Letter of authorization for Amazon: what it is, who issues it, and how to ask a brand

Brand, distributor, or both: who can authorize you

Three businesses are involved when you resell a branded product on Amazon: the brand owner (the company that owns the trademark, often also the manufacturer), the distributors it sells through, and you. Each plays a different part, and it pays to keep them straight.

The brand authorizes. Only the company that owns the brand can authorize you to sell it. Amazon's staff have said this on the US Seller Forums: a letter from a distributor is not a valid letter of authorization, even when that distributor has its own authorization from the brand. Amazon wants the letter to come directly from the brand owner or manufacturer.

The distributor sells to you and gives you invoices. That matters, because an invoice is its own route to approval. Amazon's guide for wholesale sellers says that when a product needs approval, you need a purchase invoice from a manufacturer or distributor, or a letter from the brand. The same guide tells you to check a wholesaler's relationship with the brand by looking at its business license and its brand authorization letter. So a distributor's letter is something you check before you buy, not something you send Amazon as your own.

Sometimes you need both. Invoices from an authorized distributor show where your stock came from. A letter from the brand shows you are allowed to sell it. Send whichever one Amazon asks for. If your application lists a letter from the brand, an invoice alone won't meet that requirement, and only the brand can fill the gap.

Which one you need

Find your situation in the left column. Each row comes from an Amazon page quoted further down this guide.

If you are not sure whether a product needs approval at all, start with the ungating guide, and see which categories commonly need approval.

Getting from the distributor to the brand

If you have only ever dealt with distributors, you may not know who to talk to at the brand. Stef's approach in Apex University works the supply chain backward: he contacts the manufacturer, not to open an account, but to learn who it supplies.

"So we're gonna reach out to Procter & Gamble and ask them, 'Hey, I'm trying to buy these products in bulk. Who do you supply that I can buy from?' They're going to give you a list of distributors, and from there, we actually find exactly who we need to be looking to start doing business with."

From Stef's lesson (Finding Suppliers, at 4:17)

That first conversation does two jobs. You learn which distributors the brand stands behind, so your invoices trace back to it. And you now have a contact at the brand, which is where a request for authorization starts. Our guide to wholesale suppliers covers finding and vetting distributors, and the Distributor Vault is our directory of US distributor names.

What Amazon asks for

Amazon mentions letters of authorization on several pages, and each is about a different moment: applying to sell, answering an authenticity or trademark question, creating listings, and bundles. Here is what each one says. We stay close to Amazon's wording and link every page so you can read it yourself.

When you apply to sell a product, brand or category

Amazon's approval page in Seller Central lists what to prepare before you apply for each category, from invoices and product photos to brand authorization letters and, for some categories, safety certifications or insurance documents. It needs a sign-in, and we could not open it to check its current wording, so read it there before you apply.

Note the "if applicable". Amazon's Selling Applications FAQ says requirements vary by product, and that you see yours by clicking Apply to sell and then Request approval. If a requirement is missing or not met, the request is declined. So follow the list in your own application over any checklist, ours included. What Amazon checks on the invoice itself is in our invoice requirements guide.

When Amazon questions authenticity or trademark use

The same policy page adds that when you appeal an enforcement action, you are typically asked for invoices or letters of authorization, and Amazon reviews them to verify authenticity or your authorization to sell. Those requests arrive on your Account Health page, which our account health guide walks through.

Amazon's letter of authorization page

Amazon has one help page about the letter itself, called Letter of authorization. It is written for a specific case: Amazon believes a listing uses a trademark without the owner's approval, and asks you either for proof that you own the trademark or for a letter from the owner. It describes the letter in licensing language, as an agreement in which the owner of a trademark, design patent or copyright authorizes someone else to use it.

Here is what that page asks for:

• Five terms. Amazon names five that must be in every licensing agreement sent to it: the Licensor (the company or brand giving the rights), the Licensee (the business receiving them), the Grant (what is covered and the scope of the rights), the Geographic Scope (where; it may be worldwide) and the Term (how long; it may be perpetual).
• The brand's letterhead. From the company that holds the rights to the brand.
• A signature. From an authorized signatory at that company, as a signature, digital signature, stamp or seal.
• A format Amazon accepts. A PDF, a scanned image of one, or a screenshot of an email sent from the brand's own company domain.
• Something Amazon can check. Amazon says it may validate your letter by contacting the brand.

The same page lists documents that are not a letter of authorization: invoices, inventory documents, distribution rights and reseller agreements, receipts from online or physical stores, order confirmations and packing slips, commercial or customs invoices, bills of lading, and sales orders, purchase orders, quotes or pro forma invoices.

Two things follow from that list. Your distributor agreement, however official it looks, is not a letter of authorization. And an invoice is not one either. It is a different document that answers a different question: where your stock came from.

A word on the licensing language. Reselling genuine products bought through a brand's own supply chain is not the same thing as licensing its trademark, and this page is written for trademark questions. Still, it is the one page where Amazon spells out what it expects to see in a letter, so it is the page to share with a brand that agrees to write you one.

Creating new listings: the Reseller role in Brand Registry

Amazon's guide to Brand Registry roles describes two selling roles. Brand Representative is for the brand's own internal sellers. Reseller is for outside, third-party sellers who are authorized to sell the brand's products, such as distributors and manufacturers with a selling agreement.

The brand's Brand Registry administrator assigns the role by connecting your selling account, using your merchant token, and you accept an email invitation. If you request brand selling benefits yourself, Amazon says your request shows up on the brand's Requests tab, where the administrator can approve or decline it. The Reseller role unlocks brand selling benefits on a limited basis: it lets you create new listings and promote the brand's products, but it does not give you Brand Analytics.

So when people talk about becoming an "authorized reseller on Amazon", the Reseller role is the closest thing Amazon's own systems have to that label. A letter says the brand authorizes you. The role is the brand saying so in Brand Registry. If a brand is enrolled and willing, ask for both. We could not open Amazon's Seller Central help pages on selling roles without signing in, so the details above come from Amazon's public guide.

One thing a letter or the Reseller role does not change is labeling. Amazon's commingling notice says that for inventory shipped on or after March 31, 2026, resellers without the Brand Representative role must use Amazon barcodes, even when the product has a manufacturer barcode. Being an authorized reseller doesn't change that. Our FNSKU label guide covers what that means for your prep.

Bundles you put together

Amazon's program policy changes page says that from January 11, 2027, bundles in most categories must be product configurations packaged by the original manufacturer or brand. That rule has applied to consumables since late 2024. One exception is a bundle with a valid letter of authorization from the brand owner or manufacturer, which you submit through your Account Health dashboard after Amazon flags the bundle. Our log of Amazon rule changes tracks this and the other changes that touch resellers.

What Amazon's staff have said on the forums

Forum replies are not policy pages, but they show how Amazon's own people read the rules. Besides the distributor answer above, Amazon staff on the US Seller Forums have written that:

• There are no official templates for an authorization letter. It should be specific, come from the brand to you, ideally on company letterhead, and grant authorization to sell on Amazon. If Amazon's team cannot verify it, they may not accept it.
• Letter requests come from Amazon's automated brand protection, which asks for letters from sellers who may be selling without authorization. Amazon may contact the brand to check, and a brand cannot switch the requirement on for its own listings.
• A brand you have a relationship with can add you as an authorized third-party reseller through Brand Registry, and only the brand can do that.

What to ask the brand to include, in plain words

You don't write the letter. The brand does, on its own letterhead, and someone at the brand signs it. What you can do is tell the brand what Amazon looks for, so nobody has to guess. Here is Amazon's list turned into plain requests.

A few habits make a good letter easier to use:

• Match your account exactly. Amazon's wholesale guide asks for your name and address on invoices to match your selling account. Do the same on the letter, so a reviewer never has to wonder whether "Sample Reseller" and "Sample Reseller LLC" are the same business.
• Add your Seller ID if the brand is willing. It's optional. It is the same ID Amazon calls your merchant token, which the brand needs anyway to give you the Reseller role in Brand Registry, and it ties the letter to one account.
• Ask for a signed PDF. A Word file you made is not the brand's letter.
• Name every brand. If one company owns several brands you buy, ask for each brand name to appear in the letter.
• Note the end date. A letter past its term doesn't help you. Ask for a renewal before it lapses.

How to ask

Asking is mostly about timing and about what the brand gets out of it. Here is the short version. The full request email is in our email templates for distributors and brands, with the follow-ups that go with it.

1. Check the brand is worth asking

   Look at what the brand sells on Amazon, how many sellers share its listings, and whether Amazon itself sells them. A letter for a brand you won't buy again isn't worth the brand's time or yours.

2. Find the right person

   Ask for the wholesale or sales team, an account manager, or a brand manager. If you already buy from one of its distributors, ask your rep who handles Amazon questions at the brand.

3. Say who you are and what you buy

   Give your business name, which of its products you buy, and through which distributor. That tells the brand you already buy through its own channel.

4. Answer the worries before they come up

   A brand deciding whether to authorize you will want to know about pricing that could undercut its other retailers, listing quality, and the condition of goods sold under its name. Say that you buy only through its authorized supply chain, keep your invoices, follow its pricing policy, and send new, sealed units with Amazon barcodes.

5. Make it easy to say yes

   Ask for one specific thing: a signed letter on letterhead that covers the points above. If the brand is in Brand Registry, ask for the Reseller role on your account too. Offer to send Amazon's letter of authorization page so the brand's team sees what Amazon reads.

6. Keep it on file

   Save the signed PDF with your invoices for that brand, note the end date, and thank the person who helped. You'll want that contact again.

When the answer is no. Some brands don't write letters for resellers, and some want no other sellers on their Amazon listings. A no doesn't stop you buying genuine stock from an authorized distributor, but it can mean you won't be approved where the brand restricts sellers. Ask which distributors the brand authorizes, so at least your invoices trace back to it, or move on to a brand that wants more retail partners. Better terms with the distributors you already use are covered in how to negotiate with distributors, and the account paperwork in how to open a wholesale account.

An annotated sample

Here is what a complete letter covers, part by part, with made-up names: Example Brand Co. is the brand, and Sample Reseller LLC is the seller. It is for reading, not filling in. A letter only counts when the brand writes it on its own letterhead and signs it, and Amazon may contact the brand to check it.

What you won't see in a real letter: blanks for you to fill in, your own signature, or a file you created. If a brand asks what to write, send it this list and Amazon's page, and let the brand put the letter on its letterhead and sign it.

What a letter of authorization does not do

A letter is useful, but sellers tend to expect more from it than it delivers. It does not:

• Get you approved by itself. Amazon reviews every application, and some products are not open to you whatever you send. If Apply to sell says your account does not qualify, a letter won't change that answer. Amazon's approval page explains what each result means; it needs a sign-in, and we could not open it to check its current wording.
• Replace your invoices. An invoice is not a letter, and a letter is not an invoice. When Amazon questions authenticity, it wants documents that show where your stock came from. Keep both.
• Make you the only seller. An Amazon community manager wrote that Amazon is an open marketplace where authorization is not required to sell genuine products. A letter says you may sell. It doesn't remove anyone else from the listing.
• Let you create new listings on its own. For a brand enrolled in Brand Registry, creating a new ASIN needs a selling role from the brand, as covered above.
• Exempt you from Amazon barcodes. Authorized resellers still put an Amazon barcode on every unit they send to FBA. Only the Brand Representative role can skip them, and only on products that qualify.
• Cover every store, or last forever. A letter covers the term and the place it names. One for the US store does not cover another Amazon marketplace.
• Keep a listing open. If a brand discontinues a product or changes its listings, your letter doesn't stop that. A working relationship with the brand matters more than paper in a drawer.

And it can never be made up. Do not edit a letter, change its dates or names, or create one for a brand that did not write it. Amazon's anti-counterfeiting policy treats an edited or misleading document as a violation that leads to enforcement against your account, and Amazon says it may contact the brand to validate a letter. A forged document puts the whole account at risk, as our guides to Section 3 violations and what to do when you're suspended explain.