Amazon to Require Prepaid Return Labels for US Seller-Fulfilled Returns
Starting December 18, 2026, Amazon will require US sellers to use prepaid return labels for seller-fulfilled returns and process them within 7 calendar days.
What are the key facts?
- 1Amazon will require prepaid return labels for US seller-fulfilled returns
- 2The rule applies to seller-fulfilled orders within the United States; heavy and oversized items are temporarily excluded
- 3Sellers must upload a label or issue a refund within 7 calendar days
- 4Late processing may trigger a refund without requiring a return and an account deduction
What happened?
Amazon will change its US seller-fulfilled return requirements starting December 18, 2026. The new rule covers seller-fulfilled orders within the United States, while heavy and oversized items are temporarily excluded. After receiving a return request, sellers must upload a prepaid return label through the Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns workflow within 7 calendar days, or issue the buyer a full refund directly. Sending only an address label through buyer messages, email, or other channels will no longer meet the platform requirement. If sellers fail to complete processing within the required period, Amazon may automatically issue a refund without requiring a return and deduct the related amount from the seller’s account. The change will increase return-shipping costs, customer-service work, and reverse-logistics management pressure for FBM sellers, with clothing, shoes and boots, home goods, electronic accessories, and low-margin products likely to be particularly affected.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
US FBM sellers will bear the logistics costs of prepaid return labels and must complete processing within 7 calendar days. Late processing may trigger a refund without requiring a return and an account deduction; sellers of clothing, shoes and boots, home goods, electronic accessories, and low-margin products should review their operations first.
What should sellers do now?
- 1This week, organize active US FBM SKUs, prioritizing clothing, shoes and boots, home goods, electronic accessories, and low-margin products; confirm individually whether each item is heavy or oversized and create an applicability table.Profit calculator
- 2Add return-ticket checks for US FBM customer service: within 7 calendar days of receiving a request, upload a prepaid return label through Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns or issue a full refund; audit open tickets to ensure no off-platform labels are being used.AI Customer Service