Signing up to sell on Amazon starts at sell.amazon.com, where you’ll create a Seller Central account by providing business details, identity documents, tax information, and a bank account for deposits. The entire registration can be completed in one sitting, though identity verification typically takes up to three business days before your account is fully active.
Pick a Selling Plan First
Amazon offers two selling plans, and you’ll choose one during registration. The Individual plan charges $0.99 per item sold, with no monthly fee. The Professional plan costs $39.99 per month regardless of how many items you sell. If you expect to sell more than 40 items a month, the Professional plan is cheaper. It also unlocks tools you won’t get on the Individual plan: bulk listing, advertising, eligibility for the Buy Box, and access to restricted product categories.
You can switch between plans at any time, so if you’re testing the waters with a handful of products, starting on the Individual plan and upgrading later is a reasonable approach. Both plans charge additional referral fees (a percentage of each sale that varies by category), but those apply equally regardless of which plan you choose.
What You Need Before You Start
Gather these before you begin registration so you don’t get stuck mid-process:
- Email address: Amazon recommends using one that’s separate from any existing customer or Amazon Business account. If you already have an Amazon Brand Registry, Amazon Ads, or Vendor Central account, use that same email to sync access.
- Government-issued ID: A passport or driver’s license. You’ll upload a color scan or photo showing all four corners with legible text. No screenshots or blurry images.
- Business details: Your legal business name, registration number, and registered address exactly as they appear on your business license. If you’re selling as an individual without a registered business, you’ll select “None, I am an individual” as your business type.
- Tax identification number: Your Social Security Number (SSN) if you’re registering as an individual, or your Employer Identification Number (EIN) if you’re registering as a business. The name and number you provide must match IRS records exactly.
- Bank account and routing number: Amazon deposits your sales proceeds here on a regular schedule.
- Credit card: A valid, chargeable credit card for any fees Amazon bills to your account.
Step-by-Step Registration
Create Your Account
Go to sell.amazon.com and click “Sign up.” Enter your name, email address, and a password, then click “Create your Amazon account.” If you’d rather use credentials from an existing Amazon customer account, you can enter those instead.
Enter Business Information
Select the country where your business is registered (or where you’re doing business, if you’re not incorporated). Then choose your business type: publicly listed, privately owned, charitable organization, or individual. If you’re an individual seller without a formal business entity, choose the individual option. For registered businesses, enter the exact legal name, company registration number, and address from your business license. The company registration number is different from your EIN.
Provide Seller Information
This section identifies you as the primary contact person for the account. You’ll enter your legal name, date of birth, and address. Amazon uses this to verify your identity, so make sure everything matches your government-issued ID.
Complete Identity Verification
Upload a high-quality color scan or photo of your ID document. Amazon verifies your identity, and this step usually takes three business days or less. You may also be asked to upload a bank statement or utility bill as proof of address. Use clear images that show all four corners of each document.
Complete the Tax Interview
Amazon walks you through an online tax interview to collect the information needed for IRS reporting. If you’re registering as an individual, enter your name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card, along with your SSN. If you’re registering as a business, enter your EIN and the business name exactly as it appears on the CP575A notice the IRS sent when you received that EIN.
For single-member LLCs, you have two options: enter the business owner’s SSN and personal name, or enter the EIN and business name. Don’t enter the EIN of a disregarded entity. For partnerships, use the name from your partnership agreement. For S corps, C corps, and multi-member LLCs, refer to your CP575 notice from the IRS to confirm your federal tax classification.
If the name and number you enter don’t match IRS records, your tax information will come back as invalid. Double-check everything against the original IRS documents before submitting.
Set Up Your Store and Product Details
Enter the name you want customers to see when they view your listings. This is your store name, and it appears on every product offer and your public seller profile. You’ll also answer questions about whether you have product codes (like UPCs or barcodes), whether you manufacture or own a brand, and whether you hold any relevant business certifications.
Add Payment Information
You’ll provide both a credit card and a bank account during registration. The credit card covers Amazon’s selling fees when your account balance doesn’t cover them. The bank account is where Amazon sends your payouts. Deposits typically happen every two weeks, though new sellers may experience a longer initial hold period while Amazon builds a reserve against potential returns or chargebacks.
Restricted Categories to Know About
Not every product category on Amazon is open to new sellers. Certain categories require approval before you can list products in them. These include beauty and personal care, dietary supplements, grocery and gourmet food, health products, medical devices, jewelry, electronics accessories, and textiles. Each category has its own documentation requirements, which can range from FDA registration and safety testing to distributor invoices and lab certificates of analysis.
Getting approved, a process sellers call “ungating,” generally takes two to three weeks and involves gathering documentation, submitting an application through Seller Central, and waiting for Amazon’s review. Costs for testing and compliance documentation range from around $500 for simpler product categories to over $2,000 for categories like health products or electronics that require more rigorous certification. If you plan to sell in one of these categories, factor in this timeline and expense before listing anything.
Categories that are typically open without approval, like books, home and kitchen, and toys (outside of the holiday season), let you start listing immediately after your account is verified.
After Your Account Is Approved
Once Amazon verifies your identity, you’ll have full access to Seller Central, your dashboard for managing listings, orders, inventory, and payments. From here you can create your first product listing by searching Amazon’s catalog for an existing product (if you’re reselling something already on the platform) or by creating a new listing from scratch (if you’re selling your own product).
You’ll also choose how to fulfill orders. With Fulfillment by Merchant, you store, pack, and ship products yourself. With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you send inventory to Amazon’s warehouses and they handle storage, shipping, and customer service. FBA charges storage and fulfillment fees but makes your products eligible for Prime shipping, which can significantly increase sales.
Your first listing can go live the same day your account is approved. There’s no waiting period beyond identity verification, so having your product details, photos, and pricing ready before registration means you can start selling within days of signing up.