Amazon Seller Account Migration Guide: Legal-Entity Changes, Section 18, Seller Identity Verification and Business Acquisitions

For Amazon sellers, operators, and acquirers changing legal entity, ownership, Country of Establishment, tax identity, or control, and trying to keep seller history, reviews, Brand Registry, and payouts intact.

This guide is for operators who would rather map the file than gamble on a split identity in Seller Central.

An Amazon seller migration is not a transfer of login credentials. It is also not simply an update to the Tax Interview.

As the marketplace matures, sellers still need these transitions: internal restructuring, legal-entity upgrades, affiliate consolidations, or full business acquisitions. Done correctly, the migration preserves business continuity while Amazon verifies one coherent legal structure. Mishandled, we have seen verification holds, listing suppression, lost brand-tool access, and, in some cases, a suspension that is hard to reverse.

A migration requires the controlled alignment of three separate things:

1. The commercial transaction or corporate restructuring
2. The Amazon agreement governing the selling account
3. The legal entity and individuals Amazon has verified as the seller

Depending on the structure, the change may be a same-country entity update, a cross-country migration, an affiliate transition, an ownership change, or an acquisition that assigns Amazon’s Business Solutions Agreement. These routes are not interchangeable.

The risk begins when Seller Central temporarily shows part of the old seller’s identity and part of the new entity’s identity. Even legitimate documents can fail when the legal entity, Country of Establishment, ownership, tax profile, bank account, and representative no longer tell the same story. Entity type, registration country, and legal business name are identity markers. Quietly swapping tax settings or a payment method is not a migration. In files we have handled, unmanaged identity edits are often reviewed as a possible attempt to change the verified seller without Amazon’s process.

Reviewed August 26, 2026. Seller Central locks, verification screens, Brand Registry workflows, and regional BSA text change. Compare this guide against your current account profile, any Performance Notification, and the live Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement (G1791) for every affected marketplace before you edit identity fields.

The short answer

Before changing anything in Seller Central:

• Identify exactly what is being sold or restructured.
• Map the legal entity, ownership, and control before and after the transaction.
• Determine whether the applicable BSA is actually being assigned.
• Obtain Amazon’s prior written consent where the applicable BSA requires it for an assignment.
• Treat Amazon’s consent question and Amazon’s identity verification as separate stages. The “two gates” label below is our operating split, not a named Amazon program.
• Do not assume that consent automatically unlocks Country of Establishment.
• Follow Amazon’s case-specific instructions when updating sensitive fields. Entity type, legal name, and country fields are often grayed out until Amazon unlocks them or performs an internal update.
• Verify every affected regional account separately.
• Keep the old entity active and documentable while the transition remains incomplete, where legally possible.

Not every legal-entity change requires Section 18 consent. Not every business sale changes the contracting entity. Not every Amazon approval completes the migration.

When does an Amazon migration become necessary?

A migration strategy may be needed when the verified identity behind the seller account changes or no longer matches the intended operating structure. A business sale, equity acquisition, asset acquisition, entity update, and credential handover are different events. Classify the transaction before selecting an Amazon route. Identity reviews often appear in Seller Central as Seller Identity Verification (SIV).

The business, the BSA, and the verified seller are different

An Amazon business may include inventory, trademarks and other intellectual property, supplier relationships, product designs, domains and creative assets, listings and operating data, advertising history, goodwill, and shares or membership interests in the seller company.

The Amazon agreement is separate.

A private purchase agreement can transfer commercial assets between buyer and seller. It cannot force Amazon to recognize a different contracting party, unlock Seller Central fields, or approve a new verified identity.

Amazon’s public account-transfer guidance states that seller accounts generally are not transferable and that a new owner must establish a new seller account when business ownership changes.

Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement: assignment language

The US Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement (Seller Central reference G1791) states the assignment rule in Miscellaneous. Sellers often call this clause Section 18. The excerpt below is the assignment language only, copied word for word. Notice, severability, and entire-agreement language in the same section is not quoted here. Amazon can amend the live page; G1791 controls.

You may not assign this Agreement, by operation of law or otherwise, without our prior written consent. Any attempt to assign or otherwise transfer in violation of this section is void; provided, however, that upon notice to Amazon, you may assign or transfer this Agreement, in whole or in part, to any of your Affiliates as long as you remain liable for your obligations that arose prior to the effective date of the assignment or transfer under this Agreement. You agree that we may assign or transfer our rights and obligations under this Agreement: (a) in connection with a merger, consolidation, acquisition or sale of all or substantially all of our assets or similar transaction; or (b) to any Affiliate or as part of a corporate reorganization; and effective upon such assignment, the assignee is deemed substituted for Amazon as the party to this Agreement. Subject to that restriction, this Agreement will be binding on, inure to, and be enforceable against the parties and their respective successors and assigns. We may perform any of our obligations or exercise any of our rights under this Agreement through one or more of our Affiliates.

Source: Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement, Miscellaneous (assignment language). Do not treat this excerpt as the full contract. Re-check the live G1791 page before filing a case.

These positions should be read together:

• Amazon does not permit informal account handovers as a default.
• Section 18 governs situations in which the BSA itself would be assigned.
• Amazon’s written consent is not guaranteed.
• A private agreement between buyer and seller cannot substitute for Amazon’s consent.
• Opening another Seller Central account should not be used as a workaround. If Amazon instructs the buyer to establish a new account, that route must be managed with the related-account and transition risks mapped in advance.

Does every migration require Section 18 consent?

No.

Section 18 becomes central where the transaction actually assigns the applicable BSA to another party. You cannot simply update backend details and move forward on an assignment. Amazon expects a formal case: the nature of the change, supporting documents, and a clear explanation of continuity. Without that, assignment attempts risk verification holds, listing suppression, or deactivation.

Examples that may require a different analysis include:

• A share sale in which the same company remains the contracting seller
• A beneficial-ownership change without a legal-entity change
• A representative or director update
• A same-country entity correction
• A genuine affiliate transition
• An internal restructuring that does not transfer the BSA to an unrelated party

These changes can still trigger verification, KYC, tax, banking, or Country of Establishment issues. They simply should not be described automatically as Section 18 assignments.

The applicable regional agreement must also be checked. Section numbers, wording, and change notices can differ between Amazon marketplaces.

August 2026 regional policy note

Amazon Japan’s G47071 notice says that effective August 24, 2026, Section 18 is updated so that “your rights and obligations, including how your sales proceeds are received, cannot be reassigned to another party.” The added sentence in the second paragraph is: “Nor may you assign or pledge all or any part of your rights or obligations under or arising out of this Agreement.” See the live Japan G1791, Section 18. Miscellaneous.

We found no matching amendment in the currently published US G1791 Miscellaneous assignment language reviewed on August 26, 2026. The existing US assignment restriction remains relevant, but the August 24, 2026 addition we verified is Japan-specific. If you heard a global transfer ban, that version traveled farther than the regional page it started on. Here is the US-versus-Japan source comparison, with the Japan notice and BSA quoted word for word.

Build the complete before-and-after map

Before contacting Amazon or changing the account, record:

• The transaction type and intended effective date
• The current legal entity and proposed legal entity
• Exact registered names, numbers, and countries
• Country of Establishment before and after
• Ownership percentages and beneficial owners
• Directors, managers, and controlling individuals
• Legal representative and primary contact
• Main administrator and authorized users
• Business address, phone number, and email
• Tax profile and tax-identification numbers
• VAT and other regional tax registrations
• Deposit method, charge method, and payment provider
• Prior SIV, KYC, and verification history
• Open support cases, notices, locked fields, and any Performance Notification
• Every affected marketplace and regional account
• Brand Registry, trademark, and licensing structure
• Insurance, Seller Wallet, Ads, and regulatory dependencies
• Account Health and payout restrictions
• Whether the old entity remains active and able to cooperate

This map exposes contradictions before Amazon encounters them. It also determines which documents are relevant. A same-owner internal restructure does not require the same evidence as an unrelated third-party acquisition.

Two gates we use in practice

Amazon publishes an assignment rule and separately verifies seller identity. It does not publish a product called “two gates.” Where an assignment and an identity change are both involved, we sequence the work as two stages. Amazon’s instructions in the specific case control the final route.

Gate 1: Section 18 consent where assignment applies

The consent request should explain:

• What transaction is taking place
• Which entity currently holds the Amazon agreement
• Which entity would operate after the transaction
• Ownership and control before and after
• Whether the parties are related or independent
• What assets or business operations are moving
• How the Amazon business will continue
• Which regional accounts are affected

The purpose is not to make the submission sound legalistic. It is to give Amazon one accurate, document-supported explanation of the transaction. Open that case through Account Health or Selling Partner Support only after the transaction is classified. Do not change identity fields while consent is pending.

While consent is pending:

• Do not combine seller and buyer identity information.
• Do not change the tax profile or bank account prematurely.
• Do not replace the primary contact merely to give the buyer control.
• Do not dissolve the old entity if it may still need to verify.
• Do not create a second account as a workaround.

Gate 2: SIV, KYC, and Country of Establishment execution

Section 18 consent addresses whether Amazon authorizes the assignment. It does not automatically:

• Change the Seller Central legal entity
• Unlock Country of Establishment
• Verify the buyer
• Approve new beneficial owners
• Update the tax profile
• Approve a new bank account
• Complete the transition across every region

After consent, Amazon may still keep business type, legal name, and country fields grayed out. In our experience, a blocked Country of Establishment normally requires escalation to the relevant identity-verification team. Amazon may open the field, perform an internal update, or provide case-specific instructions. Trying to force a locked field is, in our experience, a common cause of identity verification failure and listing suppression.

Consent at the first gate does not guarantee approval at the second. If you are already in a verification loop, stop random re-uploads and realign the full profile first.

Why Country of Establishment creates a separate problem

A seller moving from a UK or European company to a US LLC, for example, is not making only a tax change.

Country of Establishment is part of Amazon’s verified seller identity. It may be locked in Account Information and cannot necessarily be changed through the Tax Interview.

The Tax Interview determines tax treatment and reporting. It does not automatically rewrite the country Amazon recorded when the seller was verified.

A cross-country migration may therefore require:

1. Classification of the transaction
2. Section 18 consent if the BSA is being assigned
3. Internal identity-verification escalation
4. Country of Establishment access or internal correction
5. Verification of the new entity and relevant individuals
6. Tax, bank, and contact alignment
7. Separate regional validation

This is why a cross-country restructuring should never be treated as a simple EIN, VAT, or bank update.

Build the evidence package around the transaction

Amazon may request different evidence in different cases. The package should be built by purpose rather than from one universal checklist.

Depending on the route, relevant evidence can include:

• Government records for the old and new entities
• Ownership registers or organizational charts
• Corporate resolutions and authority records
• Purchase, restructuring, or transfer documents
• Evidence of common control for an affiliate transition
• Identity documents for beneficial owners and representatives
• Current personal and business address evidence
• Tax-registration records (including IRS or tax-authority correspondence where relevant)
• Bank evidence matching the proposed seller
• Seller Central screenshots showing the current identity
• Prior Section 18, Support, SIV, or KYC correspondence
• A concise transaction and continuity explanation

Names, suffixes, registration numbers, addresses, ownership percentages, and officer titles must match across the package. Submitting more documents does not fix a contradictory identity structure. The evidence must prove one coherent before-and-after story.

The migration process we follow

A proper migration is not a set of form edits. It is a phased legal and operational handoff. Amazon’s written instructions in the case control the order. The sequence below is the risk-managed framework we use when those instructions are incomplete.

Common migration mistakes

The most common mistake is treating a migration like a backend settings update. Sellers change bank information or upload a new EIN without classifying the transaction. In files we have handled, that often produces a re-verification, and sometimes a suspension tied to an unexplained ownership or identity change.

Other patterns we see repeatedly:

• Treating every legal-entity change as a Section 18 assignment, or every business sale as a transfer of the Seller Central login
• Changing tax or bank information, or mixing seller and buyer details, before Amazon has a classified route
• Assuming consent unlocks Country of Establishment, or trying to force grayed-out identity fields
• Dissolving the old entity, opening a second account, or updating Brand Registry while the core identity is still unstable
• Giving different explanations to different Amazon teams, or handing over credentials without aligning the verified seller

Reconstructing a migration that was already mishandled

An already-executed acquisition or entity change is not a clean planned migration.

Start by reconstructing:

• The entity Amazon originally verified
• The original ownership and representative
• What was sold or restructured
• The transaction date
• Every Seller Central field that changed
• Who made each change
• Every Amazon submission and response
• The current entity, ownership, tax, bank, and Country of Establishment
• Whether the old entity still exists and can cooperate
• The last coherent verified account state

The objective is to stop adding new inconsistencies and present one reconciled route. Repeatedly editing the account while different Amazon teams are reviewing it usually makes the identity picture harder to explain.

Trademark, Brand Registry, and insurance

Trademark ownership, Brand Registry access, and Seller Central identity are connected, but they are not the same change.

A trademark assignment is needed only when the transaction transfers ownership of the trademark. In other structures, the trademark may remain with an IP holding company, be licensed to the operating entity, or remain unchanged while Brand Registry roles are updated. If Brand Registry is not updated after trademark ownership changes, the new operator may lose access to manage A+ Content, brand analytics, and brand protection tools even if selling continues.

Insurance should also be reviewed rather than treated as automatically required in every migration. Where Amazon requires coverage (commonly U.S. or Canada general liability) and the policyholder, insured entity, or operating structure changes, the policy and Seller Central records should be aligned. Gaps often surface at renewal, not on the day you edit Seller Central.

These systems normally follow after the core seller identity becomes stable.

How ASA Compliance Group handles migrations

ASA Compliance Group operates Amazon Sellers Appeal. Since 2016 we have guided sellers through complex migrations: internal restructures across international subsidiaries, multi-brand portfolio acquisitions, SIV loops, and reconstructions after a mishandled entity change. If we take the case, we own the sequencing. This is not a template pack.

ASA begins by mapping the transaction and the complete before-and-after Seller Central identity. If we take the case, we own classification, the governing-agreement check, whether assignment consent applies, evidence alignment, sequencing, follow-up, and regional validation. That is the process above, not a second checklist.

After the core identity is stable, any further tracking is scoped in the engagement. It is not a standard 30-day watch included on every migration.

Amazon controls consent, field access, verification, review timing, and the final decision. No responsible provider can promise a risk-free or automatic migration. We do not guarantee Amazon’s approval. We only recommend next steps when we believe there is a real path forward.

Conclusion

A migration holds together when the commercial deal, the legal entity, the applicable BSA, and the verified Seller Central identity describe the same seller. Classify the transaction first. Use Amazon’s published assignment rule where the agreement would be assigned. Run identity, Country of Establishment, and regional checks as their own work, even if we group that work as a second gate. If fields have already been mixed, stop editing and reconstruct the last coherent verified state.

FAQ

ASA Compliance Group has handled 5,500+ Amazon cases since 2016, as published on the homepage (verified as of June 30, 2026). That figure is firm-wide case volume, not a migration approval rate. Amazon decides each assignment and verification. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Educational guide only; not legal advice. ASA Compliance Group is not a law firm and is not affiliated with Amazon.