Amazon Account Health: metrics, thresholds and keeping your account

Account Health is the dashboard in Seller Central that Amazon uses to decide whether your selling account can keep operating. It rests on two things: performance metrics (how you fulfil orders and handle customers) and policy compliance (whether you break the rules on intellectual property, authenticity or product safety). The state of your account is summed up by the Account Health Rating (AHR): a score from 0 to 1000, coloured green, yellow or red. To avoid losing the account you watch both sides at once: you keep your metrics below Amazon's thresholds and you avoid the policy violations that can suspend an account no matter how good your metrics look.

Key takeaways:

• The AHR (0–1000) is a quick thermometer: green means calm, yellow is a warning sign, red means the account is at risk of deactivation.
• Performance metrics have explicit targets: ODR below 1%, Cancel Rate below 2.5%, Late Shipment Rate below 4%, Valid Tracking Rate above 95%, CSDR below 25%.
• A metric slipping and a hard policy violation are two different situations that call for completely different responses.
• Authenticity, IP and product-safety violations are the most dangerous, because they can suspend an account overnight.
• Account health is won by routine, not firefighting: a short review every day, a deeper one once a week.

What Account Health and the Account Health Rating (AHR) are

Account Health is the tab in Seller Central where Amazon gathers every signal about how you run your account. At the heart of the panel sits the Account Health Rating, a metric on a 0–1000 scale that Amazon introduced in 2022. The higher, the safer. Amazon colour-codes it:

• Green (roughly 200–1000): the account is in good shape.
• Yellow (roughly 100–199): the account is at risk and needs attention.
• Red (below 100): the account qualifies for deactivation.

Amazon shows the exact colour boundaries and how points are calculated inside the panel itself, and it can adjust them, so treat the ranges above as indicative, not as a fixed formula. The "conversion tables" that circulate online (how many points per so many orders, how much a given violation subtracts) are largely reconstructions by the seller community, not an officially published formula. One thing is certain, though: the AHR falls with policy violations and with metrics out of range, and it climbs when you sell cleanly over a longer stretch.

It is worth knowing that with a consistently high AHR (held for several months) Amazon offers the Account Health Assurance programme: a promise that it will not deactivate the account without contacting you first and giving you a chance to react. It is a reward for consistency, not an insurance policy forever.

Performance metrics and the thresholds Amazon watches

Performance metrics describe how you actually handle orders and buyers. Each has a target that Amazon states as a performance threshold. Below is a rundown of the key metrics along with the time windows Amazon measures them over:

Targets and time windows: Amazon Seller Central, as of 26 July 2026. Amazon may change them; confirm the current values in the Account Health panel on your own account.

ODR: the metric that reaches suspension fastest

Order Defect Rate is the most important service metric, because it aggregates three signals at once: negative feedback, A-to-z Guarantee claims and chargebacks. The threshold is below 1% over a 60-day window. At low sales volume this metric is fickle: two or three problem orders can send the percentage soaring, because the denominator is small. So when you have few orders, every single incident weighs double.

Shipping metrics: Cancel Rate, LSR and VTR

The three shipping metrics apply to orders you fulfil yourself (FBM). Pre-fulfilment Cancel Rate penalises cancellations before dispatch; the most common cause is selling a product you no longer have in stock. That is a direct bridge to the topic of FBA inventory management and stock buffers: empty shelves mean not just lost sales, but a real risk to account health. Late Shipment Rate makes sure you confirm dispatch within the stated deadline, and Valid Tracking Rate makes sure you send parcels with a real, working tracking number.

A key point about the logistics model here. If you sell through the Amazon FBA model, Amazon packs and ships your goods, so it takes over most of the shipping metrics: Late Shipment Rate, Valid Tracking Rate and a good part of cancellations. FBA does not, however, release you from watching ODR, staying policy-compliant, or replenishing stock (because running out in FBA means lost sales, and under FBM it also drives up Cancel Rate).

CSDR: a recent change in how it is counted

Customer Service Dissatisfaction Rate measures how buyers rate your replies in messages. The target is below 25% dissatisfied. From 17 April 2026 Amazon changed how it is calculated: instead of a yes/no question ("Did this solve your problem?") the buyer now rates the service on a 1–5 scale. Ratings of 1–2 count as dissatisfaction, 3 is neutral and drops out of the count, 4–5 count as satisfaction (Amazon, announcement April 2026). Amazon stated that the new method should give a result close to the old one, but it is worth knowing about if you compare readings from before and after that date.

Policy violations are a completely different league

Metrics describe the quality of your service. Policy violations describe whether you are even allowed to sell a given product in a given way. This is the second, more dangerous half of Account Health. The main categories:

• Intellectual property (IP): complaints about trademark, copyright or patent infringement. Usually raised by the rights holder, and Amazon reacts fast.
• Product authenticity: a suspected counterfeit or "inauthentic" claim, one of the heaviest categories because it touches trust in the platform. It can require invoices from an authorised supplier.
• Product safety: complaints about a dangerous or faulty product, or one missing required certificates. Amazon treats these as a priority.
• Prohibited and regulated products as well as breaches of listing rules (for example misleading descriptions or review manipulation).

The weight of these violations is uneven. Some are "soft" warnings you clear with a listing fix. But authenticity, safety and IP violations are among the heaviest and can push the AHR into the red or lead to a suspension overnight, even when your service metrics are exemplary. That is why a clean ODR is not a shield against everything.

A metric slipping vs a hard violation: why the response differs

This distinction is arguably the most important in the whole topic, and it is easy to miss.

A metric slipping is gradual and "self-healing". ODR measured over a 60-day window will improve on its own once the old, defective orders drop out of the window and fresh, clean ones come in. The response is to remove the source of the problem (for example a supplier ruining quality, or slow shipping) and wait for the window to "air out". Usually there is no appeal needed here, just patience and a process fix.

A hard violation is a discrete event: a counterfeit complaint, an IP report, a safety alert. It will not "wash out" over time. It requires a specific response: removing or fixing the listing and, if Amazon demands it, a Plan of Action (POA). As long as the violation sits unresolved, it weighs on the account regardless of how good the other numbers are.

The consequence is simple: when you see a problem in Account Health, first establish which situation you are dealing with. For a metric slip you respond with process and time. For a violation you respond with evidence and an appeal. Confusing one for the other is the most common cause of lost weeks.

What to do when a metric is dropping (a playbook)

The order of actions when a warning lights up but the account is not yet suspended:

1. Name the metric and the cause. Open Account Health and check which metric went out of range and from which orders. Amazon shows the specific cases that make up the figure.
2. Cut off the source. Cancel Rate rising with an empty warehouse? Turn off or buffer offers without stock cover. ODR climbing from one batch? Halt sales of the faulty SKU.
3. Address the individual orders. Reach out to dissatisfied customers, resolve open cases, reduce the risk of A-to-z claims and negative feedback.
4. Wait out the window. With metrics on a 30–60 day window, a process fix will only show up in the figure a few weeks later. That is normal, not a failure.
5. Monitor daily until you are back to green, then return to your usual routine.

If, however, the account or a listing has already been suspended, the game changes: what counts now is a substantive plan of action and speed. This is the moment when people often reach for support specialised in account reinstatement and a plan of action, because the first appeal is often the one good chance and it pays to make it strong.

The Plan of Action (POA) in brief

In an appeal Amazon expects three elements, in exactly this logic:

• Root cause. What specifically went wrong. No generalities like "we will improve quality": Amazon is looking for a real diagnosis.
• Immediate actions. What you have already done to remove the problem (pulling a SKU, fixing a listing, contacting the supplier, invoices).
• Systemic actions. What you are changing in the process so it does not happen again (stock checks, changing supplier, a 24-hour message-reply procedure).

A good POA is specific, evidence-based and free of emotion. It is an operational document, not a letter of apology.

A monitoring routine: the checklist that protects your account

Account health is won by rhythm, not by bursts. Below is a routine you can put in place right away.

Daily (2–5 minutes):

• A glance at the AHR and its colour in Account Health: has a new alert or violation appeared.
• Check the buyer message inbox (aim: reply within 24 hours, which protects CSDR).
• Check stock levels on your bestsellers: running out hits Cancel Rate and sales.

Weekly (15–30 minutes):

• Review all five metrics from the table against their thresholds, not just the AHR colour.
• Analyse the negative feedback and claims from recent days: is there a common denominator? a specific SKU, supplier, courier?
• Check the policy-violations tab: has a new IP or authenticity complaint come in.

Monthly:

• Metric trends month over month: is anything creeping the wrong way before it crosses a threshold.
• Review listings for compliance (descriptions, certificates, brand rights).
• Verify that your account health is not undermining Buy Box (Featured Offer) eligibility: healthy metrics are the ticket into the contest for that spot.

Who watches this on sellers' behalf

Ongoing metric monitoring and fast response to incidents is the daily, dull work that easily slips down the list when a team is chasing sales and marketing. At Amazonway this is part of stage WP 04 (Momentum) of the Waypoint framework, that is, day-to-day account management: we monitor Account Health and react to metric slips and violations before they grow into a suspension. The stages are laid out in how we work, and the detail is in our marketplace account management. An honest caveat: no one (us included) "guarantees keeping the account", because Amazon makes the decisions by rules we do not control. What we actually do is watch every signal at once and put out problems quickly while they are still small.

FAQ

What does a red Account Health Rating mean?

A red AHR (indicatively below 100 points on the 0–1000 scale) means the account qualifies for deactivation. It is a signal to react immediately: establish the cause and, if Amazon requires it, submit a plan of action. Check the exact boundaries in the panel on your own account.

Will a single negative feedback suspend my account?

A single negative rating does not suspend an account, but at low sales volume it can push Order Defect Rate above 1%, because the metric is calculated as a percentage over a 60-day window. The fewer orders you have, the more each incident weighs.

Under FBA, do I still have to watch the shipping metrics?

Under FBA, Amazon handles fulfilment, so it takes over most of the shipping metrics (Late Shipment Rate, Valid Tracking Rate, a large share of cancellations). You are still responsible for ODR, policy compliance, message handling and replenishing stock.

How long do I have to reply to a buyer message?

Amazon expects a reply within 24 hours. Quick, substantive replies protect the Customer Service Dissatisfaction Rate (target below 25%) and reduce the risk of escalation to claims.

What is the difference between a metric slipping and a policy violation?

A metric slipping is gradual and improves on its own once old orders drop out of the counting window and the process is fixed. A policy violation (IP, authenticity, safety) is an event you have to resolve with an appeal and evidence; it will not "wash out" over time.

We will check your account's health before it gets dangerous

If you are not sure whether your metrics are safe, or you see the first alert in Account Health and do not know how to react, book an account health audit. We will walk through the AHR, the metrics and the violations tab, point out the real risks and the order in which to act.

Sources

• Amazon Seller Central, Account Health and the Account Health Rating (AHR): 0–1000 scale, colours, Account Health Assurance. Accessed 26 July 2026.
• Amazon Seller Central, performance metric targets: Order Defect Rate (below 1%, 60 days), Pre-fulfilment Cancel Rate (below 2.5%), Late Shipment Rate (below 4%), Valid Tracking Rate (above 95%), Customer Service Dissatisfaction Rate (below 25%). Accessed 26 July 2026.
• Amazon, change to how the customer-service metric is calculated (1–5 scale), effective 17 April 2026. Accessed 26 July 2026.

State of knowledge on Amazon's rules: 26 July 2026. Amazon changes the thresholds and mechanics of Account Health; always confirm the exact, current values for your account in the Account Health panel in Seller Central. This article is informational and is not a guarantee of keeping or recovering an account.