Amazon Account Health Rating "At Risk": What It Means and What to Do Next

Attorney Advertising. This guide explains how Amazon’s seller policies and processes generally work. It is general information, not legal advice. LA Law Group is not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon, and Amazon’s policies change, so check the current version in Seller Central.

Short answer: “At Risk” means your Account Health Rating sits in Amazon’s yellow band, 100 to 199 on a 0 to 1,000 scale, and Amazon’s policy says the account is at risk of deactivation. Healthy starts at 200. Unhealthy is 99 or lower. The real question is which open violation pulled the score down, and whether it is a repeat.

What does an “At Risk” Account Health Rating mean?

Amazon’s Account Health Rating (AHR) program policy describes the AHR as a measure of “your selling account’s risk of deactivation due to non-compliance with certain Amazon selling policies.” It appears on the Account Health page in Seller Central, for each store where you sell.

As of November 2, 2026, when we re-read the US policy page, Amazon describes three color bands:

Amazon’s AHR FAQ answers the question most sellers ask next. If the rating is At Risk and the violations go unaddressed, and Amazon is “unable to reach you to help proactively address these violations, the account will most likely be deactivated.” So yellow is a warning, not a deactivation. What happens next depends on which violations are open on the page.

How does Amazon calculate the score?

Amazon’s policy page says you lose points when a new policy violation is detected and gain points when you successfully address it. All new sellers start with a score of 200, and the score reflects policy adherence and selling activity over the last 180 days.

Amazon’s AHR FAQ, read the same morning, adds more detail than the policy page. It says:

• Point values for each violation are based on severity and “typically range from two to eight.”
• Critical violations “automatically bring your AHR score to zero.”
• For repeat violations of the same policy, “sometimes, negative point values double per repeat violation.”
• Sellers “gain four points for every 200 successful orders” fulfilled over the last 180 days.

The policy page itself says only that points are “granted when a minimum number of orders are filled.” Both are Amazon pages, and we report both as read.

Not every Amazon policy counts toward the score. Amazon’s page listing the policies included in AHR says “not all of Amazon’s policies are currently included in AHR,” and that the list will be updated as policies are added. Examples on the list as of our read include the Anti-Counterfeiting policy, the Intellectual Property policy, the Restricted Products policy, Product safety and compliance, and the Customer Product Reviews policies.

For sellers who fulfill their own orders, the policy page says Amazon may also award points based on Buyer Contact Rate, Average Contact Response Time, and Buyer Dissatisfaction Rate, and that “We will not restrict your selling privileges because of below-average performance on these metrics.”

How do severity levels and repeat violations push an account toward red?

Amazon’s policy names four severity levels: critical, high, medium, and low. It says critical violations “are the most serious violations, which can lead to immediate account enforcement.” The FAQ puts it this way: “Any single violation with this severity immediately qualifies your account for deactivation.” The FAQ also describes a “No Impact” label for some listing issues that do not affect the score now.

When Amazon detects a critical violation, the FAQ says the AHR “will turn red and reflect a numeric score of zero,” and the seller has “a three-day grace period to address the violation before account deactivation.”

Repeats work in two ways. The point values rise each time the same policy is violated, so the score drops faster. And reaching the maximum number of repeat violations for one policy in a 180-day period can put the account at immediate risk of deactivation. The FAQ says repeat violations are labeled in the “Impact” column on the Account Health page.

One detail sellers often miss: the FAQ says violations removed after a successful appeal, where the seller did not dispute that the activity occurred, “may still count toward the maximum threshold for repeat violations within a 180-day period.”

Amazon’s own guidance: Amazon’s policy encourages sellers “to address all violations listed on your Account Health page in a timely manner, prioritizing those with the greatest severity.”

Illustrative hypothetical (not a real case and not a prediction)

A seller’s AHR reads 210, green. A low severity listing issue lowers it to 206. Weeks later, a notice under a different policy lowers it to 201. Then a second notice arrives under that same policy, and because repeat violations carry more points, the score drops to 194. The account is now yellow, “At Risk.” Every number in this example is invented for illustration only. It is not drawn from any client matter, and Amazon decides how any real account is scored.

The point of the example is the pattern: a repeat under one policy, not the total number of notices, is what moved this account into a different band.

Where do Amazon’s own pages say different things?

We read each page live on November 2, 2026. Two points are worded differently across Amazon’s own pages, and we do not pick between them.

The repeat maximum. The AHR program policy (read at 2:11 AM PT) says the maximum “may vary depending on the severity of the violation, but can be as low as two violations for higher severity violations.” The AHR FAQ (read at 2:13 AM PT) says “The maximum number of repeat violations is five for infringement-related policies and two for restricted products policies.” The FAQ adds that hitting the maximum surfaces a critical violation, the score goes to zero, and there is a three-day period to address it, with an appeal through the Product Policy Compliance Dashboard.

The fraud override. The policy page says that regardless of the score, Amazon “may deactivate your account immediately if we suspect fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or otherwise harmful activity.” The FAQ says Amazon may do so “if required by law,” and adds activity “that attempts to circumvent Amazon’s systems” and violating “other policies outside of AHR.”

Amazon can change these pages at any time, so check the current versions in Seller Central.

What does “At Risk” not mean?

It does not mean the account is deactivated. Yellow sits above Amazon’s red band, and the FAQ says an account deactivated for AHR is reinstated “once your AHR score returns to 100 or higher.”

It also does not mean green is a safe harbor. Both Amazon pages say Amazon may deactivate an account immediately, whatever the score, in the fraud and harmful activity situations described above.

And it does not mean a seller still has Account Health Assurance. Amazon’s AHA FAQ describes AHA as a benefit for professional sellers “who maintain an Account Health Rating (AHR) score of 250 or higher for at least 6 months with no more than 10 days below 250 and have a valid emergency contact number on file.” Under AHA, Amazon says it “will no longer deactivate your selling account as long as you work with us within 72 hours of contacting you to resolve any issues.” To keep it, the same page lists keeping the AHR from “falling below 250 for more than 10 consecutive days.” Any At Risk score is under 250, so an account that stays yellow past that window falls outside the condition Amazon describes.

How do you find the Account Health page and work through it?

These steps use only wording from Amazon’s public help pages as read on November 2, 2026. Button names can change, so follow what your own screen shows.

1. In Seller Central, go to Account Health. Amazon’s appeal help page uses this exact instruction, and the AHR appears there for each store.
2. Review the violations listed, highest severity first. Repeat violations are labeled in the Impact column.
3. Select a violation to open its appeal, or follow the guidance under Next steps if you think the violation is a mistake.
4. Open the Notification Preferences page and check the number in the Emergency Notification widget. Amazon’s AHA FAQ says the number is verified there with a one-time code. The AHR policy page names the same places as the Notifications preferences page and Emergency Notifications, and says Amazon may call to offer personalized support when an account becomes eligible for deactivation.
5. For help, professional sellers can use the Contact us or Call me now button on the Account Health page, which Amazon says connects to its Account Health Support team.

What should go into an appeal or plan of action?

The AHR FAQ separates two paths. A dispute is for a violation you believe “was detected in error.” An appeal is for a violation that did happen, where Amazon decides it “wasn’t intentional.” Amazon also lists removal when a rights owner retracts an intellectual property complaint, when you take the required corrective action, and after 180 days. If an account is deactivated for AHR, the FAQ says its violations stay in place and do not age off after 180 days.

Amazon’s help page on appeal questionnaires gives its own guidance. It asks sellers to be “clear and concise,” to look for “the root causes that led to the violations,” to describe “specific actions that you have taken,” and to include supporting evidence for every product under review. It notes that some products require invoices from the last 365 days. Our plan of action template guide walks through one way to organize that structure.

For a deactivated account, Amazon’s appeal help page says to go to Account Health, click Reactivate your account at the top of the page, follow the instructions, and submit. It says to “expect a reply to your appeal within two days.” If you are already past yellow, our guide on what to do when an Amazon account is deactivated covers that stage. If the trouble started with one product, our guide to an Amazon listing suspension explains how listing problems reach the score.

When does it help to talk to a lawyer?

Many At Risk accounts are handled by a seller working the Account Health page directly. Sellers often bring in a lawyer when:

• a notice alleges counterfeit goods or infringement
• the same policy has been flagged more than once in 180 days
• the score has already dropped near or into red
• a notice suggests fraud, deception, or a problem with the whole account

LA Law Group is a California firm. Amazon’s policies are platform rules set by Amazon, not California law, and an attorney cannot change how Amazon applies them. A lawyer can help you read a notice, organize records, and prepare a clear written response. We do not log in to or operate seller accounts.

Key takeaways

• “At Risk” is Amazon’s yellow band, 100 to 199, and Amazon’s policy says the account is at risk of deactivation.
• The score runs from 0 to 1,000, new sellers start at 200, and it reflects the last 180 days.
• Severity and repeats drive the score. A critical violation takes it to zero with a three-day window, per Amazon’s FAQ.
• Amazon’s pages word the repeat maximum differently. Read both, and check your own account.
• Amazon may deactivate an account regardless of score in fraud or harmful activity situations.

Short checklist

• Open Account Health and note the AHR for each store
• List open violations by severity and note any labeled as repeats
• Decide for each one whether it is a dispute or an appeal
• Gather invoices and records for every product under review
• Check the Emergency Notification phone number
• Save copies of every notice and response

Sources checked (dated November 2026)

Read on November 2, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles), on Amazon Seller Central (US): Account Health Rating program policy (G200205250), at 2:11 AM; Policies included in Account Health Rating (GQ5DSES264XVXNX7), at 2:12 AM; Account Health Assurance FAQ (GGQY933W4RDPJT29), at 2:12 AM; Account health rating FAQ (GR786P4BPEVKTBAG), at 2:13 AM; Appeal an account deactivation or listing removal (G200370560), at 2:13 AM; Complete an appeal questionnaire to reinstate selling privileges (G201623610), at 2:14 AM; and Account health support FAQ (GBMCHQ8MJ9KDYQ9A), at 2:14 AM. Where these pages differ, both versions are quoted above.

How LA Law Group can help

LA Law Group, APLC works with Amazon sellers on account health, suspension, and appeal issues. Amazon makes the final decision on every appeal, and no lawyer can guarantee that an account or listing will be reinstated.

Our office is at 21540 Prairie St Unit A, Chatsworth, CA 91311. To discuss your situation, visit our Amazon seller lawyer page or call (866) 625-2529.

This article is general information only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Amazon’s policies and the law change, and every situation is different. For advice about your matter, speak with a licensed attorney. Amazon is a trademark of Amazon.com, Inc. LA Law Group is not affiliated with Amazon. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney Advertising.

Photo: Ayrat on Pexels (photo 12354555), location given as Russia, under the Pexels License. Cropped and resized to 1600x900; no other edits.