Amazon Wants Your Invoices: How to Respond and What Actually Passes

The notification doesn't ask nicely.

"Provide invoices for the following ASIN within 48 hours."

You read it twice. Then you start digging through emails, folders, and Dropbox looking for something—anything—that proves you bought the product legitimately.

Here's what most sellers don't realize until this moment:

Amazon doesn't just want a document. They want a specific type of document, formatted a specific way, with specific details that they can verify.

Send the wrong thing—a receipt instead of an invoice, a scan that's slightly blurry, an invoice with your old business address—and it gets rejected. Sometimes without explanation.

Failed invoice requests don't just kill listings. They can:

• Strand inventory in FBA warehouses you can't touch
• Ding your account health metrics
• Put your entire selling privileges at risk if the pattern repeats

This guide breaks down exactly what Amazon accepts, what gets rejected (even if it looks legit), and how to respond when the clock is ticking.

Already got the notification? Skip to Section 7.

Want to make sure you're never caught off guard? Start here.

Why Amazon Asks for Invoices

Invoice requests don't come out of nowhere. They're usually triggered by one of these situations:

Customer complaints. Someone reported an issue with your product—authenticity, condition, or an IP claim. Amazon wants proof you sourced it legitimately.

Routine compliance audits. Amazon randomly checks accounts, especially newer sellers or those in high-volume categories. No complaint necessary—just a spot check.

High-risk categories or brands. Certain products attract more scrutiny. Electronics, health and beauty, and name brands with aggressive enforcement are common triggers.

Sales spikes or unusual activity. Rapid growth can flag your account for review. Amazon wants to make sure you're not moving counterfeit inventory at scale.

Here's the important part: an invoice request doesn't mean you did something wrong.

It means Amazon wants verification. The problem is, most sellers don't realize how strict the requirements are until they've already submitted the wrong document.

Let's look at what actually passes.

What Makes an Invoice Pass

Amazon's requirements are stricter than most sellers expect. Every invoice needs to hit these marks—miss one, and it could get rejected.

Supplier Details

Amazon may call your supplier to verify the invoice is real. Make sure it includes:

• Business name
• Physical address
• Phone number
• Website (must be functional—Amazon will check)

If your supplier doesn't have a working website or a phone number that gets answered, that's a red flag before you even submit.

Buyer Details

Your information needs to match what's on file in Seller Central. Exactly.

• Your business name
• Your address

Even small mismatches cause problems. If your invoice says "Main St" but Seller Central says "Main Street," that can trigger a rejection.

Product Details

This is where a lot of invoices fail. Generic descriptions don't cut it.

• Itemized list of products (not "assorted goods" or "mixed inventory")
• Product identifiers like UPC, model number, or ASIN
• Quantities that cover your sales volume for the last 365 days
• Invoice date within the last 365 days

If you sold 200 units but your invoice only shows 50, Amazon will notice the gap.

Format

• PDF, JPG, or PNG
• Clear and legible (no blurry phone photos or smeared scans)
• Unaltered (Amazon is trained to spot edited documents)

Bottom line: A passing invoice creates a clean paper trail from supplier to you to customer. If any link in that chain is missing or unverifiable, expect problems.

What Does NOT Qualify as an Invoice

This is where most sellers get tripped up. You might have documentation that feels legitimate—but Amazon won't accept it.

None of these count as invoices:

• Retail receipts (Walmart, Target, TJ Maxx, Costco, etc.)
• Packing slips
• Order confirmations
• Pro forma invoices or purchase orders
• PayPal invoices
• Handwritten documents
• Invoices from Alibaba, AliExpress, DHGate, or 1688
• Excel or Word files
• Anything older than 365 days
• Documents with generic descriptions ("assorted goods," "misc. inventory")

Why these fail:

Amazon needs to verify a supply chain. They want to call your supplier, confirm you purchased the product, and confirm the quantity matches what you sold.

Retail receipts don't show that chain. A packing slip proves something was shipped—not where it originated. A pro forma invoice shows intent to purchase, not a completed transaction. And documents from gray-market sources like AliExpress can't be verified in a way Amazon trusts.

The test: Can Amazon call the supplier listed, confirm your purchase, and trace the product back to an authorized source?

If the answer is no, the document won't pass.

Why Invoices Get Rejected

You submitted an invoice. It got rejected. Amazon's response was vague or nonexistent.

Here's what usually went wrong:

Business name doesn't match Seller Central. Even a small typo—"LLC" vs "L.L.C." or a misspelled street name—can trigger an automatic rejection. Amazon's system is looking for an exact match.

Supplier can't be verified. Amazon tried to confirm the invoice and hit a dead end. The website didn't load. The phone number went to voicemail. Nobody could confirm your purchase. Rejection.

Quantity doesn't match your sales. If you sold 300 units over the past year but your invoice shows 40, Amazon sees a gap. They want documentation that covers your full sales volume.

Products aren't itemized. An invoice that says "Health & Beauty – 100 units" doesn't tell Amazon anything. They need product names, UPCs, or model numbers that connect to the ASIN in question.

Document looks altered. Amazon reviewers are trained to spot manipulation. Pixelated logos, misaligned text, inconsistent fonts, or colors that don't match the supplier's website all raise fraud flags.

Missing required fields. No phone number? No website? No invoice number? Any blank space where Amazon expects information is a reason to reject.

The frustrating part: Amazon often won't tell you which of these caused the rejection. You may get a generic response that says the document "doesn't meet requirements." That means you need to review everything yourself before resubmitting.

The Arbitrage Problem

If you do retail or online arbitrage, this section is for you.

Amazon officially allows arbitrage. Their own seller guidelines say you can resell products you've legally purchased. That's the first-sale doctrine, and it's why the business model exists.

But here's the contradiction: Amazon also explicitly states they won't accept retail receipts as proof of authenticity.

So you can buy products at Walmart and resell them on Amazon—until someone files a complaint. Then Amazon asks for invoices. You submit your Walmart receipts. And they get rejected because a retail receipt doesn't establish a verifiable supply chain.

The reality is messier than the policy.

Some sellers report retail receipts being accepted. Others submit the same type of documentation and get rejected. Whether a receipt passes often depends on:

• The individual reviewer
• The brand involved
• The type of complaint filed
• How detailed the receipt is

There's no consistency.

Bottom line: Receipts can work—but you're rolling the dice. If you build a business on arbitrage without any wholesale invoices to fall back on, one complaint could leave you with no way to defend yourself.

That's not a reason to quit arbitrage. It's a reason to understand the risk and diversify your sourcing when you can.

How to Respond (Step-by-Step)

You got the notification. Here's exactly what to do.

Step 1: Act Fast

You typically have 48-72 hours to respond. Don't let it sit. The longer you wait, the worse it looks—and the more likely your listing gets pulled while you're scrambling.

Step 2: Find the Request

Go to Seller Central. Check two places:

• Performance > Account Health > Product Policy Compliance
• Performance > Performance Notifications

Read the full notice. It should tell you which ASIN is affected and what type of issue triggered the request.

Step 3: Identify the ASIN and Complaint Type

Is this an authenticity complaint? A condition issue? An IP claim? The complaint type determines what Amazon expects in your response. Know exactly what you're dealing with before you submit anything.

Step 4: Pull Your Invoice and Check It

Before you upload, review your invoice against Amazon's requirements:

• Does your business name match Seller Central exactly?
• Is the supplier's name, address, phone, and website all visible?
• Are the products itemized with identifiers (UPC, model number)?
• Does the quantity cover your sales for the last 365 days?
• Is the invoice dated within the last 365 days?
• Is the file a clear, legible PDF?

If anything is missing or mismatched, fix it before you submit.

Step 5: Prep Your Supplier

Amazon may call your supplier to verify the invoice. Give your supplier a heads up:

• Let them know Amazon might reach out
• Confirm they can verify your purchase if asked
• Make sure their phone number actually gets answered during business hours

A supplier who doesn't pick up the phone can sink an otherwise perfect invoice.

Step 6: Submit With a Brief Note

Upload your invoice as a clean PDF. Include a short, professional message—something like:

"Attached is the invoice for [ASIN] from [Supplier Name], showing [quantity] units purchased on [date]. Please let me know if any additional documentation is needed."

Don't over-explain. Don't get emotional. Keep it factual.

Step 7: Wait

Amazon typically responds within 24-72 hours, though complex cases can take longer.

While you wait:

• Don't resubmit the same document repeatedly
• Don't flood Seller Support with calls about the case
• Don't open multiple cases for the same issue

Check your notifications. Wait for a response. If they need more, they'll tell you.

If Your Invoice Gets Rejected

It happens. Even legitimate invoices get rejected. Here's how to recover.

Review the Rejection Reason

Amazon sometimes provides a reason. Sometimes they don't. If they do, read it carefully—it tells you where to focus.

Common rejection language includes:

• "We could not verify your supplier"
• "The document does not meet our requirements"
• "Information does not match our records"

If the response is vague, you'll need to audit the invoice yourself.

Check for Mismatches

Go back to Section V and review each rejection trigger against your invoice. The usual culprits: name or address doesn't match Seller Central exactly, supplier can't be verified, quantities don't cover your sales, or products aren't clearly itemized.

One small mismatch can cause a rejection. Find it before you resubmit.

Contact Your Supplier

If your invoice is missing details or has errors, ask your supplier for a corrected version. Most legitimate distributors will help—they want your repeat business.

Resubmit With Improvements

Don't send the same document twice. Amazon flags accounts that repeatedly submit identical appeals without changes.

Make meaningful updates. Fix any mismatches you found. Add a clearer version if the first was blurry. Include a brief note explaining what you corrected.

Know When to Cut Your Losses

Sometimes the invoice just won't pass—especially if you sourced from a supplier Amazon can't verify or won't accept.

At some point, you have to make a business decision: How much inventory is tied up? Is fighting this costing more time than the product is worth? Could repeated rejections put your account health at risk?

There's no shame in removing a listing, liquidating inventory, and moving on. Protect your account first.

Protect Yourself Before the Request Hits

Invoice requests feel like emergencies. But for sellers who are prepared, they're just paperwork.

The sellers who pass these checks share a few habits:

• They collect proper invoices at the time of purchase—not after a complaint
• They verify supplier details are complete before placing orders
• They keep files organized and accessible within minutes
• They know what Amazon accepts and what gets rejected

None of this is complicated. It's just not something most sellers think about until they're staring at a 48-hour deadline with the wrong documents in hand.

Here's the bottom line:

An invoice request won't kill your business—if you can respond with clean documentation. But if you've been sourcing without proper invoices, one complaint can put you in a corner with no way out.

Build the habit now. Every order, every supplier, every product—get the invoice, check it against Amazon's requirements, and file it somewhere you can find it fast.

When the notification comes (and eventually, it probably will), you'll be ready.