Amazon Transparency: Who Can Enrol, What Codes Cost and the Review Catch

Here's the catch. Free to enrol doesn't mean free to run. Every unit you manufacture needs a code, wherever you sell it, and your protection doesn't switch on until the product passes Amazon's operational performance review. If you connect your own serial codes instead of Amazon's, shoppers can't scan them to check authenticity. And if your brand is based in Australia, you can't enrol at the moment.

Everything on this page comes from Amazon's US pages as of October 2026, so these are US prices and rules. UK, Canadian and Australian sellers will see local versions.

Amazon says more than 90,000 brands are enrolled and more than 2.7 billion units have been verified as authentic, based on its own internal data from May 2026. Those are Amazon's figures, not an independent count, but they tell you this isn't a small pilot.

Who can enrol in Transparency

Amazon's eligibility list is short:

• An Amazon Brand Registry account tied to your brand's trademark, with the rights owner role assigned to you.
• An active, registered trademark.
• A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) for each product you want to enrol.

Then there's the labelling side. If you'll use Amazon-issued codes, you need to be able to add a code to every unit you manufacture, wherever those units are sold, not only the ones heading to Amazon. If you'd rather connect serial codes you already use, Amazon asks for:

• A unique code for every unit of a GTIN or SKU.
• Externally scannable codes in 1D, QR or 2D formats, with the barcode on the same side of the packaging as the GTIN.
• Serial numbers between 7 and 20 characters long.
• The ability to share every serial number for that GTIN or SKU with Amazon.

What Transparency codes cost, as of October 2026

There are no enrolment costs, no subscription costs and no minimums. You pay when you order codes, and the price per code drops as your cumulative annual volume grows. These are the prices on Amazon's US Transparency page as of October 2026.

Codes ordered in your annual period	Price per code (Amazon)
1 to 1,000,000	$0.05
1,000,001 to 10,000,000	$0.03
10,000,001 and above	$0.01

Three details change how that works out for you. Adding or removing products costs nothing. Your annual code volume resets each year on the anniversary of your account creation date. And the per-code fee applies to your own serial codes connected to Transparency too, so bringing your own codes doesn't dodge it. Amazon also says fees vary by volume and geography.

The four steps from enrolment to protection

1. Enrol your brand and products using your Brand Registry credentials.
2. Apply Transparency codes to your units.
3. Pass the operational performance review.
4. Manage your protections.

Step three is the one that catches people out, because protections aren't active until the product passes. If you fulfil orders yourself, you contact Transparency support to start the review and give the Transparency codes at order confirmation in Seller Central. If you use FBA, you work through the Transparency portal, and codes are scanned when units arrive at the fulfilment centre.

Every unit needs a valid code, either Amazon-issued or an existing serial code connected to Transparency, or it won't pass the check. If a unit fails, Amazon investigates and lets you know, and the results show up in the Transparency portal.

Ways to get codes onto your packaging

Amazon lists seven routes, and who each one suits:

• Self-print labels, for small or medium brands that want full control with no third-party dependency.
• Pre-printed labels from trusted partners, which Amazon describes as low cost and fast to arrive, with no equipment needed.
• Service providers and co-packers.
• Printing codes directly on packaging, aimed at enterprise brands: the lowest per-unit cost, with an upfront investment.
• Print workflow software.
• Bringing your own codes through serialisation service providers.
• Regional integration partners, which are for China only.

Amazon-issued codes or your own serial codes

Amazon-issued codes are unique, alphanumeric and non-sequential, and they go on the packaging as a small square barcode. Amazon keeps a record of every code and the product it belongs to. Customers can scan them in the Amazon Shopping app or the Transparency app, which isn't available for products connected with existing serial codes.

Feature	Existing serial codes	Amazon-issued codes
Counterfeit prevention	Yes	Yes
Incorrect variation prevention	Yes	Yes
International product diversion protection	Yes	Yes
Supply chain defect reduction	Yes	Yes
Customer app-scan verification	No	Yes
Customer engagement	No	Yes

Amazon adds that some brands may be eligible for a Transparency badge on the product detail page. If you want shoppers to check authenticity themselves, Amazon-issued codes are the route that gives you that.

What full protection blocks, and where it applies

Once a product is fully protected, nobody can list it in a Transparency-supported store without valid codes that match the enrolled product. Amazon says the program can also catch shipments of materially different products, such as a different material, compatibility, colour, language or regulatory requirement, and international diversion.

You enrol once and you're protected across every supported store: the US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Australia, India and Japan. Brands can enrol from the US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, India, Japan and China. Brands from Australia aren't eligible to enrol right now, although brands enrolled from other origins are still protected in the Australian store.

Your performance report in the Transparency portal shows four things:

• Units blocked from shipment because of missing or invalid codes.
• Scans where the code didn't match the enrolled product.
• Listing attempts rejected for missing valid codes.
• Notices of suspected counterfeit infringement.

My verdict on Amazon Transparency

If counterfeits or wrong variations are turning up on your listings and you hold a registered trademark, I'd enrol. Enrolment's free, so the real decision is whether you can label every unit you make, everywhere you sell it. Price your annual code volume against the table before you commit, and plan launch dates around the performance review, because protection doesn't start until you pass it. To see where Transparency sits among your other Amazon costs, here's what Amazon takes from sellers, and if you're still deciding where to sell at all, read Amazon vs Shopify.

Transparency protects your units. Getting your brand found, in search and in AI answers, is the work I do. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement, AI automation and GEO, which is about getting your business seen and cited in AI answers. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams, telecom companies and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.

Frequently asked questions

Is Amazon Transparency free?

Enrolment is free, with no subscription and no minimums. As of October 2026 you pay per code you order: $0.05 for the first 1,000,000 codes in your annual period, then $0.03, then $0.01 above 10,000,000.

Do I need Brand Registry for Transparency?

Yes. You need a Brand Registry account tied to your trademark with the rights owner role, an active registered trademark, and a GTIN for each product.

When does Transparency protection start?

Only after your product passes the operational performance review. Until then, protections aren't active.

Can I use my own serial codes?

Yes, if they're unique per unit, externally scannable, 7 to 20 characters long, and you can share them all with Amazon. The per-code fee still applies, and customers can't scan them to verify.

Can Australian brands join Amazon Transparency?

Not at the moment. Brands from Australia can't enrol, but brands enrolled from other origins are still protected in the Australian store.