Amazon Seller Funds Disbursement: Get Held Funds Released

Amazon account reinstatement in progress on a laptop

If your Amazon account was suspended or deactivated and your balance is sitting frozen inside Seller Central, you are dealing with a separate problem from reinstatement — one with its own timeline, its own appeal channel, and its own rules. This page breaks down exactly how the current Funds Disbursement Eligibility Policy works across the US, UK, EU, UAE, and Canada, with a primary focus on US sellers.

The 60-Day Rule (Not 90 — This Changed in October 2024)

A lot of published guidance, including some other reinstatement services’ own blogs, still tells sellers Amazon holds funds for 90 days after deactivation. That is out of date. As of October 2024, Amazon renamed the policy the Funds Disbursement Eligibility Policy and shortened the post-deactivation appeal window from 90 days to 60 days. If you are past 60 days with your balance still frozen and no explanation, that is worth raising directly — not waiting out.

Reinstatement and Fund Release Are Not the Same Fight

This is the mistake we see most often: sellers assume that once the account is reinstated, the money automatically follows. It doesn’t. Reinstatement addresses your ability to sell again. A funds disbursement request addresses whether Amazon releases the specific balance sitting in the account. A successful appeal on one does not resolve the other. We treat them as two separate tracks from day one, because Amazon does too.

Why Amazon Holds Funds in the First Place

To cover potential refunds, chargebacks, and A-to-Z Guarantee claims still open on completed orders
To cover VAT or tax liability that may not yet be settled, particularly for EU and UK accounts
As a reserve against risk while an account-level investigation is ongoing
Because payment account verification (KYC/SIV) was not completed before the account was actioned

UK & EU Sellers: A Different Structure Entirely

For UK sellers, your funds sit with Amazon Payments UK Limited (APUK) — a separate, FCA-regulated entity from Amazon’s enforcement side. That structural separation is exactly why UK sellers get bounced between “that wasn’t our decision” (Seller Performance) and “that’s not our money to release” (Payments). We work this specific structure regularly, including the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) complaint route when Amazon Payments UK is unresponsive.

EU marketplaces carry their own version of this problem, frequently tied to VAT registration and business-establishment verification rather than a straightforward policy violation. If Amazon has told you your account doesn’t meet EU business-establishment requirements, that is a documentation and verification issue, not necessarily a Section 3 enforcement action — and it needs to be appealed as one.

How to Request a Fund Disbursement

Confirm your account status and the exact date of deactivation — the 60-day window is counted from this date
Check Seller Central under Performance → Account Health for any outstanding disbursement-related notices
If 60+ days have passed with no reinstatement, submit a disbursement request through the correct channel — for US accounts this typically routes through the disbursement-appeals process; UK accounts route through Amazon Payments UK
Provide any requested verification: identity documents, bank statements, VAT registration, or invoices
If the request stalls or is denied without explanation, escalation — including FOS for UK sellers — becomes the next step

Premature or poorly-documented escalation can slow the process down rather than speed it up. A calm, structured, evidence-led approach gets funds released faster than pressure tactics.

What We Do

Confirm the real timeline — exactly how many days have passed and what window you’re actually in
Identify the correct channel — US disbursement-appeals process vs. UK Amazon Payments UK vs. EU VAT/verification track
Build the evidence file — invoices, verification documents, and account history mapped to what Amazon specifically requires
Run it alongside reinstatement, not instead of it, when both are live issues on the same account
Escalate through FOS for UK sellers when Amazon Payments UK has gone unresponsive

Ask About Your Held Funds

Frequently Asked Questions

Not since October 2024. Under the current Funds Disbursement Eligibility Policy, the post-deactivation appeal window is 60 days, not 90.

Not automatically. Reinstatement and funds disbursement are evaluated separately. It’s common for a reinstated account to still have a held reserve that needs its own resolution.

FOS is a UK regulatory complaint route available when Amazon Payments UK Limited — a financial entity separate from Amazon’s marketplace enforcement — is unresponsive or has made a decision the seller believes is wrong. It applies to UK sellers with funds held by APUK, not to US disbursement cases.

If 60+ days have passed for a US account (or the equivalent UK/EU process has stalled), a documented, direct disbursement request is the next step. If that goes unanswered, escalation is appropriate — but should be built on a clear evidence file, not repeated generic follow-ups.

Get a Free Review of Your Funds Case

Tell us your deactivation date, marketplace, and what you’ve submitted so far. We’ll tell you honestly where you stand and what the next step should be.