You don’t need a U.S. company to sell on Amazon.
Likely, you set up your Amazon.com seller account under a foreign company with your foreign address.
Unfortunately, you might be in a similar situation where your account was either not activated or you need to reactivate your account due to some issue. If you are looking to form a U.S. single-member LLC for your Amazon account, we can help you.
Only if you form an LLC taxed properly that leads to appropriate tax interview questions can we help. Forming the LLC will lead to how your LLC will be taxed, and other key factors will determine if your LLC or you are subject to U.S. taxes.
NCP can help you form a U.S. LLC correctly and provide the steps to set up your Amazon account to avoid these issues. Learn more here about our U.S. LLC services.
NCP is an Amazon Agency partner which means if you qualify, we can set up your U.S. LLC and refer you direction to Amazon to set up your account, and avoid any uncessary delays or costs with additional requirements such as a utility bill.
If you have already formed a U.S. LLC and not your Amazon account, we can consult and review what you have filed and make recommendations for amendments before you establish you Amazon account.
The goal is to get your account set up properly to avoid the requirements for a utility bill which often will cost more than the formation of your low-cost online filing which does not provide any Amazon direction.
An LLC on the Amazon account completing a W-9 for a non-resident is more complicated regarding U.S. taxes (and now required for most banking situations). If you need help with a proper U.S. formation and a complete understanding of both Amazon and U.S. taxes, we recommend you start with a paid strategy call.
Establishing your Amazon.com seller account requires specific steps to be followed to open and keep your account activated. When you follow our steps below and work with NCP, an Amazon Agency Partner, if you qualify, you will get referred directly to Amazon to set up your account and avoid the necessary steps below.
If you are not in a position to qualify, or if you already set up your account and received a notice for verification, this will help you meet your requirements.
There are NO shortcuts with Amazon; just set up your account properly and get professional support from the U.S. LLC formation for the Amazon account formation!
About 20-35% of the time, when a seller does not follow the precise Amazon steps for providing the required information for your business account, business address, mobile phone, chargeable credit card, and identity details correctly, your account may be opened but soon met with a notice that says, we received your submission but did not have enough information to reactivate your account at this time.
You may violate the Amazon Payments, Inc. customer agreement, in section 2.1 (c), where you have a current Amazon seller central account and were unable to verify your business entity’s authorization to do business and physical presence in the U.S.
Your payments may have been temporarily disabled. You have eight days to avoid an account suspension. The additional verification may include a lease agreement or utility bill. Ask about our expedited services for this situation.
Or you might have submitted all the paperwork, and your seller account was approved. Then, a few days later, you received a follow-up email saying, at this moment, we cannot verify your account, so your account can not be activated. We need additional documentation to verify your account.
The additional documentation includes the following:
- Confirm you have a valid credit card on file.
- Provide the following documents: A. A bill that is dated within the last 90 days for a piped or natural gas, electricity, piped water, or internet service with name and address visible. B. Business license, if applicable.
- A business license (A Nevada LLC includes a state business license).
Of course, it’s not just this simple. In addition to having the correct files, the utility bill in one situation must match the provider’s website, logos, and more. There are exceptions to this strategy, depending on how your Amazon account was set up and what you did on the Amazon tax interview.
Submitting your utility bill does not guarantee that your account will be reactivated for various reasons, including how you approached Amazon, whether you had other account issues, and whether other items align with your application.
Ultimately, Amazon wants to verify a seller’s identity and weed out any fraud, which makes sense to protect the marketplace and its customers. We support this approach 100% and are only looking to support serious sellers that play by the book.
Why NCP is Your Best Bet:
Optimize Your Setup: The smart move is to get your U.S. LLC and Amazon accounts set up right the first time with an agency partner like NCP. Consulting with us early can save you a ton of time and money.
Tailored Advice: We’ll dive into your specific situation. Whether you haven’t set up a US LLC or Amazon account yet, or you’ve done both and hit a verification roadblock, we’ve got you covered.
Avoid Costly Mistakes: There’s a big difference between getting your Amazon account verified and changing the business name on your Amazon Seller Profile Details. Fixing mistakes later with legal referral partners can be more expensive than getting it right from the start.
Let’s Do It Right the First Time
Instead of facing potential fees for reviewing and amending your LLC filings or consulting on changes later, let NCP handle everything from the start. We’ll form your U.S. LLC correctly and guide you through the Amazon onboarding process smoothly.
Get Started with NCP Today
Why face unnecessary hurdles when you can have a hassle-free setup with NCP? Reach out now, and let’s make your Amazon journey a breeze! Book your consultation with Scott Letourneau now and take the first step towards a seamless Amazon selling experience.
U.S. Residents
You may be in a situation where you set up an LLC as the legal entity on your Amazon seller account, but you operate a home-based business. You might be in a position where you can not obtain a utility bill in the name of your LLC to your home address. If so, we can help.
Non-U.S. Residents
Amazon will trigger the utility bill requirement because the way you filled out your Amazon account triggered a mismatch, and now extra verification is required.
Amazon Utility Bill Verification Requirements:
- Utility bills must be for the last 90 days.
- Documents must be scanned clearly, without blurry, cut, or missing pages.
- If the bill provided is not in English, please attach a notarized copy translated and witnessed by the legal counsel. Self-translated documents are not accepted.
- If the utility bill is not available in the name of the account owner but instead in the name of a family member or family member, be sure to provide proof of relationship and government-issued ID.
- The information provided in the documents must be verifiable without discrepancies.
- The utility bill must include usage details, due date, date of issue, appropriate service provider contact, company logo, etc. If there are any problems, please attach a copy of the invoice online and verify its source.
- Please note you should provide clearly scanned or digitally downloaded documents only.
- A utility bill dated within the last 90 days for;
- piped gas
- natural gas
- electricity
- piped water
- Internet service
- Anyone with a name and address visible
- Ensure that the provided documents are in one of the supported languages. Supported languages include Arabic, simplified Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. If the documents are not in one of the supported languages, you must submit a notarized translation into one of the supported languages along with the original document.
Active Your Amazon Account
Navigating the complexities of Amazon account activation can be challenging, especially for non-resident sellers. As an Amazon Agency Partner, we understand the intricacies of the account setup process and the potential pitfalls that can lead to additional verification requirements.
Even if you provide a utility bill, there’s no guarantee that your account will be verified. Common issues include errors in the tax interview—such as mistakenly filling out a W-9 instead of a W-8BEN—and mismatches in personal and business addresses. These errors must be carefully evaluated and corrected to avoid delays and complications. The key is which address does Amazon want to verify for your situation?
Amazon’s notifications often lack specificity, making it difficult to pinpoint and rectify all the mistakes in your account setup. This process is akin to dealing with U.S. banks, where extra verification might be required for your U.S. business address or foreign personal address.
Book a consultation with our CEO, Scott Letourneau, to ensure a smooth and successful account activation. Scott is not only an Amazon Agency Partner but also a U.S. Main Street Certified Tax Advisor, equipped to review your account setup and guide you through the necessary changes. Avoid committing perjury on the tax interview and with the IRS, and ensure your Amazon account is verified without unnecessary delays.
Don’t leave your account activation to chance. Book your consultation with Scott Letourneau now and take the first step towards a seamless Amazon selling experience.
Additional Amazon Account Verification Issues
During our consultation process, we will review how you set up your Amazon account and, specifically, how you completed the tax interview to ensure your legal structure matches the appropriate W-9 or W-8BEN forms. We will also examine how your entity documents were filed. Often, additional Amazon account verification or documentation issues need to be addressed beyond the email you received from Amazon explaining why your account could not be activated.
Amazon Verified LLC Service
Form a U.S. LLC through NCP, and our Amazon Account Setup and Verification Steps are included. If you’re new to U.S. expansion and want a full breakdown of steps and fees, schedule a call with our team using this link.
Amazon Account Activation Consultation
You may have additional questions about other requirements to reactivate your account, such as the Amazon tax interview or U.S. tax questions. If so, these questions are answered during a paid strategy call with our CEO, Scott Letourneau. Learn more here.