What is Section 3? Severe violations, funds and legal options

Which text did we read?

Section 3 is the term and termination clause of Amazon's Business Solutions Agreement (BSA). The US/Canada/Mexico points in this guide are based on the December 2023 version of the agreement published on Amazon's own servers; the EU and UK points are based on Amazon Services Europe's December 2022 version.

In an announcement on its seller forums, Amazon said it was updating the agreement from March 4, 2026, including a new Section 20 on dispute resolution. We were not able to read that current text. Always check the current agreement in Seller Central for your own case.

When can Amazon deactivate immediately?

Under the agreement, Amazon can terminate without cause (for convenience) with 30 days' notice. In the situations below, it can suspend or terminate immediately. A key detail: some grounds do not require a proven violation; it is enough that Amazon's controls identify a risk.

Does Amazon have to give a reason?

Under the agreement, Amazon notifies a termination or suspension by email or through Seller Central, stating the reason and any appeal options. There is one exception: Amazon may withhold the reason if it believes that providing it would hinder the investigation of fraudulent or illegal activity or allow safeguards to be circumvented.

That is why Section 3 notices are often written in general terms. Notices that sellers have shared on the forums show common elements: identity or supply chain verification, a video call, funds being kept in the account and a separate review of funds. Some notices offer no formal appeal button, only a line along the lines of "contact us if you believe this is an error". These examples are not official rules; what counts is what your own notice says.

How does a Section 3 closure differ from a routine one?

"Section 3 deactivation" is seller shorthand, not an official Amazon category. In practice, it is mostly used for closures based on fraud, harm or risk detection. The comparison below is a general framework.

What is different in the EU and UK text?

• Notice is given by email or similar means sent to the seller individually, and also in Seller Central.
• There is a sentence not found in the US text: a suspension lasts until the seller provides evidence satisfactory to Amazon that the cause has been fixed and the necessary changes made. On fraud or harm grounds, however, Amazon may terminate or decline to reinstate the account.
• The December 2022 text did not include the account health threshold as a ground. An Amazon staff reply quoting the clause on the EU forum does list it, which suggests the current EU text has been aligned with the US one; we were not able to read the current text.
• The agreement is governed by Luxembourg law, and disputes can be heard by the courts of the city of Luxembourg on a non-exclusive basis. There is no arbitration clause in the EU/UK agreement.

What happens to your funds?

Funds are where Section 3 is most often misunderstood. Section 2 of the agreement, which covers payments, survives termination. Under the US text, if Amazon determines that the account, or another account the seller operates, has been used for deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity (including counterfeit or stolen goods), or has harmed others, it may permanently withhold payments. Amazon commits to offering an appeal process described in its policies.

According to Amazon's explanation on its seller forums, funds are held for 90 days when an account is deactivated, after which a separate payout request is made. This period is not in the agreement; it comes from notices and Amazon staff statements. The funds request is a separate process from the reactivation appeal. See our funds on hold guide for details.

What happens to inventory in FBA warehouses?

• Under the FBA terms of the agreement, after termination Amazon returns or disposes of inventory according to the seller's instructions. If the seller does not give instructions within 30 days (or another period set out in the policies), Amazon may choose to return or dispose of it.
• If the return address is out of date, no address in the country has been given or confirmed, or return shipping cannot be paid for, units may be treated as abandoned, and Amazon may sell, donate or recycle them.
• Amazon may immediately dispose of units that pose a safety or liability risk, relate to fraudulent activity, or give grounds for immediate termination under Section 3 where Amazon could be liable to third parties; the seller bears the costs.
• Some notices shared by sellers indicate that removal orders could not be created while verification was ongoing. This has not been confirmed as an official rule; check your own Seller Central screens.

Sellers established in the EU or UK: P2B rights

The EU Platform-to-Business Regulation (2019/1150) and its UK equivalent place certain obligations on platforms. However, these rules cover business users established in the EU (in the UK version, the UK) that sell to consumers there. A seller established only outside the EU and UK may not be directly covered; the definitive assessment is a matter for a lawyer.

• When individual products are restricted or suspended, the platform gives a statement of reasons on a durable medium before or at the time the restriction takes effect.
• When the service is terminated entirely, the statement of reasons is given at least 30 days before it takes effect. Exceptions: a legal obligation that prevents notice, termination for an imperative reason under national law, and demonstrable repeated infringement of the terms. Even then, reasons must be given without undue delay.
• The statement must refer to the specific facts and circumstances, including the content of any third-party notices, and to the relevant ground in the terms.
• The platform must offer a free, easily accessible internal complaint-handling system; the seller has a chance to clarify the facts, and if the decision is reversed, the account must be restored without undue delay.

Amazon's EU/UK mediation (CEDR)

The P2B Regulation requires platforms to name two or more mediators. Amazon's Mediation Policy and CEDR's rules for the Amazon scheme (July 2025 version) set out the following framework:

• Scope: disputes with Amazon Services Europe arising from selling on Amazon. Disputes solely about FBA or an Amazon Payments account are excluded.
• Conditions: a registered place of business in the EU or UK at the time of application; active selling history on the account; a good-faith attempt at Amazon's internal complaint process first; and Amazon's latest decision no older than 6 months.
• You obtain an access code from Amazon and apply within 30 days of receiving it.
• Fees: GBP 490 plus VAT for UK-based sellers and EUR 538 for EU-based sellers, split equally between Amazon and the seller. If the mediator recommends in the seller's favor, the seller's share is refunded.
• CEDR aims to issue a reasoned opinion within 40 days of Amazon's response. The opinion is not binding, implementing its recommendations is at Amazon's discretion, and the right to go to court is preserved.

The DSA: internal complaints and out-of-court dispute settlement

The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) requires a statement of reasons for decisions based on content being illegal or incompatible with the terms, including suspending payments and suspending or terminating an account. Online platforms must offer a free electronic internal complaint system against such decisions for at least 6 months, and decisions must not be taken solely by automated means but under the supervision of qualified staff. Users can also go to any certified out-of-court dispute settlement body; its decisions are not binding, it is free or available for a nominal fee to the user, and if the user wins, the platform pays the costs.

Applicability calls for caution: it is debated whether seller closures based on account health, identity verification or related accounts, and sellers not established in the EU, fall under these rules.

The European Commission's list of certified bodies contains 11 bodies; only one (ADROIT in Malta) explicitly lists marketplaces in its scope, and none names Amazon. According to Amazon's own EU transparency report, in January to June 2026 there were 377,942 internal complaints against account suspension or termination decisions, and the decision was reversed in 253,847 of them; these figures may include buyer accounts. According to the same report, 165 disputes went to out-of-court bodies in that period; 157 closed without a decision, Amazon's decision was upheld in one and reversed in one.

US, Canada and Mexico: individual arbitration

Under the December 2023 US text, the agreement is governed by Washington State law and the Federal Arbitration Act. Where the US, Canada or Mexico is the elected country, disputes are resolved by binding arbitration rather than in court. According to Amazon's March 4, 2026 announcement, the arbitrator's powers are now set out in a new Section 20, while binding arbitration and the class action waiver remain. Because we could not read the current clauses, the points below are based on the December 2023 text.

• Before arbitration, a letter describing your intent and claim must be sent to the registered agent named in the agreement.
• Arbitration follows the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Commercial Rules; filing, administration and arbitrator fees follow the AAA commercial fee schedule. An expedited procedure applies to purely monetary claims under USD 50,000.
• Exceptions: small claims court in King County for qualifying claims, actions to stop intellectual property infringement, and Amazon's own claims relating to counterfeit sales.
• Arbitration is individual only; there is no class or representative action. The text we read contains no opt-out mechanism.
• Arbitration is costly once lawyer and arbitrator fees are included. We found no reliable public data on outcomes or on whether it leads to reinstatement; it is mostly considered for monetary claims.

Does Account Health Assurance protect you here?

Account Health Assurance (AHA) is a program that assures eligible sellers their account will not be deactivated as long as they work with Amazon to resolve issues. According to Amazon's announcements on its seller forums, a seller can be removed from the program and deactivated where fraudulent, deceptive, illegal or harmful activity is suspected. In other words, the fraud and harm grounds of Section 3 may fall outside what AHA protects.

Lawyers and consultants: who does what?

• A lawyer: starts arbitration or litigation, asserts P2B and DSA rights, defends against court orders freezing funds and interprets the agreement. Legal advice is a lawyer's job.
• A consultant: reads the notice, helps with root cause analysis, organizes documents, structures the appeal, tracks deadlines and refers you to a lawyer when needed.
• What no one can do: guarantee an outcome, offer a "contact" inside Amazon, alter documents or get around Amazon's controls. Amazon makes the decision.