Your Amazon account health score is the single number that determines whether your selling privileges stay intact. Most sellers only check it after something goes wrong - a suppressed listing, a policy violation notice, or a metric that's slipped past a threshold. This guide covers every component of the Account Health dashboard, what causes each one to deteriorate, and the exact steps to bring them back on track.
What the Account Health Dashboard Actually Measures
Go to Seller Central → Performance → Account Health. The page is split into three distinct areas, and each one can independently cause your account to be restricted or deactivated.
A score from 0 to 1,000 that tracks your compliance with Amazon's selling policies. New sellers start at 200. Green (Healthy) is 200–1,000. Yellow (At Risk) is 100–199. Red (Unhealthy) is 99 or below - at which point your account is eligible for deactivation. The score updates in near real time when violations are added or resolved.
This section is dominated by your Order Defect Rate (ODR) - the percentage of orders that resulted in negative feedback, an A-to-z Guarantee claim not decided in your favour, or a service chargeback. Amazon's target for Amazon.in is under 1%. Breaching this metric is one of the fastest ways to trigger account deactivation.
Covers Pre-Fulfilment Cancellation Rate, Late Shipment Rate, Valid Tracking Rate, and On-Time Delivery Rate. These metrics apply only to orders you ship yourself - not FBA. If you're entirely on FBA, this section won't affect you, but missing any target here can restrict your ability to use seller-fulfilled shipping options.
Shipping Metrics: Targets, Windows and What Happens When You Miss Them
| Metric | Amazon.in Target | Measurement Window | Consequence of Missing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order Defect Rate | Under 1% | 60 days | Account deactivation |
| Pre-Fulfilment Cancellation Rate | Under 2% | 7 or 30 days | Account deactivation |
| Late Shipment Rate | Under 2% | 10 or 30 days | Loss/restriction of selling privileges |
| Valid Tracking Rate | Over 95% | 30 days | Non-FBA offers blocked in that category |
| On-Time Delivery Rate | Over 97% | Rolling | Removal of pincode coverage settings |
A few things worth knowing about ODR specifically: one- and two-star feedback both count as negative. Chargebacks from fraud do not count against you. A-to-z claims that are denied, withdrawn, or decided in your favour are excluded from the calculation. If your seller-fulfilled ODR is at risk, Amazon may offer you a five-question quiz in the banner - pass it within 72 hours and no written plan of action is required.
Many blog posts cite US Amazon thresholds. Amazon.in's cancellation and late shipment targets - both under 2% - are stricter than what you'll read in US-focused guides. Always check your Seller Central for the India-specific figures.
Why Listings Get Suppressed - and the Fix for Each Cause
A suppressed listing disappears from search and stops generating sales. It also stops your Sponsored Products ads for that ASIN from running. Start by filtering Manage Inventory for "Suppressed", then check the Product Policy Compliance tab and your Performance Notifications to identify the cause.
This is the most common suppression cause. Amazon requires a pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255), the product filling roughly 85% of the frame, no text, watermarks, price tags or logos on the image, and a minimum of 500px on the longest side (1,000px or more recommended for zoom). Fix: replace the image and allow 24–48 hours for the suppression to lift once a compliant image is uploaded.
New listings on Amazon.in must keep titles to 75 characters including spaces. Titles cannot include phrases like "free shipping", "best seller", "guaranteed", or special characters like ! $ ? _ { } ^. No word can be repeated more than twice. Titles on existing listings that don't comply may be auto-corrected by Amazon or dropped from search. Edit the title and resubmit - changes usually reflect within 24–48 hours.
Detail pages cannot contain HTML or JavaScript, links to external websites, your contact details, requests for reviews or feedback, or advertising for other products. Any of these will suppress the listing. Remove the content, resubmit via Manage Inventory, and the listing typically restores within a few hours.
Every product category has mandatory fields - department, size, colour, material, unit count, and others depending on the category. These appear in Seller Central under Fix Your Products. Fill all flagged fields and submit. Most attribute fixes reflect in approximately 15 minutes, making this the fastest suppression to resolve.
Amazon compares your price against your own past prices and other sellers' offers. If your price looks anomalous - significantly higher than normal - Amazon may suppress the Buy Box or the entire offer. Correct the price to a reasonable level, then raise a ticket with Seller Support to reinstate the offer if it doesn't restore automatically within 24 hours.
Policy Violations: How Points Work and What Each Severity Means
Every policy violation on your account carries a severity level, and each severity costs a different number of AHR points. Amazon doesn't publish an exact points table - the dashboard says deductions typically range from 2 to 8 points, and repeat violations of the same policy can double the deduction.
| Severity | Points Deducted | Examples | Special Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | Score → 0 immediately | Confirmed counterfeit, review manipulation, search rank manipulation | 3-day grace period before deactivation; Amazon specialist may call your emergency contact |
| High | Up to 8 points | Valid intellectual property infringement notice from a rights owner | Repeat same-policy violations can double the deduction |
| Medium | 4–6 points | Links to external websites in listing content | - |
| Low | 2–3 points | Used item sold as new condition | - |
Two accumulation rules can trigger a critical violation even if no single infringement was critical: five intellectual property infringement violations in 180 days, or two restricted product violations in 180 days, each automatically escalate to critical status. And importantly - deleting the listing does not remove the violation. Violations age out naturally after 180 days or once resolved; you can't shortcut this by removing the ASIN.
A critical violation gives you exactly 72 hours before Amazon can deactivate your account. Use that window immediately - dispute the violation if it's incorrect, or acknowledge it and submit a corrective action plan if it's valid. Don't wait.
When Accounts Get Deactivated and How Appeals Work
Deactivation can follow a red AHR score, an unresolved critical violation, or shipping metrics that stay past target for an extended period. The reinstatement path is in Seller Central under Account Health → Reactivate your account. Amazon says to expect a response within two business days, though in practice it varies.
Depending on the reason for deactivation, Amazon may ask for a questionnaire, an acknowledgement, a quiz, supporting documents, or a full written Plan of Action (POA). When a POA is required, the structure that works is:
State clearly what went wrong and why - without deflecting blame to suppliers, couriers, or customers. Amazon wants to see that you understand the specific failure, not a general explanation. Reference the ASIN or order number if the deactivation is for a specific product.
List the specific steps you have already taken since the violation, with dates. "I will fix this" carries no weight - "On [date], I removed the ASIN, contacted the supplier for invoices, and updated our quality check process to include X" is what Amazon reads as credible. Attach supporting documents: invoices dated within the last 365 days, supplier details, updated SOPs.
Explain what systemic change you've made so this can't happen again. Process changes, supplier audits, new checklists, team training. Keep the total POA to one to two pages - concise and factual. Avoid emotional language, lengthy explanations of your business, or requests for sympathy.
A suppressed listing makes its ASIN ineligible for the Featured Offer (Buy Box). Sponsored Products require Buy Box eligibility to run. This means a suppressed listing costs you both organic visibility and paid advertising on that ASIN simultaneously - fix suppressions as a first priority, not an afterthought.
Account health dropping?
We manage Amazon accounts for sellers across India - monitoring health metrics, clearing violations, and handling suppressed listings before they hit your revenue.