bill in a roommate’s name, an unsigned lease, a statement older than 180 days, or a handwritten letter all fail the published proof-of-address criteria. If you rent a coworking space and have no utility bill in your name, Amazon’s Seller performance review FAQ says you can provide the coworking company’s utility bill together with a lease or rental agreement.
For a closely related case, read Amazon Coupons, Promotions and Deals Policy.
How to verify your own file before Amazon does
Audit your file against the same records before the call, and note what you find.
| Question | Where to check | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| What did I enter as primary contact? | Seller Central, Settings, Account settings, Business Information, Identity Information | Legal name exactly as on the ID, date of birth, ID number and expiry |
| Is my business active and named as I entered it? | Your state business registry, reached through the NASS corporate registration directory | Exact legal name, entity number, active or good standing status, registered address |
| Does the business name match my tax records? | IRS EIN guidance. CP575 notice or Letter 147C | Legal name as it appears on formation documents and on the IRS record |
| Is my address proof acceptable? | The statement or bill itself, against Amazon’s US requirements page | Issue date within 180 days, institution identified, my name and current address |
| Is anything pending or requested? | Registration email, Seller Central verification page, Performance Notifications for live accounts | Open requests, deadlines, the exact documents named |
| Are owners and authorizations complete? | Seller Central Identity information, beneficial owner section | Every owner above 25 percent listed, letter of authorization signed and dated where needed |
Using official records to resolve name differences
If your business name differs between documents, the state registry shows the name of record. The IRS asks businesses to use the name as it appears on formation documents. If you lost your EIN paperwork, eligible users can download a CP575 in Business Tax Account, or request Letter 147C on the IRS business line, 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Use these genuine records to decide whether the account or a document needs correcting.
What happens after the call
Amazon’s registration guide says identity verification usually takes three business days or less. The global verification page says that once you upload everything, Seller Central shows a confirmation, Amazon reviews the information and might contact you for clarification within two business days, and keeps you informed by email at the address used to register. The FAQ says verification could take up to two business days once Amazon has everything it needs. These are Amazon’s stated aims, not guarantees, and the clock starts only once the file is complete.
Do not touch the file while it is under review
Amazon is explicit. Do not resubmit documents or submit an appeal while it is reviewing your information. The FAQ adds that you cannot update information or upload documents while verification is in progress, and that business location and business type usually cannot be edited after you select Agree and continue in the business information section. Choose those two fields carefully on day one.
If Amazon asks you to resubmit
When Amazon cannot verify what you provided and asks for resubmission, the global page gives you 30 days to complete the request. If Amazon does not receive your documents in that time, onboarding is closed and the account will not be activated. For security reasons Amazon only accepts documents uploaded through Seller Central, so never email documents to anyone claiming to be Amazon.
Verification failed or a deadline is running?
Send us the case and we will check your file for consistency with you, using genuine documents only.
How to recover from a failed verification
A resubmission request, a declined application and a deactivated live account are different situations. In each one, find the real cause, correct it with genuine records, and put a control in place so it does not recur.
Diagnose the real cause
Write down exactly what Amazon said and the date, then classify the trigger. Routine onboarding is a document task. A check after you changed account information points to the field that changed. A doubt about who operates the account is more serious, overlaps with account control questions, and must be answered by honestly proving the real operator’s identity and control.
Find the mismatch
Mark every disagreement between the documents and the account. Most failures trace to one honest gap. Take a hypothetical sole owner who moves in March and updates her driver’s license in April, but registers in June with a bank statement from February showing the old apartment. The ID shows the new address and the statement shows the old one. The fix is a genuine statement issued after the move, or updating the account and supplying a document that genuinely shows the current address.
Correct it with genuine documents only
Amazon requires documents to be authentic and unaltered. Never edit a PDF, change a date, retype a statement or ask a provider for a document that misstates facts. Verification is designed to catch exactly that, and an altered document turns a fixable mismatch into a case about falsified records. Our guide on forged or manipulated documentation suspensions shows how much worse that outcome is. If you cannot get a genuine document that shows the right information, you have three honest options. Correct the account so it matches your real records, get a new genuine document from the issuer after updating your details with them, or accept that the account cannot be verified as currently set up.
Know when a decision is final
Amazon’s FAQ says verification decisions on declined applications are final and based on the information and documentation it received. While a resubmission is still open, you can fix the file. Once an application has been declined outright, Amazon’s published position is that the decision stands, and we will not tell you otherwise.
Recovering a live account that failed re-verification
For an existing account deactivated after an information change, Amazon’s Seller performance review page sets the path. Sign in, open the deactivation alert, go to Account Health, select Submit new information, and check Performance Notifications for the documents required, or open the notification marked View Appeal. Review can take up to two business days from receipt, and you cannot sell until verification is complete. For this review, a utility bill must show the holder’s name and address, the provider’s name, address and logo if applicable, and an issue or due date, and it must have been issued within the past 90 days. The account holder’s name and address in at least one document must match Seller Central. Where Amazon invites a written explanation, a plan of action helps. Name the specific mismatch as the root cause, list the corrections already made with the documents that prove them, and describe the control that keeps your records consistent from now on, with an owner and a review date. Our article on writing a plan of action that will not be ignored covers the structure.
For a closely related case, read Amazon Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate.
Mistakes that turn a fixable problem into a lost account
Sellers who lose accounts at this stage usually had a verifiable identity. A decision made under pressure sank them. Sending a stand-in to the call, editing a document to force a match, resubmitting again and again during review, letting the 30 day resubmission window lapse, or sending documents anywhere other than Seller Central. Opening a second account to start over is not a workaround either. Our guide on whether you can have multiple Amazon seller accounts explains Amazon’s rules.
A routine that keeps you verification ready
Re-verification can arrive whenever account information changes, so treat identity records as a standing control.
- One identity, everywhere. Legal name, date of birth and address read the same on the ID, bank account, card, tax record and Seller Central.
- A dated document folder. Current ID, a recent statement, the state good standing record and any letter of authorization, with expiry and issue dates on a calendar.
- Change in order. When you move or change banks, update the issuer first, obtain genuine documents with the new details, then update Seller Central.
- A named owner and review date. One person owns the folder and reviews it each quarter and before any planned account change.
If you are still deciding whether to register at all, our guide on opening an Amazon seller account and the risks that come with it covers the wider setup. If an existing account is already deactivated, our Amazon suspension service works these cases.
For a closely related case, read Selling on Amazon From China.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Amazon ask you to bring to the verification video call?
Amazon’s registration guide says to bring your government-issued ID and proof of residential address. Business sellers should also have their business documents and any letter of authorization ready, because the call checks the same file.
Who has to attend the Amazon video verification call?
The genuine account holder whose identity document was submitted, and whose name must match the primary contact in Seller Central. Nobody may appear in that person’s place.
How old can my proof of address be?
Amazon’s US requirements say proof of address must have been issued within the past 180 days and show the issue date, due date or transaction dates. For the Seller performance review on live accounts, Amazon states that utility bills must be issued within the past 90 days.
How long does verification take after the call?
Amazon says identity verification usually takes three business days or less, and its FAQ says verification could take up to two business days once it has everything. These are Amazon’s stated aims, not guarantees.
How long do I have if Amazon asks me to resubmit?
Amazon’s global verification page gives 30 days. If documents are not received in that time, onboarding is closed and the account is not activated.
Can I appeal a declined verification?
Amazon’s FAQ states that verification decisions are final and based on the information and documents it received. Where a resubmission request is still open, use it to fix the file.
What if my documents do not match my account?
Amazon says to update the name or address in Seller Central to match your documents, or to provide documents that justify the difference. Never alter a document to create a match.
Get Help With Amazon Identity Verification
If your verification failed, a resubmission deadline is running, or a live account was deactivated after a change to its details, we review your file for consistency with you before anything is sent. We work only with genuine documents and the genuine account holder. Submit your case or book a consultation.
This article is educational information about Amazon’s published verification requirements, not legal advice. Amazon’s requirements, windows and processes change. Check the current Seller Central help pages and your own notifications before acting. No outcome, timeline or reinstatement is guaranteed.
You can also see all our marketplace suspension services.
Sources
- Amazon: How to register as an Amazon seller (registration guide)
- Amazon Seller Central: Global seller identity, address, and business verification
- Amazon Seller Central: Frequently asked questions about Global SIV
- Amazon Seller Central: If your business location is the United States
- Amazon Seller Central: Seller performance review
- IRS: Employer ID numbers
- National Association of Secretaries of State: Corporate registration
