Amazon account health explained: the metrics that matter for FBA and FBM sellers
A plain-English guide to Amazon's Account Health Rating, Order Defect Rate, shipping metrics, and policy compliance, including which rules apply to FBA vs FBM orders and what changed for FBM sellers in 2026
Thresholds in this guide reflect Amazon's published US targets as of November 2026. Amazon adjusts them over time, so verify the current figures in Seller Central before acting on them.
Most Amazon sellers only open their Account Health page when something already looks wrong. Maybe it's a warning email, a sudden drop in sales, or one of those 2am Seller Central checks because something doesn't feel right. By then, the issue may have been building for days or weeks. The good news is that Amazon tells you how it evaluates your account. It publishes performance targets, tracks policy violations, and provides an Account Health Rating to show where you stand. Once you know what those numbers mean and where to find them, you can catch problems before they turn into bigger disruptions. But there's an important distinction. A healthy Account Health Rating doesn't mean every part of your business is problem-free. Some risks develop outside the rating, and certain serious violations can affect your selling privileges regardless of how green the dashboard looks. Which metrics matter also depends on how you fulfill orders. If you sell through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), policy compliance and customer-service defects still deserve attention. If you ship orders yourself through Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM), shipping performance requirements become especially important. This guide covers both and explains which metrics apply to which fulfillment method.
Start with your Account Health Rating
Amazon's Account Health Rating (AHR) is a numerical score from 0 to 1,000. It indicates your selling account's risk of deactivation based on compliance with certain Amazon policies. The rating appears on the Account Health page in Seller Central and gives a near-real-time view of your standing in each marketplace where you sell. Amazon divides the rating into three color-coded bands. A score of 200 or above is green, which Amazon classifies as Healthy. A score between 100 and 199 is yellow, meaning your account is At Risk. A score of 99 or below is red, meaning the account is eligible for deactivation or may already be deactivated.
The practical threshold to remember is 200. If your rating falls below it, investigate the underlying violations promptly. Even when the rating is green, keep reviewing the individual policy issues shown on your dashboard. Amazon adjusts the rating as it detects new violations, as issues are resolved, and as qualifying selling activity changes. The score reflects policy compliance and selling activity over a rolling 180-day period, so it can move even when you haven't received a new violation.
Why a green rating doesn't mean you're completely safe
A green rating is a positive signal, but it isn't a guarantee. Amazon states that serious issues, including fraudulent, illegal, deceptive, or otherwise harmful activity, can lead to immediate deactivation regardless of the rating. Other policies outside the AHR calculation can also affect selling privileges. Some operational problems don't show up in your AHR at all. A suppressed listing can stop generating sales, a shipping metric can start slipping, or a product might need documentation before it can keep selling. That's why account protection takes more than checking one number. Your rating tells you something important about your policy standing. The individual violations, performance metrics, and listing status tell you what needs attention.
The three areas Amazon measures
Your Account Health page groups important information into three sections: Customer Service Performance, Shipping Performance, and Policy Compliance. Customer Service Performance focuses on order defects and customer experience. Shipping Performance measures how reliably seller-fulfilled orders are handled and delivered. Policy Compliance tracks violations and complaints related to Amazon's selling policies. Knowing which section a problem sits in tells you where to start looking for its cause.
Order Defect Rate: what FBA and FBM sellers need to know
Order Defect Rate (ODR) measures the percentage of orders with at least one qualifying customer-service defect during a rolling 60-day period. Seller Central allows sellers to view ODR information for FBA and seller-fulfilled orders separately. However, Amazon's current US Order Defect Rate policy specifies that its ODR enforcement requirement applies to seller-fulfilled orders. That distinction matters. If you sell through both FBA and FBM, you can review customer-service defects across both fulfillment methods, but you shouldn't combine their figures or assume the same enforcement rules apply to each.
An order counts as defective when it receives negative seller feedback, a qualifying A-to-z Guarantee claim, or a credit card chargeback. Amazon requires sellers to maintain an ODR below 1% for seller-fulfilled orders. For example, if you receive 100 orders during the measurement period and one qualifies as defective, your ODR for that group would be 1%. That's already at the line Amazon requires seller-fulfilled orders to stay below. Because the metric looks back 60 days, defective orders stay in the calculation until they leave the window, even after you fix the cause. So investigate the issue rather than waiting for the percentage to recover.
Negative feedback may point to a product-quality or service problem. A-to-z claims and chargebacks may point to delivery disputes, inaccurate product information, or unresolved complaints. If your ODR starts rising, open the detailed report in Seller Central and find the orders behind the change. Use the fulfillment filter to see whether defects are associated with FBA or seller-fulfilled orders, look for patterns, and note any response deadlines on claims and chargebacks. For FBA sellers, reviewing customer-service defects remains useful even though Amazon's published ODR enforcement policy focuses on seller-fulfilled orders. The information can still help identify recurring product or customer-experience issues.
Shipping performance: five metrics FBM sellers should know
If you fulfill orders yourself, Amazon also measures how consistently you ship and deliver them. You control handling, shipment confirmation, tracking, and carrier choice, so these numbers are yours to manage. FBA sellers can generally skip these seller-fulfilled shipping metrics for their FBA orders because Amazon handles that fulfillment. However, sellers using both FBA and FBM must monitor the relevant shipping metrics for their seller-fulfilled orders.
Pre-fulfillment cancellation rate
This measures the percentage of seller-fulfilled orders you cancel before shipment over a rolling seven-day period. Amazon requires it to stay below 2.5%. Customer-requested cancellations made through Amazon's cancellation process generally don't count. Cancellations you initiate do, including certain automatic cancellations caused by not confirming shipment in time. A rising rate usually points to inventory accuracy or order management. You may be accepting orders for stock you don't have, or quantities aren't syncing. Review the cancellation report, find the affected products, and fix stock synchronization at the source.
Late shipment rate
Late Shipment Rate measures the percentage of seller-fulfilled orders confirmed as shipped after the expected ship date. Amazon evaluates it over rolling 10-day and 30-day periods and requires it to stay below 4%. The key word is confirmation. A package can reach the customer on time and still count as late if you confirmed shipment after the deadline. Compare expected ship dates with actual confirmation times, and check that your handling-time settings match how fast your operation really dispatches.
Valid tracking rate
Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) measures the percentage of eligible seller-fulfilled packages with valid tracking over a rolling 30-day period. Amazon's published US target is above 95%, so check the requirements for your categories. Falling below the applicable requirement can restrict your seller-fulfilled offers in affected categories. A tracking number alone isn't always enough. Amazon needs valid tracking, which for applicable shipments includes carrier scans confirming the package is moving. If VTR drops, check that numbers were entered correctly, that you're using supported carriers, and that scan events are coming through.
On-time delivery rate
On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) measures the percentage of tracked seller-fulfilled units delivered by the promised date. For standard seller-fulfilled offers in the US, Amazon requires a minimum OTDR of 90% without promise extensions and recommends maintaining 95% or higher. Programs such as Seller Fulfilled Prime may have stricter requirements. Late Shipment Rate asks whether you confirmed shipment on time. OTDR asks whether the package actually arrived on time. Carrier performance, transit-time settings, and delivery promises all affect this metric. If your OTDR begins declining, look for patterns involving particular carriers, regions, or shipping services. A package that leaves your warehouse on time can still miss the customer's promised delivery date. That's why both metrics deserve attention.
Business hour delivery rate
Amazon introduced an additional shipping performance requirement for eligible seller-fulfilled shipments to Amazon Business customers. Starting September 30, 2026, sellers must maintain a Business Hour Delivery Rate (BHDR) of at least 90%, measured over a rolling 14-day period. This metric tracks the percentage of seller-fulfilled shipments delivered to Amazon Business customers at commercial addresses during their operating hours. The requirement matters because a package arriving outside a business's operating hours may not be received securely and could require another delivery attempt.
Amazon announced that sellers falling below the requirement would receive a notification and recommendations for improvement. If their performance remained below 90% after October 30, 2026, their seller-fulfilled offers could be deactivated for Amazon Business customers. FBA offers and retail offer eligibility aren't affected by this specific requirement. If you sell to Amazon Business customers through FBM, review BHDR on your Account Health dashboard. Reliable carriers, accurate handling times, and appropriate delivery settings can help improve performance. This is particularly important for sellers serving commercial customers whose receiving hours differ from standard residential delivery schedules.
Amazon's August 2026 update for FBM sellers
Amazon also changed how it handles certain seller-fulfilled performance problems. Starting August 31, 2026, Amazon introduced offer-level enforcement for specified FBM performance violations. Instead of automatically restricting an entire seller account for those issues, Amazon can temporarily deactivate individual affected offers. The change covers Order Defect Rate, Cancellation Rate, Late Shipment Rate, and On-Time Delivery Rate.
Amazon says sellers receive a warning email before an affected offer is deactivated, explaining the issue and the steps required to resolve it. Affected offers can appear in the Other Policy Violations section of the Account Health dashboard, along with reinstatement instructions. This doesn't make broader account restrictions impossible. Serious compliance problems and other violations can still affect the whole account. What it does mean is that performance needs watching at the offer level, not just at the account level. If one product keeps generating cancellations, defects, or late deliveries, investigate it before the issue interrupts its ability to sell.
Policy compliance: the issues behind your rating
The Policy Compliance section shows the violations and complaints Amazon has recorded against your account. These can include intellectual-property complaints, product authenticity concerns, restricted-product violations, listing policy issues, and other compliance problems. Unlike ODR or Late Shipment Rate, these aren't percentages to keep under a line. Each one represents a specific issue that may require investigation, documentation, corrective action, or a response to Amazon. Severity matters too. Some violations may need a straightforward correction, while others can threaten listing availability or selling privileges.
When a new violation appears, open it and read the related Performance Notification carefully. Note the affected product, what Amazon says is wrong, what evidence or action it requires, and any deadline stated in the notice. Don't assume deleting a listing resolves its violation. Amazon may still require the underlying issue to be addressed through the proper process. The goal is to resolve the cause, not hide the warning. Listing-related problems also deserve attention even when they don't appear as Account Health violations. For example, unauthorized sellers or suppressed listings can create operational issues that require investigation.
How to check your Amazon account health
A full check doesn't take long, and it works best as a routine rather than a reaction. Start by opening Seller Central and navigating to Performance > Account Health. Note your rating and whether it has changed, not just its color. Next, review Customer Service Performance. Open the Order Defect Rate details and examine the orders contributing to the metric. If you sell through both FBA and FBM, review the available fulfillment-specific views separately. If you fulfill orders yourself, move to Shipping Performance. Compare your cancellation rate, late shipment rate, valid tracking rate, and on-time delivery rate against their respective targets and measurement periods. If you serve Amazon Business customers through FBM, review your Business Hour Delivery Rate as well.
Open the detailed reports whenever a metric starts moving toward its threshold. Look for patterns rather than treating every affected order as an isolated problem. Then review Policy Compliance. Open unresolved violations and confirm what Amazon is asking for. Check the Other Policy Violations section for any offers affected by the August 2026 enforcement changes. Finally, read your Performance Notifications. Details about violations, appeals, and required actions often appear there rather than in the dashboard summary alone.
Daily checks are a useful habit, especially in peak season when order volume and fulfillment pressure increase. The point isn't to watch metrics all day. It's to spot a change early enough to respond. When a metric starts moving toward its limit, the response usually begins in the same place: identify the affected orders or listings, look for a pattern, and address the cause rather than the number. Generic explanations to Amazon, or claims about corrective actions you haven't actually completed, aren't substitutes for resolving the underlying issue.
Where Sydon AI fits
Checking your Account Health page by hand works. It just gets harder to keep up as your catalog, order volume, and daily responsibilities grow. Account Guardian is Sydon AI's free agent, and it stays free forever. It monitors your Amazon US account every day, showing Amazon's own Account Health Rating, how far you are from the 200 and 100 thresholds, and how your performance metrics compare with Amazon's published targets. It also keeps FBA and seller-fulfilled ODR figures separate rather than blending them into a single number. That helps sellers understand what Amazon is reporting without losing the distinction between fulfillment methods.
Account Guardian monitors 11 categories of Amazon policy violations and performs nightly checks for suppressed and blocked listings. Some listing problems may not appear as Account Health violations, even when they prevent products from generating sales. Account Guardian helps surface those issues alongside the performance and compliance information sellers are already monitoring. It also watches listings for potential hijacker activity and Fair Pricing warnings. Instead of presenting every warning with equal importance, Account Guardian highlights the single most urgent finding. When information is missing, it reports that the data is unknown rather than displaying a misleading zero or inventing a suspension probability.
Every new violation is handed to Sydon AI's Compliance Manager, where a case opens to help organize the issue and the steps involved. Account Guardian also acts as a safeguard for other Sydon AI agents. When it detects account-health trouble, it can hold actions those agents would otherwise take and show you which actions are being held and why. That prevents automation from continuing without considering an account-health problem that may need attention first. Account Guardian itself remains strictly read-only on Amazon. It doesn't edit listings, file appeals, submit documents, or make changes in Seller Central. Its internal safeguards coordinate Sydon AI workflows, while actions affecting your Amazon account remain subject to the appropriate controls. The goal isn't to replace your judgment. It's to reduce the manual monitoring required to know when your judgment is needed.
Your account health shouldn't depend on another manual check
Monitor your account-health metrics, policy violations, and suppressed listings with Sydon AI's free Account Guardian, without having to remember to check every dashboard yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Does a green Amazon Account Health Rating mean my account is safe?
A green rating means your account is considered healthy under the policies included in the rating. It doesn't protect you from every restriction. Serious violations and issues outside the rating can still affect selling privileges, so continue monitoring individual violations, performance metrics, and listing status.
What happens if my Account Health Rating drops below 200?
A rating between 100 and 199 puts your account in Amazon's At Risk category. Review the violations contributing to the score and address them promptly. A rating of 99 or below means the account is in the Unhealthy category and may be eligible for deactivation or already deactivated.
Does Order Defect Rate apply to FBA and FBM orders?
Seller Central provides separate views of Order Defect Rate for FBA and seller-fulfilled orders. However, Amazon's current US ODR policy states that its enforcement requirement applies to seller-fulfilled orders. Sellers using both fulfillment methods should review the figures separately and follow the applicable performance requirements. Even when a metric doesn't trigger the same enforcement action for FBA orders, reviewing customer-service defects can help identify recurring product or customer-experience problems.
Do FBA sellers need to monitor shipping performance metrics?
Not for their FBA orders, since Amazon handles that fulfillment. FBA sellers still need to monitor account health, policy compliance, customer-service issues, and listing status. If you use both FBA and FBM, check the shipping metrics for your seller-fulfilled orders. If you fulfill orders for Amazon Business customers, Business Hour Delivery Rate may also apply.
What is Amazon's Business Hour Delivery Rate requirement?
Since September 30, 2026, Amazon has required a Business Hour Delivery Rate of at least 90% for applicable seller-fulfilled shipments to Amazon Business customers. The metric uses a rolling 14-day period and measures whether deliveries reach commercial customers during their operating hours. Sellers below the requirement may face restrictions on their seller-fulfilled offers for Amazon Business customers.
How often should I check Amazon account health?
Daily is a good habit, especially when managing multiple products or during busy seasons. At minimum, establish a consistent routine for reviewing performance changes, unresolved violations, and Performance Notifications. An account-health monitoring tool can reduce the need to check everything manually.
Can Amazon deactivate a listing even if my Account Health Rating is green?
Yes. Listing restrictions and serious policy issues can happen independently of a green rating. Amazon's August 2026 update also introduced offer-level enforcement for specified FBM performance problems. That's why individual listings and policy notices matter alongside the overall rating.
The bottom line
Amazon gives you the information you need to understand how your account is performing. Your Account Health Rating shows your standing under certain policy requirements. Order Defect Rate highlights customer-service problems, shipping metrics reveal fulfillment issues, and Policy Compliance identifies violations that need attention. Understanding those numbers is only the first step. The real value is noticing when something changes, finding the cause, and fixing it before the problem becomes serious. A green dashboard is reassuring, but it shouldn't be the only thing you look at. Check your metrics consistently, investigate changes early, and build a process that doesn't depend on remembering to open Seller Central whenever something feels wrong. The best time to find an account-health problem is before Amazon forces you to deal with it.
Build the brand, not the burden behind it.
Amazon, FBA, Seller Central, and Amazon Business are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Sydon AI is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon.