Amazon FBA prep requirements.
Every rule that determines whether your inventory is received cleanly or rejected at the fulfillment center. Polybag thickness, suffocation warnings, FNSKU placement, bubble-wrap drop tests, hazmat review and SDS, apparel hanger removal, expiration dates. Plus the January 1 2026 change that ended Amazon's in-house prep service and pushed every unit's prep responsibility onto sellers and their prep partners.
Amazon no longer preps anything.
Before January 1 2026, Amazon would polybag, label, or bubble-wrap incoming non-compliant inventory at the FC for a per-unit fee. As of January 1 2026 that service is gone.
Practically, this means inventory that arrives at the FC non-compliant is now refused, returned at the seller's cost, or destroyed depending on the violation type. There is no longer a fallback. Either the unit arrives prep-compliant, or it doesn't get received.
Most sellers responded by either (a) self-prepping more carefully, (b) signing up with a prep center that handles the prep work outside the FC, or (c) both. Prep centers became infrastructure rather than convenience between November 2025 and February 2026. Our news page on the shutdown covers the operational implications in depth.
This page is the rulebook a prep center or self-prepping seller must execute against. Every rule below is now load-bearing; none of them have a catch-it-at-receiving fallback anymore.
The 10 categories where prep failure is most common.
Each row is a category where Amazon receiving has named compliance requirements. The "watch out" column flags the specific failure mode that takes a unit from compliant to refused.
| Category | Required prep | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel and soft goods | Polybag (1.5 mil min, transparent), suffocation warning if 5-inch+ opening, FNSKU on outer bag | No hangers allowed (mini hangers for baby clothes excepted). Folded with brand label visible. |
| Items with sharp edges | Bubble wrap with full coverage, 2-layer minimum, FNSKU on outer wrap or polybag overlay | Must pass the 3-foot drop test: 5 drops (flat base, top, longest side, shortest side, corner) without exposure. |
| Glass and fragile | Bubble wrap with full coverage, 2-layer minimum, plus inner box or dunnage if multiple pieces | FNSKU on outer wrap. If shipped to FC and arrives broken, the inbound counts as a failure and you get charged for disposal. |
| Liquids | All liquids in polybag or heat-shrink wrap regardless of original packaging. SDS required if classified hazmat. | Pump bottles must have actuator locked or recessed; spray products typically need hazmat review. |
| Hazmat (aerosols, batteries, flammables) | Amazon hazmat review approval, Safety Data Sheet (SDS), UN identification + hazard class markings, bagging or heat-shrink regardless of other packaging | Lithium-ion battery rules are strict. Failed hazmat review removes the product from FBA entirely. |
| Small parts (under 3 inches) | Polybag with FNSKU on outer bag; small-parts warning where applicable per CPSIA | Items like jewelry, screws, small toys. Loose-in-FC items get sucked into the wrong bins. |
| Dust-generating products | Polybag with FNSKU on outer bag | Anything that sheds (chalk, drywall mud, granular pet products). Powders also need bagging even if heavy. |
| Items in sets / bundles | All units of the bundle inside one polybag; 'Sold as set, do not separate' sticker visible; single FNSKU on outer bag | FC receivers WILL separate units that aren't sticker-flagged. Bundle SKUs without the sticker get split apart at receiving. |
| Expiration-dated items | Expiration date visible on outer packaging in MM-DD-YYYY format; minimum 90-day shelf life at receipt | Date must be on the outer carton, not just inside. Short-dated inventory gets refused entirely. |
| Adult products | Opaque polybag (transparent NOT allowed for this category), FNSKU on outer bag | Standard 'transparent polybag' rule reverses here. Use black opaque bags. |
The 5 polybag rules that account for most prep failures.
Polybagging is the most common prep operation and the most common prep failure. The thickness, transparency, sealing, and labeling rules below are non-negotiable.
Minimum thickness 1.5 mil
Standard FBA polybag floor. Thinner bags fail receiving inspection.
Transparent (with the adult-products exception)
Receiver must be able to see contents through the bag for SKU matching. Exception: adult products require opaque bags.
Suffocation warning required for openings of 5 inches or more
Warning text typically: 'Warning: To avoid danger of suffocation, keep this bag away from babies and children. Do not use in cribs, beds, carriages, or playpens. This bag is not a toy.' Must be visible near the opening.
Polybag fully sealed
Heat-sealed or self-sealing adhesive strip. Open or partially-sealed bags get rejected.
FNSKU label on the bag, not the product inside
When the product itself doesn't have a flat surface, the polybag becomes the labeling surface. Scanner reads the bag.
The 5 labeling rules.
FNSKU placement looks simple and accounts for a surprising share of receiving issues. The 5 rules that prevent most of them.
- Exterior scannable barcode required on every unit. FNSKU or matched UPC. Without a scannable barcode, the unit is not receivable.
- Place on flat surface, not corners or curves. Scanners reject curved-surface barcodes. If the product is round or curved, polybag first and label the bag.
- Cover the manufacturer UPC if using FNSKU. Opaque tape or black marker over the UPC. Both barcodes visible confuses the scanner and the unit gets miscredited.
- Sticker stays on the outer-most layer. If you polybag then box, the FNSKU goes on the outer box. If you polybag only, on the polybag.
- No barcode-on-barcode placement. FNSKU sticker over a UPC: cover the UPC fully first. Half-covered UPCs cause scan ambiguity.
5 drops from 3 feet, no product exposure.
Items with sharp edges, glass, or fragile components must survive Amazon's drop test. The standard: 5 consecutive drops from 3 feet onto a hard surface, with no exposed product surface afterward. The five drops:
- Flat on base
- Flat on top
- On the longest side
- On the shortest side
- On a corner
Practical execution: at least 2 layers of bubble wrap with full coverage. No exposed product seams. Tape the wrap closed; do not rely on bubble-wrap static cling. Glass and multi-piece items typically need both bubble wrap and an inner box plus dunnage. The drop test is the standard receivers apply when an inbound looks under-wrapped; failures result in disposal or return at the seller's cost.
The hardest prep category.
Aerosols, flammables, lithium-ion batteries, and certain cosmetics fall under Amazon's hazmat program. Four compliance pieces matter.
- Hazmat review approval. Required before the SKU can ship to FBA at all. Submitted through Seller Central. Without approval, the listing is blocked from FBA entirely.
- Safety Data Sheet (SDS). On file with Amazon. The SDS is what Amazon uses to validate the hazard class and packaging requirements.
- UN identification + hazard class markings. On the outer carton, per UN packaging classification. Generic shipping labels are not sufficient.
- Bagging or heat-shrink wrap regardless of other packaging. Every hazmat unit gets an additional containment layer beyond its original packaging.
Lithium-ion battery rules are particularly strict and change periodically. Many prep centers decline hazmat work entirely or charge a premium that reflects the specialized training and storage segregation involved. If you sell hazmat, ask explicitly during the matching call whether a candidate prep center handles hazmat for your specific hazard class.
Self-prep or prep center?
The right answer depends on four variables. Run through them honestly before deciding.
- Volume. Under 50 units/week of simple SKUs: self-prep is usually fine. Over 200 units/week or growing fast: a prep center pays back through faster turn and lower error rates.
- SKU complexity. Single-SKU retail arbitrage: low complexity, self-prep works. Hazmat, bundles, kits, FDA-regulated categories, or multi-channel inventory (FBA + WFS + DTC): operational expertise meaningfully reduces error.
- Origin geography. Domestic supplier or your own garage: self-prep is geographically feasible. Importing from China or Vietnam: a prep center at a US port-of-entry (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Savannah, New York/New Jersey) handles consolidation, FNSKU labeling, and inbound splitting before the inventory ever sees an FC.
- Tax-state economics. Inventory held in a sales-tax-paying state can create a taxable nexus for some sellers. Tax-free state prep centers (NH, OR, DE, MT, AK) let you stage inventory outside the nexus question. Tax-free state pillar explains the full mechanic.
For the full self-vs-prep-center decision framework with 5 evaluation questions, see our buyer's guide. When you're ready to evaluate prep partners, start with our verified-prep-center list.
Common FBA prep questions.
What changed about FBA prep on January 1, 2026?
What are the main FBA polybag requirements?
What is the 3-foot drop test for FBA bubble-wrapped items?
What FBA hazmat prep requirements apply?
Where do you put the FNSKU label?
Do I need to remove hangers from apparel?
What expiration-date rules apply to FBA inventory?
Should I prep FBA inventory myself or use a prep center?
Related references.
Amazon ended FBA prep (Jan 1 2026)
The news cycle and operational implications of the in-house-prep shutdown.
Read the news brief →
How to choose an FBA prep center
The 5-question evaluation checklist plus the things you do not need to ask.
Open the buyer's guide →
Verified FBA prep centers
6 published prep centers that meet our 5-point operator standard.
Browse verified centers →