Walmart Requires Annual Certification for Eligible Sellers
Third-party sellers that meet the sales threshold must complete annual business-information certification; failure to do so on time may result in Marketplace account suspension or freezing.
What are the key facts?
- 1Annual business-information certification applies to third-party sellers that meet Walmart’s threshold
- 2The threshold includes cumulative sales of at least $5,000 and at least 200 new or unused consumer products sold
- 3The platform may require verification of the business name, registered address, and tax information
- 4Failure to complete verification may result in Marketplace account suspension or freezing
- 5Walmart’s business-information review usually takes 7 to 10 business days
What happened?
Walmart’s business information policy states that, under the U.S. INFORM Consumers Act and similar state laws, third-party sellers that have previously met the applicable sales thresholds must complete annual business-information certification. Eligibility includes cumulative sales of at least $5,000 and the sale of at least 200 new or unused consumer products. During certification, the platform may require sellers to verify their business name, registered address, tax information, telephone number, and other business details, and sellers must respond to requests promptly. If verification is not completed, Walmart may suspend or freeze the Marketplace account. The page also states that business-information reviews usually take 7 to 10 business days. The requirement has a significant impact on sellers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and other overseas markets, particularly those using U.S. agent addresses, with expired tax information, with a mismatch between their business name and payout account, or unable to provide valid business licenses and tax identification numbers. Sellers can check their entity information and publicly displayed information in Seller Center in advance to reduce the risk of review delays.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
Third-party sellers that meet the sales threshold must complete annual business-information certification, and late completion may result in Marketplace account suspension or freezing. Sellers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and other overseas markets should verify that their business name, address, tax information, telephone number, and payout account details are consistent, and allow 7 to 10 business days for the review.
What should sellers do now?
- 1Log in to Seller Center this week and check the business name, registered address, tax information, telephone number, and publicly displayed information item by item to confirm that they match current business documents.Compliance
- 2Gather a valid business license, tax identification number, and other business evidence, and check whether the tax information has expired and whether the business name matches the payout account.
- 3Check the account for business-information certification notices or requests for additional documents, and respond promptly to avoid missing the review processing window.