ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LIMIT (AQL) FOR PRODUCT INSPECTIONS

Most guides to Amazon FBA requirements are written for someone who already has the goods. This one is written for the point at which the requirements can still be met cheaply: at the factory, before the container is sealed.

Every requirement Amazon enforces at receiving is really a specification you should have given your supplier months earlier. Get it wrong and the correction happens in the United States, on inventory you have already paid to ship.

The single change that matters most in 2026

On 1 January 2026, Amazon ended its in-house prep and item labelling services for US FBA shipments. There is no longer a paid fix at the dock. A unit that arrives without the prep it needs is set aside for special handling, which holds up the whole shipment being received, and the defect fees are yours. Prep now has to be correct before the goods leave Asia, because there is nowhere else left to do it.

Why Sourcing to Amazon FBA from China Is Higher-Risk Than Domestic

Buying domestically, you can see the goods. Buying in Asia for Fulfillment by Amazon, you see a photo, then a container, then a receiving report. Three risks concentrate in that gap.

Risk	Why it is worse when sourcing in Asia	Where it costs you
Regulatory liability	The importer of record is liable, not the factory. A supplier's word that a material is compliant is not a test report and carries no legal weight.	CPSC action, Proposition 65 notice, listing suspension
FBA rejection	The factory does not know Amazon's rules and has no incentive to learn them. Packaging bought locally at the lowest price rarely meets the specification.	Units sidelined and delayed at check-in, defect fees charged, and since January 2026 no prep from Amazon at any price
IP leakage	The factory holds your tooling, your artwork and your packaging files. Chinese trademark rights go to the first to file, not the first to use.	Counterfeit listings on your own ASIN, export block

None of the three is solved by a lower unit price.

The Amazon FBA Compliance Chain (What You're Actually Responsible For)

Amazon does not certify your product. It requires you to prove, on request, that the product is compliant, and it removes the listing if you cannot.

Responsibility	What Amazon expects	Where it is proven
Product safety	The product meets the safety standards of the destination market (US, UK, EU)	Accredited laboratory test report
Certification documents	A Children's Product Certificate, a CE or UKCA Declaration of Conformity, a battery test report, depending on category	Document upload on request, usually within a short window
Labelling and warnings	Statutory warnings, country of origin, age grading, Proposition 65 warning where applicable	Print artwork, verified on the physical unit
Restricted products	The product is not in a restricted or gated category, or you hold the required approval	Seller Central category approval
Brand and IP	You own the brand, or you are authorised to sell it	Amazon Brand Registry, trademark registration

The failure mode, every time

The seller assumes the supplier handled it. The supplier assumes the buyer specified it. Nobody tested anything. The first time the question gets asked is when Amazon asks it, and by then the listing is already suspended.

Getting ahead of it means running product testing for compliance on a pre-production sample, not on a shipment that is already at the port.

Step 1: Verify Your Supplier (Factory Audit Before You Order)

A factory audit answers what a company profile and a video call cannot.

What the audit checks	The question it actually answers
Site, production lines, equipment, capacity	Does this factory exist, and can it physically make this order?
Quality management system, incoming material control, corrective action records	Can it hold a standard across a full run, or only on the golden sample?
Subcontracting map	Am I dealing with the manufacturer, or with an intermediary using a factory I have never seen?
Social and structural conditions	Will this supplier pass my buyer's or my retailer's audit?

Two checks matter specifically for Amazon:

[CHECKLIST] - Has the factory ever prepared goods to Amazon's standard? Most have not, and those that claim to often mean they have applied a sticker. - Can the factory hold a subcontracting boundary? If paint, plating or electronics are outsourced, your compliance risk has moved to a site you did not audit. [/CHECKLIST]

For a first order with a new supplier, the audit costs a fraction of a container, and it happens before the deposit is paid.

Step 2: During Production Inspection (Catch Defects Before They Ship)

There are three points at which goods can be inspected, and they buy you different things.

Checkpoint	When	What it catches	What it saves
Pre-production	Before the line starts	Wrong or non compliant raw materials and components	The entire run
During production (DUPRO)	20 to 60 per cent of production complete	Systemic faults, wrong packaging ordered, wrong barcode artwork	Re-work instead of scrap. The factory can still re-order packaging.
Pre-shipment	80 to 100 per cent complete	Defects, quantity shortfalls, prep and labelling faults	The balance payment, and the shipment

The inspector draws a random sample using a statistical sampling plan (ISO 2859-1, also known as ANSI/ASQ Z1.4) and checks it against the criteria you have set: workmanship, dimensions, materials, function, packaging and labelling. See AQL sampling for how sample size and accept or reject limits are fixed by the standard rather than by the factory.

Why timing decides the cost

A wrong poly bag found at DUPRO is a purchasing problem. The same wrong poly bag found at pre-shipment is a re-packing problem with a vessel booked. Found at an Amazon fulfillment center, it is a returned shipment.

Step 3: Pre-Shipment Inspection to FBA Standards (Prep, Labels, Packaging)

A pre-shipment inspection is performed when the order is between 80 and 100 per cent complete. It verifies quantity, workmanship, function, safety and packaging against an AQL plan, and gives you a documented basis to release or hold the balance payment.

An inspection checks the goods against the criteria the buyer sets. That is the mechanism most Amazon sellers under use. Your criteria do not have to stop at your own product specification: Amazon's receiving standards can be written into them, so the visit that verifies the product also verifies whether the shipment would survive check-in.

The Amazon requirements themselves are set out in section 7 below. What decides whether an inspection actually catches a fault is the verification method, and this is where most inspections quietly fail.

Amazon element	How it must be verified	How it usually gets verified
Unit barcode	Scanned on a sample	Looked at
Poly bags	Physically measured against the current Amazon specification	Assumed correct because the factory says so
Master cartons	Cross-checked against the shipment created in Seller Central	Checked against the packing list, which is not the same document
Expiry dates	Checked on the unit	Checked on the carton
Sets and bundles	Sealing and set label checked on the unit	Counted, not opened

Since Amazon stopped prepping units in the US, this is the last checkpoint at which a labelling or bagging fault is still cheap to fix. The AQF FBA inspection service exists for exactly this: an inspection at the factory, in Asia, against your specification and Amazon's.

Do not brief the factory from last year's purchase order

Amazon's prep and packaging specifications are updated periodically. Take the current figures from the Seller Central packaging and prep requirements page for every new production run.

Step 4: Product Testing for Amazon Compliance (Prop 65, CPSIA, FDA, UL, CE)

Inspection and testing are different activities. An inspector checks whether the goods match the specification. A laboratory checks whether the goods are legal. You need both, and the testing belongs on a pre-production sample, because a failed test after mass production means the run is scrap.

Regulation	Applies to	What it requires
Proposition 65 (California)	Almost every Amazon seller, because Amazon ships to California	A clear and reasonable warning before exposing California residents to a chemical on the state's published list. The list is maintained by OEHHA and revised at least once a year.
CPSIA (US federal)	Products designed or intended primarily for children aged 12 and under	Total lead content limit of 100 ppm in accessible components, 90 ppm for lead in paint and similar surface coatings, restrictions on certain phthalates, third party testing by a CPSC accepted laboratory, and a Children's Product Certificate. Toys must also meet ASTM F963.
FDA (food contact)	Anything that touches food, from a silicone spatula to a water bottle	Migration testing on the specific material and colourant
UL and electrical safety	Anything with a plug, a battery or a charging circuit	Demonstrated electrical safety. Lithium batteries carry additional transport and listing requirements.
CE and UKCA	The same product sold on Amazon EU or Amazon UK	A separate conformity route, a Declaration of Conformity, and for the UK potentially a UK based responsible person

Two of these carry most of the enforcement risk for Amazon sellers, and each has its own guide: Proposition 65 compliance and CPSIA compliance. See consumer electronics QC for how inspection and testing combine on a regulated category.

A product cleared two years ago is not automatically cleared today

The Proposition 65 list is revised at least annually. Compliance is a state your product holds on a date, not a certificate it owns forever.

The sequence that works: identify the regulations for the category and for every destination marketplace, test a pre-production sample, change the material or the supplier if it fails, then produce.

FBA Prep Requirements: Labels, Poly Bags, Cases, Palletization

Since 1 January 2026, every unit has to arrive fully prepped. The work happens in one of three places, and the choice has consequences.

Where the prep happens	Cost	Added lead time	Failure rate
At the factory, in Asia	Lowest	None. No extra leg in the chain.	Highest, unless the prep is verified. The factory does not know Amazon's rules.
At a prep centre in the destination country	Highest per unit	Adds a leg and a handover	Low
In your own warehouse	Labour, space, equipment	Adds a leg	Depends entirely on your team

Prepping at the factory is the cheapest option and the only one that does not lengthen the chain. It is also the one that fails most often. That is the whole argument for verifying the prep rather than trusting it.

Prep element	What Amazon requires
Unit barcode	A scannable FNSKU per unit, covering any other scannable barcode
Poly bags	Published specification: minimum thickness, transparent, fully sealed, close fit to the product
Suffocation warning	Mandatory above a defined bag opening size, with prescribed wording
Fragile and loose items	Bubble wrapped or boxed, able to survive a drop test
Sets and bundles	Sealed together and labelled as a set
Expiry dating	On the unit itself for the categories concerned
Master cartons	Six sided, within Amazon's published weight and dimension limits, correctly labelled
Palletization	Standard pallets, stretch wrapped, within height limits, correct pallet labels

The exact figures behind each line are published in Seller Central and change from time to time. Brief them to the factory from the current Seller Central page, not from a supplier's memory or a third party blog.

Common Reasons Amazon Rejects FBA Shipments (And How to Prevent Them)

The pattern is consistent, and nearly all of it is preventable at the factory.

Rejection cause	What actually went wrong at the factory	Prevention
Barcode failure	Low print quality, label applied to a curved surface, or a mismatch with the shipment plan	Have a sample scanned at inspection instead of looked at
Poly bag failure	Bags bought locally at the lowest cost, below Amazon's minimum, opaque, unsealed, or missing the suffocation warning	Put the specification in the purchase order and verify it physically
Missing expiry date	The date was printed on the carton but not on the unit	Check the unit, not the carton
Set and bundle error	Units that should ship as a sealed set arrive as loose components	Check the sealing and the set label on the unit
Carton failure	Overweight, oversized, damaged or unmarked cartons	Weigh and measure before sealing

There is no longer a second chance

Before 2026, Amazon would fix most of these for a fee. It no longer does. The units are pulled out of the normal flow, the shipment sits, the fees are charged, and the problem comes back to you with the goods already in the United States and no cheap way to touch them.

Amazon Brand Registry & IP Protection During Sourcing

Brand Registry gives you the tools to control your listing and act against counterfeits, but it requires a registered trademark in the marketplace where you sell. Registering in the US does not protect you in the EU, and neither protects you in China, where trademark rights are granted on a first to file basis. A supplier or a third party can register your brand in China and legally block your own goods from leaving the country.

Measure	Why it matters	When to do it
Register the trademark in your destination markets and in China	China grants rights to the first to file. Your own supplier can register your brand and block your export.	Before you place a first order
NDA, non use, non circumvention agreement drafted under Chinese law	An English language NDA under US law is close to worthless against a Chinese factory.	Before sharing specifications
Document tooling ownership in the contract	Tooling paid for by you but held by the supplier is a hostage	At contract stage
Withhold final packaging artwork until the factory is audited	Artwork is what a grey market run needs most	Before production

Quality control intersects here: an inspector on site can see whether your branded packaging is being produced in a quantity exceeding your order, which is one of the earliest visible signals of a grey market run.

How AQF Helps: Inspection + Testing + Report post-inspection

AQF has been running on-site quality control in Asia since 2007, with inspectors based in the countries where the goods are made.

What you get	What it means in practice
Your Amazon requirements become inspection criteria	An AQF inspection is performed against industry standards and the criteria the client defines. Supply Amazon's current prep and packaging requirements alongside your product specification, and both are verified on the same visit, at the factory, before the container is sealed.
Testing and inspection coordinated	Compliance testing is carried out through accredited partner laboratories, so the test plan and the inspection checklist are built from one product specification rather than by two suppliers who never speak to each other.
A documented basis to act	The report is issued after inspection, with photographs and the AQL result, in time to hold the balance payment if the goods fail.

You do not need a separate service to have your barcodes scanned and your poly bags checked.

You need them written into the inspection brief.

Inspections are quoted on a man-day basis. See our man-day calculation policy for how the unit is defined and how the number of man-days is set.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Amazon's FBA requirements for imported products?

Amazon requires that every unit arrives ready to be received: a scannable FNSKU barcode per unit, packaging that meets Amazon's published prep specification (poly bags, suffocation warnings, boxing, sets and bundles), correct expiry dating where the category demands it, and master cartons within Amazon's published weight and dimension limits. Separately, the seller must be able to produce, on request, the safety and compliance documents for the destination market. Amazon does not certify your product for you, and since 1 January 2026 it no longer preps or labels units on your behalf in the US.

What is an Amazon FBA inspection?

An Amazon FBA inspection is a pre-shipment inspection in which Amazon's receiving standards are added to the inspection criteria alongside your own product specification. As well as the usual checks (workmanship, function, dimensions, packaging), the inspector verifies the elements that decide whether a shipment passes check-in: unit barcodes, poly bag compliance, master carton markings, expiry dates and set labelling. The purpose is to catch anything that would be rejected at an Amazon fulfillment center while the goods are still in Asia and can still be corrected cheaply.

Do I need product testing before shipping to Amazon FBA?

It depends on the category. Amazon can request a compliance document at any time, and for regulated categories (children's products, toys, cosmetics, electronics, food contact items and anything containing a battery) it usually does. Testing is carried out by an accredited laboratory, not by an inspector, and it should be completed on a pre-production sample rather than on goods that are already boxed.

What is Prop 65 and does it apply to Amazon FBA?

Proposition 65 is a California law requiring businesses to give a clear and reasonable warning before exposing California residents to a chemical on the state's published list. It applies to almost every Amazon seller, because Amazon ships to California. The list is maintained by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and is revised at least once a year, so a product that was compliant two years ago is not automatically compliant today.

What is CPSIA and does Amazon require it?

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is the US federal law covering children's products, meaning products designed or intended primarily for children aged 12 and under. It sets a total lead content limit of 100 ppm in accessible components and 90 ppm for lead in paint and similar surface coatings, restricts certain phthalates, and requires third party testing by a CPSC accepted laboratory plus a Children's Product Certificate. Amazon requires the certificate and the supporting test reports for children's categories, and it can suspend a listing if you cannot produce them.

What causes Amazon FBA rejections?

The most common causes are barcode failures (missing, wrong or unscannable FNSKU labels), poly bag failures (bags below the required thickness, not transparent, not sealed, or missing the suffocation warning), missing expiry dates on products that require them, set and bundle labelling errors, and cartons that exceed Amazon's published weight or dimension limits. What happens next is the part sellers get wrong. Amazon's own description of its inbound process is that units arriving without the required prep are set aside for special handling, which delays the whole shipment being received. Defect fees are charged. And since 1 January 2026 Amazon no longer preps or labels units on your behalf in the US at any price, so there is no longer a paid route out of a badly prepped container.

What is the difference between FBA prep and FBA inspection?

Prep is the physical preparation of the unit: applying FNSKU labels, poly bagging, bundling, bubble wrapping and boxing so the unit meets Amazon's receiving standards. Inspection is a quality control checkpoint: an inspector draws a random sample against an AQL plan and checks workmanship, function, quantity, packaging and labelling, then reports the findings. Prep makes the unit shippable. Inspection tells you whether the goods, and the prep, are actually correct.

What is the difference between a DUPRO and a pre-shipment inspection for Amazon FBA?

A during production inspection, or DUPRO, takes place once 20 to 60 per cent of production is complete. It catches systemic faults early enough for the factory to correct them, which for an Amazon seller means there is still time to re-order packaging if the poly bags or the barcode artwork are wrong. A pre-shipment inspection takes place when the order is 80 to 100 per cent complete. It verifies the finished, packed goods and gives you a documented basis to hold the balance payment. For a first order with a new supplier, or for a large run, both are worth doing: the DUPRO protects the production, the pre-shipment inspection protects the shipment.

How much does an Amazon FBA inspection cost in China?

AQF quotes inspections on a man-day basis. The number of man-days depends on your order quantity, the number of SKUs, the number of factories involved and the complexity of the checks, so the cost of an inspection is set by the scope rather than by a list price. Adding Amazon's receiving standards to the inspection criteria does not by itself change the number of man-days for most orders. Ask for a quote based on your order quantity and SKU count, and see our man-day calculation policy for how the unit is defined.

Can you inspect for Amazon FBA in Vietnam or India?

Yes. AQF has inspectors based across Asia, including Vietnam and India, rather than staff flown in from a single regional hub. Inspection criteria are set per order, so the Amazon checks you specify are applied wherever the goods are produced.