Amazon Account Health Rating: Key Factors Explained

Your Amazon seller account could be deactivated overnight if your Account Health Rating drops below critical thresholds—but most sellers don't realize their score is calculated using three hidden performance pillars that determine their marketplace survival.

Key Takeaways

• Amazon's Account Health Rating (AHR) ranges from 0-1,000 points and directly determines whether sellers maintain selling privileges or face account deactivation.

• Three core performance pillars – Order Defect Rate, Shipping Performance, and Policy Compliance – form the foundation of AHR calculations based on 180 days of activity.

• Critical score thresholds exist at 200+ (Healthy), 100-199 (At Risk), and 99 or below (Deactivation Eligible) with different consequences at each level.

• Strategic violation addressing and Amazon's specialized support programs can help sellers recover from low ratings before permanent account loss occurs.

Amazon's Account Health Rating system represents one of the most consequential metrics in eCommerce today. This numerical score doesn't just reflect past performance – it actively determines whether millions of dollars in seller revenue continues flowing or gets cut off entirely. Understanding these rating factors becomes vital for any seller serious about long-term success on the platform.

Amazon's 0-1000 Rating System Determines Your Selling Future

Amazon's Account Health Rating operates as a real-time numerical score ranging from 0 to 1,000 points. This isn't just another performance metric – it's a predictive system that determines account deactivation risk based on policy adherence and selling activities over the past 180 days. New sellers automatically start with an AHR of 200, providing a foundation that fluctuates based on every business decision and operational choice made on the platform.

The system represents Amazon's shift toward holistic account assessment rather than isolated violation tracking. Instead of simply counting individual policy breaches, the AHR weighs violations against overall account performance, sales volume, and compliance history. FBA Lead List emphasizes that this approach means sellers must maintain consistent performance across all operational areas rather than excelling in some while neglecting others.

Machine learning algorithms continuously monitor policy compliance while human reviewers assess complex violations and appeals. This dual-layer system ensures that accounts receive accurate assessments while maintaining the speed necessary for Amazon's massive marketplace operations. The 180-day rolling window means that recent improvements can gradually offset older violations, providing sellers with recovery pathways even after significant setbacks.

Three Performance Pillars That Make or Break Your Score

Order Defect Rate: Stay Under 1% to Maintain Selling Privileges

Order Defect Rate measures customer dissatisfaction through three specific metrics: negative feedback ratings, A-to-Z Guarantee claims, and credit card chargebacks. Amazon calculates ODR by dividing total defective orders by total orders within the measurement period, with the critical threshold set at 1%. Exceeding this percentage triggers immediate account health deterioration and potential selling privilege suspension.

Negative feedback occurs when customers rate transactions with one or two stars, typically indicating problems with product quality, shipping delays, or customer service interactions. A-to-Z Guarantee claims represent escalated disputes where customers seek Amazon's intervention for unresolved issues with orders. Credit card chargebacks happen when customers dispute charges directly with their banks, often indicating serious transaction problems or fraudulent activity concerns.

Shipping Performance: Meeting Amazon's Speed and Accuracy Standards

Shipping performance evaluation includes multiple interconnected metrics that directly impact customer experience. Late Shipment Rate must remain below 4%, calculated by comparing shipped-by dates against promised delivery timeframes. Valid Tracking Rate requires maintenance above 95%, ensuring customers receive accurate shipment information throughout the delivery process.

Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate represents another critical component, with targets below 2.5% indicating healthy inventory management and order processing capabilities. These cancellations typically result from inventory shortages, pricing errors, or operational disruptions that prevent order completion after customer purchase confirmation.

Policy Compliance: Navigating Amazon's Complex Rule Structure

Policy compliance includes adherence to Amazon's extensive guidelines covering product listings, shipping requirements, customer service standards, pricing practices, and promotional activities. This pillar extends beyond simple rule-following to include proactive monitoring of policy updates and industry-specific regulations that affect different product categories. Customer service quality and product standards also contribute to the AHR assessment.

Amazon employs both automated systems and human reviewers to identify policy violations, with particular attention to prohibited products, inauthentic items, and listing manipulation attempts. Compliance also includes intellectual property respect, appropriate product categorization, and accurate product information that matches actual items delivered to customers.

Critical Score Thresholds Every Seller Must Know

Healthy Zone: 200+ Points for Basic Safety, 250+ for Premium Protection

Accounts maintaining 200 or higher points display in green coloring within Seller Central, indicating healthy status with minimal deactivation risk. This range provides operational security for standard selling activities while allowing for minor fluctuations based on normal business variations. Accounts reaching 250+ points gain additional protection against temporary score drops from isolated incidents or seasonal performance changes.

The healthy zone doesn't guarantee permanent safety but indicates current operations align with Amazon's expectations. Scores within this range can still fluctuate based on sales volume changes, policy updates, or isolated customer service issues that don't indicate systemic problems.

At Risk Zone: 100-199 Points Triggers Warning Flags

Accounts falling between 100-199 points enter the "At Risk" designation, displayed in yellow coloring with prominent warning banners stating "Your Account is At Risk of Deactivation." This zone serves as Amazon's formal notice that current performance trends could lead to selling privilege suspension without corrective action.

At-risk status typically results from accumulating multiple minor violations or single moderate violations that indicate potential compliance problems. Sellers in this range receive increased scrutiny on new violations and must demonstrate improvement to avoid further score deterioration toward deactivation eligibility.

Deactivation Zone: 99 or Below Makes You Eligible for Account Loss

Accounts scoring 99 or lower points appear in red coloring and become eligible for immediate deactivation. This threshold represents Amazon's determination that account risk outweighs seller value, triggering potential access termination to protect customer experience and marketplace integrity.

Deactivation eligibility doesn't guarantee immediate account closure but indicates that any additional violations or policy breaches could trigger suspension. Sellers in this zone must address violations immediately and submit improvement plans to avoid losing selling privileges entirely.

How Violations Impact Your Rating Score

Critical Violations Can Drop Score to Zero and Trigger Immediate Deactivation

Critical violations represent the most severe policy breaches that Amazon considers immediate threats to customer safety, marketplace integrity, or legal compliance. These violations typically drop AHR scores directly to zero regardless of previous performance, often resulting in immediate account deactivation pending resolution.

Examples of critical violations include selling prohibited items, suspected counterfeit products, major safety violations, or activities that violate intellectual property rights. The immediate score reduction to zero reflects Amazon's position that these violations pose unacceptable risks that require immediate intervention.

High, Medium, and Low Impact Violations Explained

High impact violations significantly damage AHR scores and typically involve serious policy breaches that affect multiple customers or indicate systematic compliance problems. These might include repeated inauthentic item claims, major listing violations, or customer service failures that generate multiple complaints.

Medium impact violations cause moderate score reductions and usually involve isolated policy breaches that don't indicate widespread problems but still require attention. Low impact violations result in minor score adjustments and often involve technical compliance issues or minor listing problems that can be easily corrected.

No impact violations appear on account health pages for tracking purposes but don't affect AHR scores. These typically involve resolved issues, warnings, or policy clarifications that don't indicate current compliance problems.

Score Recovery Strategies That Actually Work

1. Address Highest Impact Violations First

Strategic violation prioritization focuses resources on issues that provide maximum score improvement potential. Critical and high-impact violations offer the greatest point recovery when successfully resolved, making them the logical starting point for systematic account rehabilitation.

This approach also demonstrates to Amazon that sellers understand violation severity and prioritize customer-impacting issues over minor technical compliance matters. Successful resolution of major violations often triggers faster score recovery than addressing multiple minor issues.

2. Submit Effective Plans of Action Within a Timely Manner

Plans of Action (POAs) must clearly identify root causes, specific corrective measures, and preventive systems to avoid recurrence. Amazon expects POA submission within a timely manner of violation notification, with detailed responses that demonstrate understanding of both the specific violation and underlying compliance requirements.

Effective POAs include immediate corrective actions already taken, systematic changes implemented to prevent recurrence, and monitoring systems established to maintain ongoing compliance. Generic templates or vague responses typically result in rejection and further delays in score recovery.

3. Work with Amazon's Account Health Specialists

Dedicated account health specialists provide personalized guidance for understanding AHR calculations and developing effective improvement strategies. These specialists offer insights into violation interpretation, POA development, and compliance system implementation that generic support channels cannot provide.

Account health specialists also provide clarity on policy interpretations and help sellers understand how specific business practices impact their AHR scores. This guidance proves particularly valuable for complex violations or situations involving multiple policy areas.

4. Qualify for Account Health Assurance's 72-Hour Protection

Amazon's Account Health Assurance program, available in the United States and Canada to eligible sellers, guarantees that qualifying accounts won't face deactivation if sellers work with Amazon to resolve issues within 72 hours. This program provides crucial breathing room for addressing violations without immediate business interruption.

Qualification requires professional sellers who maintain an AHR score of 250 or more for at least 6 months with no more than 10 days below 250, and have a valid emergency contact number on file. The 72-hour protection window allows for thorough problem analysis and systematic solution implementation rather than rushed responses that might miss underlying issues.

Monitor Your Rating Before Suspension Destroys Your Business

Proactive AHR monitoring prevents emergency situations that can devastate seller businesses overnight. Daily score checking through Seller Central's Account Health dashboard enables early violation detection and immediate corrective action before minor issues compound into major problems.

Regular monitoring also reveals score fluctuation patterns related to sales volume changes, seasonal variations, and policy update impacts. Understanding these patterns helps sellers distinguish between temporary variations and systematic problems requiring operational changes.

Automated monitoring systems can alert sellers to score changes and new violations immediately rather than discovering problems during routine checks. Early detection provides maximum time for violation analysis, corrective action development, and systematic improvement implementation.

Successful AHR management requires treating account health as an operational priority rather than an occasional concern. Sellers who integrate compliance monitoring into daily business routines maintain consistently higher scores and avoid the devastating impacts of account suspension.

For sellers seeking guidance on maintaining healthy Amazon accounts and avoiding costly violations, FBA Lead List provides expert insights and strategies for managing Amazon's complex compliance requirements.