Amazon to Discontinue FBA Prep Services in 2026: What Sellers and Prep Centers Must Know

Amazon has announced that effective January 1, 2026, it will no longer provide prep and labelling services for FBA shipments in the United States. This covers any inventory that is routed via AWD, AGL, SEND, or the Supply Chain Portal, as well as any that is sent straight to FBA. Amazon's preparation services served as a safety net for many merchants, particularly during busy times or when internal resources were limited. Now that help is no longer available, sellers and their logistical partners are solely responsible.

This announcement is in line with several significant changes Amazon has rolled out in 2025 around the FBA workflow. Earlier this year, Amazon mandated a migration to the new FBA Inbound Workflow via SP-API, which introduced expanded configuration options such as Packing Groups, Placement Options, Amazon FC inventory splits, and transportation modes, all to be specified upfront during FBA Inbound shipment creation. In parallel, Amazon also required all third-party agencies and software providers to register on the new Solution Provider Portal (SPP) by April 2025, as part of its broader push for tighter security, stronger compliance, and more centralized access management across SP-API integrations and external service providers.

Why FBA Prep Existed in the First Place

One of the main pillars of the Amazon seller strategy has long been Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). While outsourcing complicated logistics, FBA assisted sellers in increasing conversions by providing Prime-eligible delivery, consistent shipping speeds, and a uniform unboxing experience.

Over 80% of the approximately 1.1 million US sellers that are currently active on Amazon depend on FBA as their main fulfillment method as of 2025. By providing prep services including labelling, poly-bagging, bubble-wrapping, and kitting, Amazon was able to decrease exceptions at receipt and optimize processes in fulfilment centres.

What FBA Prep Actually Involves

FBA prep refers to everything needed to make products ready for Amazon’s fulfillment centers. This includes:

• Labeling (FNSKU, carton labels, inserts)
• Prep and Packaging (poly bags, bubble wrap, corner guards, etc.)
• Bundling/Kitting (multi-pack units, product sets)
• Warnings & Regulatory Marks (suffocation warnings, country-of-origin, lot numbers, expiration dates)

Neglecting or improperly managing any of these procedures might have immediate repercussions, like delayed delivery, chargebacks, or a bad customer experience. Additionally, since Amazon will no longer correct those errors, sellers must ensure that this job is flawless from the start.

What’s Changing in 2026

Starting January 1, 2026, Amazon will no longer offer item labeling or prep services for FBA shipments in the U.S., regardless of whether the inventory is sent directly or via programs like AWD and SEND. That means tasks like FNSKU labeling, bundling, bubble wrapping, or carton relabeling must be completed before the inventory reaches Amazon’s dock.

For sellers who have been leaning on Amazon’s prep support, especially those managing hundreds or thousands of SKUs, this introduces an operational shift that can’t be ignored. Any prep work that’s not completed upstream will likely lead to receiving delays, non-compliance fees, or even refused shipments.

Why is Amazon Stopping FBA Prep?

Over the past few years, seller capabilities around FBA prep have matured significantly, driven in large part by the rise of specialized FBA prep centers. There are now estimated to be over 300 prep centers in the U.S., and more than 500 globally, many of which handle everything from labeling and bundling to compliance and cartonization.

In addition to these niche providers, larger 3PLs like ShipBob, Stord, and ShipMonk have also expanded into Amazon prep, making it easier for sellers to outsource the entire process.

With more sellers relying on these partners, Amazon’s own prep services have become less essential. The move allows Amazon to streamline operations, reduce delays at receiving, and keep its fulfillment centers focused on what they do best, which is moving inventory quickly, efficiently, and getting orders into customers’ hands in two days or less.

What Changes If You're Using a Software Integrated via SP-API

If you're managing FBA workflows through software integrated with Amazon’s Selling Partner API (SP-API), there’s a key technical change to account for. Starting January 1, 2026, Amazon will no longer accept AMAZON as a valid prepOwner or labelOwner in shipment creation requests. Source: Amazon Developer Docs

Amazon has instructed developers to review their code and remove any instance where AMAZON is statically assigned as the prepOwner or labelOwner. All shipments must now explicitly declare the seller or their prep partner as the responsible party.

For any SP-API–driven workflow, this means:

• Updating systems to assign prep and label ownership explicitly
• Handling label generation and rule-based prep upstream
• Ensuring all shipment data is validated before reaching Amazon’s systems

What This Means for Sellers

Sellers will need to carefully examine how they handle incoming goods. You can't put off tasks like labeling barcodes, kitting, and packaging until the last minute anymore. Every shipment must arrive at the fulfillment center in full compliance and ready to be received.

For brands that run their own warehouse, this could mean changing how things are done inside or hiring more people. For some, it's a sign to start working with an FBA prep center that knows Amazon's rules. In either case, this can't wait until the fourth quarter of 2025. Now is the best time to set up a new prep workflow because you can test it out with less stress.

It's also important to think about how it will affect your finances. There are hidden costs to doing prep work in-house, like training, labor, space, mistakes, and delays. FBA Prep centers, on the other hand, charge by the unit or service type, but they are consistent and reliable. Your choice will depend on how big your business is, what time of year it is, and how much risk you're willing to take.

What This Means for Prep Centers and 3PLs

For 3PLs and FBA prep centers, this policy change is likely to trigger a new wave of demand. Many sellers who previously relied on Amazon, their suppliers, or in-house teams for labeling and packaging will now look to outsource prep to specialists. The goal for most sellers will be to stay focused on product development and growth while shifting operational complexity to partners who know Amazon’s systems well. But this rising demand will come with new expectations around scale, speed, and accuracy.

FBA Prep centers today come in all shapes and sizes. Many small or mid-sized operations have built their processes around a patchwork of tools including Google Sheets, Airtable, Zapier, and manual data entry across seller accounts. As client volume increases, these systems start to break. Managing prep for even a handful of merchants becomes difficult when every order involves switching tabs, checking spreadsheets, and copy-pasting between Seller Central and internal tools. Smaller prep centers that serve multiple Amazon sellers should look for purpose-built software that allows them to run multi-client operations in one place. That includes the ability to manage prep rules, running product eligibility checks, determining placement and transportation options, generating FNSKU and Shipping Labels without logging into multiple Seller Central accounts or juggling disconnected spreadsheets.

For larger 3PLs that offer Amazon FBA prep as part of their broader fulfillment service, this is also an opportunity to evaluate their software stack. In our experience, many 3PLs still rely on separate systems, one for Amazon FBA workflows and another for their B2B or DTC operations. This separation often creates inefficiencies, duplicated data, and inconsistencies across fulfillment channels. With the shift in Amazon’s policy, it may be time to consider a consolidated WMS or order fulfillment platform that can handle FBA workflows alongside everything else.

The Transition Window is Shorter Than It Looks

The policy goes into effect on January 1, 2026, but most sellers will need to be ready long before Q4 2025. That's when there are a lot of orders, teams are busy, and mistakes cost the most.

Sellers who start testing different options for prep now, either on their own or with a partner, will be better able to avoid problems later. In the same way, FBA prep centers that get their systems and SLAs right early on will be the ones who win long-term relationships as the shift happens.

Read More: Top Tax-Free Amazon Prep Centers in US

Final Thoughts

Amazon's choice to stop the FBA Prep services changes who owns the work, but not how important it is. Getting products ready on time and correctly is still very important for keeping listings healthy, inventory moving, and customers happy.

This change makes it so that both sellers and FBA prep centers have to be more disciplined, open, and well-equipped. Those who do this right will win over their competitors.

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