TikTok Shop US Clarifies Brand Authorization Requirements
TikTok Shop US requires prior brand authorization for certain branded products, covering roles such as trademark owners and authorized distributors. The lack of valid authorization may lead to product delisting, restricted selling privileges, or account penalties.
What are the key facts?
- 1Prior authorization is required before listing certain branded products
- 2Sellers can submit authorization documents under multiple statuses
- 3Invalid authorization may lead to delisting or account penalties
- 4Prior authorization may be required for certain LIVE Auction products
- 5Products with brand identifiers may not be labeled “No brand”
What happened?
TikTok Shop US has clarified its brand authorization requirements. When selling products bearing registered trademarks or brand identifiers, sellers must complete brand authorization in the Qualification Center in Seller Center before listing certain products. Sellers may submit documents as trademark owners, first- or second-tier authorized distributors, co-branding partners, or licensees. They generally need to provide proof matching the brand, trademark registration information, and authorization chain. Branded products without valid authorization may be delisted, while stores may face restricted selling privileges or account penalties. The requirement particularly affects cross-border distributors, parallel importers, secondhand luxury sellers, jewelry sellers, and apparel and beauty sellers that use brand keywords to drive traffic. Sellers participating in LIVE Auction may need to complete authorization before listing certain branded or temporary products. Sellers may not label products with brand identifiers as “No brand,” or submit ambiguous authorization documents, expired authorization letters, or company documents that do not match the store entity. Sellers in Chinese supply chains should check whether the authorizing entity, sales region, authorization period, SKU scope, and document language are consistent.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
Sellers of products bearing registered trademarks or brand identifiers may need to complete brand authorization in Seller Center’s Qualification Center before listing certain products; otherwise, they may face product delisting, restricted selling privileges, or account penalties. Cross-border distributors, parallel importers, secondhand luxury sellers, jewelry sellers, and apparel and beauty sellers using brand keywords should closely verify their authorization chains and listing labels.
What should sellers do now?
- 1This week, screen all US-site products bearing brand identifiers. Organize authorization documents by trademark owner, authorized distributor, or other declared status, verify the authorizing entity, sales region, authorization period, and SKU scope for each item, and create a traceable authorization list.Listing character checker
- 2In Seller Center’s Qualification Center, submit proof matching the brand, trademark registration information, and authorization chain for stores selling branded products on the US site. After submission, save the records and ensure that every relevant SKU is covered by the corresponding authorization scope.Listing Optimizer
- 3This week, review branded product listings and LIVE Auction-related listings on the US site. Correct products that bear brand identifiers but are labeled “No brand,” remove expired, ambiguous, or store-entity-mismatched authorization documents, and produce a before-and-after remediation table.