Amazon Business Solutions Agreement Explained Key Terms Every Seller Should Know
The Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement is the contract every seller accepts at registration. It covers termination and suspension, withheld funds, the license to your content, insurance, data use, and arbitration. Program Policies are incorporated into it, and Amazon updated it twice in 2026.
Most sellers read the Business Solutions Agreement for the first time when a notice cites "Section 3." By then the account is already restricted, and the clause in question is about termination. The BSA is the contract governing everything you do in Seller Central. Amazon publishes the current version and a list of changes in Seller Central Help, and it changed twice in 2026: a March update adding rules for AI agents and automation, and an August update on transferring and pledging rights under the agreement. Both land on real operating decisions.
What Is the Amazon Business Solutions Agreement?
The Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement is the contract every seller accepts at registration. It sets out what Amazon may do with your account, your funds, and your content, and what you owe in return. Three layers make it up: General Terms, Service Terms for each service you use, and Program Policies incorporated by reference.
That third layer matters more than sellers expect. Program Policies are incorporated into the agreement, so compliance with them forms part of a seller's contractual obligations. Serious or unresolved policy violations can therefore contribute to suspension or termination actions under the BSA. Regional versions also exist, and since March 2026 Mexico has its own agreement separate from the US and Canada.
Where Can I Find the Amazon Business Solutions Agreement?
Amazon publishes the current version in Seller Central Help, alongside a page listing changes to the agreement. Read the version for your own marketplace, and use Amazon's text rather than a third-party copy, since several circulating copies are years out of date. When Amazon announces an update, it publishes a preview of the changes before the effective date.
The Key Terms Every Seller Should Know
| Term | What It Means for Sellers |
|---|---|
| Termination and suspension | Amazon may suspend or terminate your selling privileges, usually with notice but sometimes immediately for serious violations. |
| Withheld funds | Amazon can hold disbursements while it investigates a claim, or after termination, sometimes for up to 90 days or longer. |
| License to your content | You grant Amazon a broad, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, and display the content you upload. |
| Insurance | Amazon requires commercial liability insurance above a revenue threshold, naming Amazon as an additional insured. |
| Data use | Amazon may use data from your transactions and performance to improve its services and, subject to policy, share aggregated data. |
| Arbitration | Disputes generally go to binding arbitration rather than court, with limited exceptions and a class-action waiver. |
| Program Policies | Incorporated by reference, so violating them breaches the agreement, not just a side rule. |

William Fikhman is the founder of Chief Marketplace Officer (CMO), a fractional Amazon executive agency based in Los Angeles, California. He began selling on Amazon in 2009, scaling to $5M in year one and $20M+ within two years. Over 16 years, William has managed Amazon operations for more than 100 consumer brands, overseeing $300M+ in marketplace revenue across Seller Central and Vendor Central. He founded CMO to give consumer brands access to senior-level Amazon leadership on a fractional basis — without the cost of a full-time hire or the limitations of a traditional agency. William specializes in brand protection, distribution control, Amazon PPC strategy, and marketplace operations.
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