This guide is for brand owners in Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Canada and elsewhere who want to sell their own brand on Amazon.com. It follows the order the work happens in: account, tax, payouts, importing for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), product rules and support. Facts last verified October 7, 2026.
Nothing here is tax, customs or legal advice. Each section says which adviser owns the decision, and the US product rules are covered category by category in the 2026 compliance requirements guide.
Can a company outside the US sell on Amazon.com?
Yes. A business outside the US can sell on Amazon.com with a Professional North America and Brazil unified selling account, which costs $39.99 a month plus selling fees and also reaches Canada, Mexico and Brazil (Amazon, checked October 2026). Amazon says a business based in Latin America or Europe may not be required to form a US company to sell in the US (Amazon).
“May not” is doing real work in that sentence. On its page for sellers from other countries, Amazon recommends talking to legal, tax and banking advisers before opening a US bank account, because you may need to create a US legal entity (Amazon). For Mexican sellers, Amazon México is more direct: a persona física con actividad empresarial or a persona moral can start selling on Amazon.com without a US company (Amazon México).
Whether a US entity makes sense depends on things Amazon doesn’t decide: your banking, insurance, warehouse contracts and tax position. Take the question to a US tax adviser before you register, because the entity you register with is the one Amazon verifies.
What does Amazon ask for when you register?
For a Latin American business, Amazon lists eight items: a government-issued ID such as a passport, a business license or registration, proof of business address in Latin America or the US, tax information, an email address, a phone number, an internationally chargeable credit card and a bank account with routing number (Amazon). European applicants need proof of residential address in Europe or the US dated within the last 180 days (Amazon).
Identity verification comes next. Amazon asks for a photo of your face and your government-issued ID, or a scheduled or instant video call. Line up the legal name and address across your business registration, bank statement, ID and tax interview before you start. Fixing a mismatch after a verification request is slower than avoiding it.
US law adds a second layer. Under the INFORM Consumers Act, a high-volume third-party seller is one with 200 or more sales of new or unused products and $5,000 or more in gross revenue in any continuous 12-month period during the past 24 months. Marketplaces must collect such a seller’s bank account, tax identification number and contact details, verify them within 10 days and have the seller certify them at least once a year (Federal Trade Commission).
If you plan to enroll in Brand Registry, Amazon requires an active registered trademark or a pending application issued by the designated trademark office of a country with an Amazon store (Amazon). The country-by-country rules sit behind the login. Ask a trademark attorney whether your home-country filing covers your plans for the US store.
Which US tax form does a non-US seller complete?
Amazon’s registration includes a self-service tax interview that creates the appropriate tax form on your behalf (Amazon). Under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules, a foreign entity documents its status on Form W-8BEN-E, a nonresident alien individual uses Form W-8BEN, and a US person, including a US citizen living abroad, uses Form W-9 (IRS).
| Who is selling | IRS form | What to note |
|---|---|---|
| A company formed outside the US | W-8BEN-E | Valid from signing to the last day of the third following calendar year, unless information on it becomes incorrect |
| An individual who is not a US person | W-8BEN | Check the IRS instructions for Form W-8BEN before you sign |
| A US person, such as a US citizen abroad | W-9 | Forming a US entity changes your tax documentation; confirm the form with a US tax adviser |
A W-8BEN-E signed on October 7, 2026 generally stays valid until December 31, 2029. If a change in circumstances makes information on it incorrect, the IRS instructions require you to notify the party you gave it to within 30 days. Put the expiry date in your compliance calendar.
Whether US tax is withheld from your Amazon proceeds, and whether a tax treaty applies, depends on your facts. That is a question for a US tax adviser, not for Seller Support.
How do you get paid in your own currency?
Amazon offers two routes. You can use a US bank account as your deposit method, or use Amazon Currency Converter to have your US proceeds deposited to a bank account in another country (Amazon). Amazon also lists Seller Wallet, which holds US proceeds, converts US dollars into more than 20 currencies, transfers funds to your bank accounts abroad and pays suppliers (Amazon).
For Mexican sellers, Amazon México lists both the currency conversion service and Seller Wallet for deposits in pesos to a Mexican bank account (Amazon México). Compare the conversion cost of each route on Amazon’s current pages and against your own bank before you choose.
Who is the importer of record for FBA inventory?
You are, or a provider acting for you. Amazon states that when you send inventory to fulfillment centers in another country, you or your provider must act as exporter of record and importer of record and comply with the laws of both countries (Amazon). US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) holds the importer of record responsible for the accuracy of entry documents and for duties, taxes and fees, even when a broker files the entry (CBP).
Four customs basics apply to a foreign company that imports for FBA:
- Importer number. CBP Form 5106 creates or updates your importer identity in CBP’s systems and is a prerequisite for becoming an importer of record (CBP).
- Bond. Goods are not released at entry without a single-entry or continuous customs bond, unless an exception applies (19 CFR 142.4).
- Nonresident corporations. A corporation incorporated outside the US customs territory can enter goods for consumption only if it has a resident agent authorized to accept service of process in the state of the port of entry, and files a bond with a resident corporate surety (19 CFR 141.18).
- Duties are the importer’s debt. Paying a broker does not discharge them if the broker doesn’t pay CBP (19 CFR 141.1).
Amazon México describes routes for a Mexican company to register as a Foreign Importer of Record (FIOR), and notes that in some cases the carrier can act as importer of record. Amazon’s page for sellers from other countries lists Amazon Global Logistics and Seller Export & Delivery alongside customs brokers and freight forwarders (Amazon).
Ask every logistics provider, in writing, who will appear as importer of record on each entry. A quote marked DDP (delivered duty paid) does not answer that question on its own. Whoever is importer of record also carries the CPSC eFiling duty for products covered by a CPSC rule (CPSC).
What changed for low-value shipments?
Duty-free de minimis treatment ended for shipments from all countries on August 29, 2025, under Executive Order 14324 (White House, July 2025; CBP, August 2025). On June 24, 2026, CBP published an interim final rule suspending the de minimis exemption indefinitely for shipments valued at $800 or less that arrive by any mode other than the international postal network (Federal Register, June 2026).
Under that rule, those shipments must go through formal or informal entry. CBP published a separate rule at the same time for shipments through the international postal network.
For an FBA brand, small replenishment parcels sent by express courier no longer enter duty-free, and each one needs an entry by a party qualified to make it. CPSC eFiling has no low-value exemption either: a product that needs a certificate needs an eFiled certificate, whatever the shipment is worth (CPSC FAQ). Recalculate landed cost per unit with your customs broker before you set US prices.
Which US product rules apply to a foreign brand?
The same rules that apply to US brands, plus steps that exist only for foreign facilities. A foreign food or supplement facility registers with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and names a US agent, and a foreign cosmetics facility does the same under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). Imports covered by a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) rule need eFiled certificate data, and imported pesticides need Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration.
- Children’s products and other CPSC-regulated goods. Since July 8, 2026, importers must eFile the data from their Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) or General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) before the goods enter US commerce. Domestic manufacturers are exempt, which does not help a brand that manufactures abroad (CPSC, July 2026).
- Food and dietary supplements. A facility that makes, packs or holds food for US consumption registers with the FDA, and a foreign facility names a US agent (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart H). Imported food shipments also need Prior Notice. The FDA says it is not authorized to approve individual food importers, products, labels or shipments (FDA, December 2024), so there is no pre-approval to wait for.
- Cosmetics. A foreign facility’s US agent must reside or keep a place of business in the US and be physically present there, and a cosmetic product first marketed after December 29, 2022 is expected to be listed with the FDA within 120 days of marketing (FDA guidance, December 2024).
- Products with pesticidal claims. The EPA must register every pesticide sold or distributed in the US, including imports (EPA, October 2025).
- Radio devices. Marketplaces must display the FCC ID of devices subject to FCC certification from March 1 or June 1, 2027 under a rule effective October 13, 2026 (Federal Register, September 2026). Get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grant from your factory now.
Can you run the account in Spanish?
Largely, yes. An Amazon staff reply on the Seller Forums explains that setting Settings > Account Info > Language Preference to Spanish routes your Seller Support contacts by phone, chat and email to Spanish-speaking representatives (Amazon Seller Forums). If you use FBA, Amazon provides customer service to your buyers in English and Spanish (Amazon).
Amazon’s Latin America to USA page is published in Spanish as well as English, and Amazon México runs a Spanish-language guide and training center for Mexican businesses selling in the US store (Amazon México).
The gap is elsewhere. The US regulations and agency guidance cited in this guide are English documents. Decide now who on your team reads them, and who answers an Amazon compliance request before its deadline.
Is your brand ready? A readiness checklist
A non-US brand is ready to list on Amazon.com when 12 checks pass: account documents, identity, INFORM data, tax form, payouts, importer of record, landed cost, product rules per Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN), CPSC data, FDA and MoCRA registrations, trademark, and a named owner for Amazon notices. Each check has a primary source you can read before you ship.
| Check | Ready means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Professional North America and Brazil unified account; ID, business registration, address proof, chargeable card and bank account on hand | Amazon |
| Identity | Same legal name and address on registration, bank statement, ID and tax interview; ready for photo or video verification | Amazon |
| INFORM data | Bank account, tax ID and contact details current; annual certification done | FTC |
| Tax form | W-8BEN-E (company) or W-8BEN (individual) completed in the tax interview; expiry date in the calendar | IRS |
| Payouts | US bank account, Amazon Currency Converter or Seller Wallet chosen and tested | Amazon |
| Importer of record | Named in writing for every inbound shipment; Form 5106 filed; bond in place; resident agent if a nonresident corporation | 19 CFR 141.18 |
| Landed cost | Duties built into cost per unit, with no de minimis assumption | Federal Register |
| Product rules | Regulator, required document and issuer mapped for each ASIN | Compliance guide |
| CPSC data | CPC or GCC data in the CPSC Product Registry before the first entry | CPSC FAQ |
| FDA and MoCRA | Facility registration with a US agent; cosmetic products listed | FDA |
| Trademark | Registered or pending trademark from a designated office, for Brand Registry | Amazon |
| Notices | One named person owns Amazon notices; Seller Central language preference set | Amazon Seller Forums |
How LIVELE helps
LIVELE’s US Compliance Readiness service is for brands outside the US that are entering Amazon.com or fixing US compliance gaps, and it starts with a US compliance review of your catalog. Once you are selling, Compliance Management keeps your compliance documents current and answers Amazon’s requests. We don’t give tax, customs or legal advice, so we work alongside your customs broker, tax adviser and counsel.
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