How to Write an Amazon Plan of Action, Using Amazon's Own Rules

For resellers, the page adds a rule for stock that does not come from the manufacturer. It says to "apply extra diligence to understand the provenance of the products, the accuracy of all compliance documents provided, and the legal framework in which they may be sold". A preventive step can put that diligence into your buying checklist. One example is a check that the store item is the same product as the Amazon listing. Arbitrage Hero matches store products to Amazon listings mainly by barcode, with title matching as a fallback, so check a match made by title by hand before you buy. The other buying steps are in our guide on how to resell on Amazon.

Weak and stronger answers to Amazon's four questions

A stronger answer names the product, the policy, a cause inside your own process, and steps that are already done. In the table, the weak root cause and the weak preventive step are quoted from Amazon's restricted-products page, which gives them as examples of invalid answers. The other answers are our examples for a reseller who got a restricted-product notice, not a real case and not an Amazon template. The first stronger answer is an instruction, because its details must come from your notice. Use an example only where it describes a step you really finished.

Amazon's question	Weak answer	Stronger answer (example or instruction)
Which policy was violated by what product?	"We received a notice about one of our listings."	One sentence with the ASIN, the product name and the policy, each copied exactly as the notice states it.
What caused the violation?	"I did not create the ASIN, I just listed against a product already on the website." (Amazon's example)	"Our buying checklist covered price, fees and sales rank, but not the Restricted Products policy, so nobody checked this product against the policy before we bought it."
What reactive steps have you taken?	"We will remove the listing."	"We deleted the listing and checked our other listings of the same product type against the policy."
What proactive steps have you taken?	"I will set questionable listings to Inactive (Out of Stock) to avoid getting additional violations." (Amazon's example)	"Our buying checklist now has a policy check before the first purchase of any new product, and the person who buys signs it off."

How do you submit a plan of action in Seller Central?

You submit a plan of action for a deactivated account in Seller Central, on the Account Health page, as Amazon's help page on appealing a deactivation or a listing removal describes:

1. In Seller Central, go to Account Health.
2. At the top of the page, click Reactivate your account.
3. Follow the instructions. Amazon may ask you to "submit a questionnaire, acknowledge a violation, complete a quiz, or provide supporting documents."
4. Click Submit, then watch your email for Amazon's decision.

For a removed listing, the same page says to check the Product Policy Compliance tab in Account Health first. If the listing is not there, check Manage Inventory for inactive listings, and read your Performance Notifications for the details of the removal. If you believe the deactivation was an error, Amazon's page says to follow the instructions on the Account Health page for providing an explanation.

Which documents answer an IP complaint?

For an IP complaint, the document depends on what the rights owner claims, according to Amazon US's Intellectual Property Policy, read on 13 November 2026. For a trademark or counterfeit claim about the product or its packaging, you "provide an invoice or Order ID that demonstrates the authenticity of the product" through the Account Health Dashboard.

For a trademark notice about the product detail page, you change the page so it does not infringe the trademark, then appeal through Account Health. If you have a license or agreement that allows you to use the IP named in the notice, you ask the rights owner who complained for a retraction. If you never listed the product, you reply to the notice and say so.

After multiple IP warnings, the policy asks for a list of the allegedly infringing ASINs and at least one of these documents, as applicable to the complaint:

1. Invoices that prove the products are authentic. You may remove the prices.
2. Amazon order IDs that show the products are authentic.
3. An authorization letter from the rights owner, which "cannot be a forwarded email".
4. A court order finding that your product does not infringe, or that the asserted IP is invalid or unenforceable.

Not knowing about a brand's rights does not protect your account. The policy says: "Even if a seller is infringing IP without knowledge, we will still take action and the seller's account might receive a warning or be suspended". Our glossary explains what an IP complaint is on Amazon.

What must a supplier invoice show for an Amazon appeal?

A supplier invoice for an Amazon appeal must come from the supplier and record a completed sale, according to Amazon US's page on invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation. The page, read on 13 November 2026, defines an invoice as a document that "is issued directly by a supplier and shows an itemized list of goods received and the terms of sale for a completed transaction". The page lists what it must show:

1. The supplier's name, phone number, address and website.
2. An issue date within the 365 days before you received the performance notification.
3. A quantity that covers your sales and in-stock inventory of each ASIN in the notification over the past 365 days.
4. Clear product identifiers: product names, model numbers, or a UPC, EAN or ISBN.
5. A PDF or an image file (.jpg, .png or .gif) of 10MB or less.

You may remove the prices, but everything else must stay visible and clear. Amazon does not accept sales quotes or pro forma invoices, self-issued invoices, digitally manipulated invoices, editable formats such as Excel or Word, or invoices sent by email instead of through Seller Central. Amazon may contact the supplier to check the invoice. The same page also asks for sales records for each ASIN of the violation.

Amazon's invoice page does not mention store receipts or online order confirmations, either as accepted or as not accepted. Our guide on whether online arbitrage is legal on Amazon has a checklist that compares typical purchase records with these rules. Ungating is a separate application, explained in our guide on how to get ungated with an invoice.

How long does Amazon take to answer a plan of action?

Amazon US's help page on appealing a deactivation, read on 13 November 2026, says to "expect a reply to your appeal within two days" after you submit it. That is Amazon's stated expectation, not a deadline. If Amazon asks for more information, you click View Appeal in Account Health and add the documents it asks for. Reinstatement is not certain: Amazon's restricted-products page says it may reinstate an account "in some situations", when the seller has addressed the root causes and put strong measures in place to prevent the violations from happening again.

Can you reuse an old plan of action or a template?

For a restricted-product violation, you cannot reuse an old appeal. Amazon's restricted-products page says that a new violation that is the same as or very similar to an earlier one needs a new appeal. It adds: "You cannot re-use or recycle an old appeal". A seller who already appealed repeated restricted-product violations is at first not eligible to appeal in the normal way. That seller must send a dispute that describes how the account has not violated the policy, with evidence. A template can help you order a new appeal, but its facts and finished steps must describe your current case.

Do you need a lawyer for an Amazon plan of action?

The appeal steps on the five Amazon pages quoted in this guide do not include a lawyer, but two of the pages point to legal advice. The Intellectual Property Policy says: "Important: This policy is not legal advice". It adds: "You should consult an attorney for help to ensure that you have the right procedures in place to prevent IP infringement". The restricted-products page lists consulting a legal expert among its examples of preventive steps. This guide is not legal advice either.

What to do next

Follow the route that your notice shows in Account Health. If you believe the action was an error, follow the explanation or dispute instructions there, and do not invent a root cause. For a violation that did happen, use these steps:

1. Open Account Health and read the notice: the policy, the ASINs and the documents it asks for.
2. Find the step in your own process that failed, and write it as the root cause.
3. Finish the fixes for this violation before you describe them.
4. Change your buying checklist, and describe the change as the preventive step.
5. Collect the supplier invoices, Amazon order IDs or authorization letter that the notice asks for.
6. Submit the appeal through Account Health, then watch your email for Amazon's decision.