Opening an Amazon seller account looks simple on the surface — click Sign Up, fill a form, start selling. In practice, most rejections and delays in 2026 happen because of small mismatches: a name that doesn’t match across documents, the wrong tax ID in the wrong field, or a bank account that Amazon’s payment system doesn’t recognise. This guide walks through the entire process for sellers in the UK, US, and Pakistan, in the order Amazon actually asks for it, along with the mistakes that cause the most rejections right now.

Before You Start: What You’ll Need

Amazon checks every new application against your documents. Having the right paperwork ready before you start the form saves you from delays of several days once you’re mid-application.

• A government-issued photo ID:  Passport, driver’s licence, or national ID card. The name on this must match every other document exactly.
• A working email address:  Use one that isn’t already tied to an existing Amazon Buyer, Vendor, or Brand Registry account, unless you intend to sync them.
• A phone number you can access right now:  Amazon sends a verification code by call or SMS during sign-up.
• Bank account details:  An account that can legitimately receive deposits in your name or your registered business name. Some banks in Pakistan and smaller UK banks aren’t supported for direct payouts — check this first.
• A valid credit card:  Required for the Professional selling plan’s monthly subscription, even if you don’t ship anything yet.
• Tax information:  An EIN for US business sellers, an SSN for US individual sellers, a UTR or VAT number for UK sellers, and an NTN for Pakistani sellers selling internationally.
• Business registration proof (if registering as a company):  Certificate of incorporation, business registration number, or equivalent from your local government registry — not your tax ID.

Step-by-Step: Setting Up the Account

Step 1: Choose the right marketplace and plan

Decide where you’re actually selling first. UK sellers usually start on Amazon.co.uk; US-based brands start on Amazon.com; Pakistan-based sellers almost always sell into a separate marketplace (UK, US, UAE, or KSA) since Amazon does not operate a retail marketplace inside Pakistan itself. Pick between the Individual plan (no monthly fee, per-item fee, fine for testing a handful of products) and the Professional plan (monthly subscription, required for bulk listing, advertising, and Brand Registry).

Step 2: Create your Amazon login

Go to sell.amazon.com and click Sign Up. Use a fresh business email rather than a personal Gmail account — this keeps order notifications and verification emails separate from personal inbox clutter, and avoids account-linking confusion later.

Step 3: Enter your business information

You’ll be asked for your legal business name, registered address, and business type (individual, sole proprietor, LLC, private limited company, partnership). This must match your official registration documents exactly, including spacing and abbreviations. A common rejection trigger: typing “Ltd” when the official certificate says “Limited,” or vice versa.

Step 4: Verify your identity

Upload your government-issued photo ID and, if registering as a business, your business registration certificate. Amazon cross-checks your name, date of birth, and address against this document. This is also where Amazon asks for your business registration number specifically — this is not your tax ID (EIN, NTN, or VAT number), it’s the number issued by your country’s official company registry when the business was formed.

Step 5: Add your bank account and credit card

Enter the bank account that will receive your payouts. For UK and US sellers, a standard business or personal current account usually works without issue. Pakistan-based sellers selling into the UK or US marketplaces will generally need either a bank account in that target country or a payment service that supports cross-border Amazon payouts, since Amazon does not disburse directly to all Pakistani bank accounts. Add a valid credit card for the subscription fee on the Professional plan.

Step 6: Complete tax information

US sellers: provide an SSN (individual) or EIN (business) — Amazon auto-generates your W-9 from this. UK sellers: provide your UTR if self-employed, or company tax details if registered as a limited company, plus VAT number if VAT-registered. Pakistan-based sellers: you’ll typically need an NTN for your own records, plus tax registration in whichever marketplace country you’re selling into, since marketplace tax obligations follow the country you sell in, not your home country.

Step 7: Phone verification

Amazon calls or texts a one-time code to confirm the number is active and reachable. Keep your phone nearby during this step — the form will not proceed without it.

Step 8: Final review and submission

Amazon displays a summary of everything entered. Check every field against your documents one more time before submitting; once submitted, that data goes straight into the verification queue, and Amazon prefers correcting a mismatch before review rather than after.

After You Submit: What Happens Next

Account creation itself usually takes a few hours. Identity verification, the part where a human or automated system checks your documents, typically takes up to three business days, though it can stretch longer if any document is unclear or mismatched. During this window, avoid changing your business details (name, address, entity type), since edits restart parts of the review process.

Common Mistakes That Delay Approval

• Mismatched names:  The name on your ID doesn’t exactly match your bank account name or business registration.
• Wrong number in the business registration field:  Entering an EIN or NTN where Amazon is asking for the official company registry number.
• Switching entity type after signing up:  Registering as an individual and trying to convert to a business later — this is far slower and riskier than registering correctly the first time.
• Unsupported bank for the country you’re selling from:  Some banks, particularly smaller regional ones, cannot receive Amazon payouts directly.
• Blurry or cropped ID photos:  A document Amazon’s system can’t clearly read gets flagged for manual review, adding days to the process.

UK, US & Pakistan: Quick Comparison

Should You Do This Yourself, or Get Help?

Setting up the account is something most sellers can do alone if they prepare documents correctly beforehand. Where sellers most often need support is the verification stage when something gets flagged, choosing the right entity type for tax efficiency, and setting up the account correctly so that Brand Registry, advertising, and FBA can be added later without restructuring everything. This is where an experienced Amazon services partner saves time, not by doing the form-filling, but by avoiding the mismatches that cause weeks of delay.