Amazon Product Categories
When establishing an Amazon FBA business, you should know the categories you have permission to sell. Amazon has two product categories: open and restricted.
Sellers don’t require any Amazon permission to sell their products for the open categories, so they are the best choice for newbies. You can start selling your products in open categories as soon as you open an Amazon account (individual or professional plans).
Click here if you want to know more about Amazon Ungated Categories List.
But, Some categories require Amazon approval, and they are known as gated or restricted categories. Here, our focus is on Amazon gated categories.
Which Categories Are Restricted on Amazon (at the beginning of 2025)?
Selling specific products and categories on Amazon requires Amazon approval. These restricted categories are called gated categories. It would be best to read the “Restricted Products Help” pages when you supply products for listing on Amazon.
Amazon is all about customer care. So, the platform tries to avoid selling counterfeit products to its customers through these restrictions. One of Amazon’s policies is that the brands stay reliable so that the customer can ensure high-quality, genuine products. Usually, Amazon asks for performance checks and additional fees for these restricted categories.
The following Amazon categories require approval in 2025:
- Amazon Watch Warranty
- Automotive and Powersports
- Clothing, Accessories, Shoes, and Luggage
- Collectible Books
- Collectible Coins
- Entertainment Collectibles
- Fine Art
- Fine Jewelry
- Gift Cards
- Grocery and Gourmet Foods
- Kindle Accessories
- Laser pointers and other laser products
- Made in Italy
- Major Appliances
- Sexual Wellness
- Join Amazon subscription boxes
- Personal Safety and household products
- Postage stamps
- Sports Collectibles
- Services
- Streaming Media Players
- Textbook Rentals
- Toys and Games (Holiday Selling Guidelines) (read the guide to getting ungated in toys)
- Music, Video, DVD, and Blu-ray
- Watches
The restriction policy and gated categories didn’t change much in the last year.
What is the Meaning of Getting Ungated?
Amazon doesn’t let you sell products from many categories before getting approved. The platform deals with dishonest sellers who try to sell cheap and fake products all the time. So, it makes restrictions on some brands, subcategories, or categories. Sellers have to prove that they are legitimate to gain the privilege of selling these items.
When newbies have the approval to sell these products, it simply means they get “ungated” on Amazon.
If you’re looking for fast-selling online arbitrage deals that don’t require any approval or ungating process, click the below banner:
What Are the Requirements for Ungating on Products, Categories & Brands?
As we said, Amazon gates categories because it needs to ensure the sellers are reliable and take good care of their customers. Hence, you need to prove this to the platform. What proves you are a reliable seller that buyers can count on? Your history and records. Amazon goes over your account and reviews and sometimes asks for further documents like invoices. We will explain getting ungated step by step, so stay tuned.
Amazon Ungating Service Providers
You can follow the steps explained in the previous section to get ungated on Amazon. But remember that providing invoices and other documentation is time-consuming. At the same time, there is always a possibility of violating Amazon’s policies, which could be why you fail to get ungated.
But you can do this process conveniently and safely with professional assistance. Some companies provide Amazon-restricted category approval services for you. They offer you the “ungating strategy” and guide you through the process and get approval by ungating on Amazon.
Although they are expensive, if you can get ungated on profitable categories, eventually, you can cover this cost and end up with a good profit. Here are some Amazon ungating services:
- OABeans.com
- AMZUngating.com
- Amazon Category Approval
- Amazoker.com
- Theungatingwizard.com
If you want to get ungated in some products, categories, or brands, see the Amazon Ungating Service page.
Why Amazon Restricts Some Categories?
Nowadays, thousands of products are listed on Amazon for sale. The products offered on an Amazon seller account must comply with all regulations and laws. Besides, they should follow Amazon’s policies.
Sellers can not sell unsafe and illegal products on Amazon. Also, selling products that are only available by prescription is not allowed. The most significant reasons why Amazon implements these restrictions are:
- The integrity of the brand: It is crucial to protect brand integrity. Besides, this way, the supply chain will be controlled.
- Safety: It is essential to selling safe products for consumption.
- Fair price: Amazon controls prices from baseless increases during extraordinary circumstances or product shortages by dishonest sellers.
- Liability: Amazon tries to protect itself, its sellers, and its customers from legal issues.
- Consumer confidence: It wants to optimize user experience (UX) and consistently has high-quality standards.
How to Identify a Gated or Ungated Product Without an Amazon Seller Account?
Amazon provides sellers with the option to search for ASINs within Seller Central. But what if you still need to become a user of the platform? There are lists all over the internet for gated categories. These lists get updated regularly; if you find a credible one, you can count on it (check and see when the last update was).
Also, the Amazon website has listed restricted products for the public to see.
How to Get Ungated on Restricted Categories and products?
The process of ungating on Amazon is relatively simple. Here is a step-by-step guide to do it:
- First of all, make sure you have a “professional” selling plan on the platform.
- Now, it’s time to select the product you want to sell. Log into your Amazon account and go to Seller Central. Now, find the inventory menu, select “add product,” and search for it.
- Now that you have found it, click the “Listing Limitations May Apply” link right next to it, then “Request Approval”.
- It’s time to complete the forms and applications. Fill it out with all the correct information (invoices, documents, etc), and wait for the approval.
In general, Amazon doesn’t explain why it rejects ungating applications. It could be because of revamping their requirements or having a backup of applications. It seems the process of ungating on Amazon is sometimes secretive and unclear.
Here are some categories you can start trying to ungate in now:
Tropical
Topical products are the ones that come in direct contact with your skin. To prevent second-hand sales and skin irritations, and health problems, Amazon has gated this category. Click here to learn more about getting ungated on Topical category on Amazon.
Health and Beauty
Cosmetics, beauty products, and health items are gated. Amazon cares about its customers’ health and wellness, so it ensures all sellers get approved before being able to sell them. Read this article to learn more about getting ungated in Health and Beauty.
Toys
Toys are delicate and usually used by small children or infants. to prevent anything happening to them, these items need to be high quality. Amazon gated the Toys catagory, but getting ungated on toys is not very hard.
Grocery
Since groceries are sold fresh and effect people’s health, they can be tricky to sell. Amazon has gated them to prevent fake product sales and potential harm. Here is a guide to getting ungated on groceries.
How to Get Ungated on Restricted Brands
Brands can also get restricted, just like categories, and it’s essential to understand the difference between these two. Amazon requires third-party sellers to go through approval before starting to sell a specific brand (for example, Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour are gated). Brand gating is enforced at the brand level or the ASIN, meaning you need to get approved to sell that brand’s product. But category gating is enforced at the category level. Some gated brands aren’t even open to new applications, but those that are require some steps. You should provide the platform with verifiable invoices or authorization letters from the brand owner. Ungating a brand is pretty much like ungating a category or a product.
- Search for a brand product and click on “Listing Limitations apply,” then request approval.
- Among other documents, ensure you provide the manufacturer’s invoices and letters.
Now, wait for the platform’s response.
You can appeal to Amazon to be able to sell these gated brands:
Apple
Although there were times when selling Apple was completely restricted, you can now appeal and start selling it’s products on Amazon. Here is the complete guide to getting ungated on Apple products.
Nike
Amazon gates Nike to prevent counterfeit sales. If you have just started your business on the platform, you need to get ungated first. Read and find out everything about getting ungated on Nike.
LEGO
LEGO is one of the gated brands on Amazon (its also considered a toy which is also restricted). Its profitable and gets very trendy in holidays. Here is how to start getting ungated on LEGO.
Tips to Increase The Chance of Getting Ungated on Amazon
Initially, Amazon gives you general instructions, but it doesn’t explain the details of the ungating process. In some cases, if it rejects your application for ungating on amazon, it may not even give you a reason. Here is a list of some valuable tips is put together which can help you to increase the chance of getting ungated on Amazon:
1. Give the Supplier’s Contact Information
You should always include your supplier’s contact information when you run your eCommerce business through Amazon FBA or dropshipping. Sellers’ references help Amazon validate your reliability, credibility, and trustworthiness. What is very critical for Amazon is paying its suppliers on time. You need to provide the below items:
- Email address
- Name (If applicable)
- Business Phone Number
2. Try not to Use Editable Formats for The Invoice
To avoid dishonest sellers who try to game the system, Amazon restricted some categories. So, keeping every part of your application process as legit as possible is essential. The ideal format is a PDF file.
3. Pay Attention to The Address
It would be best to have matched addresses of “Bill To” and “Ship To.” This will give you a better chance of being ungated on Amazon. Therefore, fill your application with up-to-date information.
4. Send a Finalized Invoice
The most crucial documentation for getting ungated on Amazon faster is sending a finalized invoice. Besides, some brands or categories may ask for more in your application. When an order has been fulfilled, an invoice is published, which shows proof of payment. Consider that it differs from the packaging slip. The following items are included in an invoice:
- All contact information for the supplier/manufacturer
- Invoice number
- Shipping and billing address
- Date of order
- Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) numbers or Universal Product Codes (UPC) for each product
- Packing slip number (if cross-referenced)
- Payment terms and information
- Itemized list of goods purchased with quantity, size, and weight for each
5. Have Good Performance Metrics
Amazon wants to ensure that you can sell these restricted categories before ungated you. So it would be best to have a positive reputation with customers and powerful performance metrics.
To reach this purpose, you should follow below items:
- Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate under 2.5%
- Order Defect Rate (ODR) under 1%
- Late Shipment Rate (LSR) under 4%
6. Convert Product ID Numbers to ASIN
Converting all product numbers as ISBN, EAN, and UPC to ASIN makes the work easy for Amazon to cross-reference all the brands, products, and categories. Some products like private-label items, handmade goods, product bundles, or automotive parts don’t have product IDs, and you can ask for ungating them with Global Trade Item Number (GTIN).
7. Try a Different Amazon Service Agent
It becomes clear that some Amazon service agents are more strict than others. So, you can withdraw your application when a service agent rejects it. After a few days, reapply with a different agent.
8. Try Submitting The Application During Regular US Business Hours
Submitting your application during regular business hours would be best if you want to speed up your ungating on the Amazon process. It will help if an Amazon agent asks for more documentation on working hours; you answer them immediately.
9. Choose Recognizable Brands
To get approval for a category, you need to be approved for the product, so choosing your products from famous companies can help you. To make you ungated, Amazon recognized well-known companies better.
How Long Does It Take to Get Ungated on Amazon?
It takes time to approve when you fulfill the requirements and submit your ungated application. There is no defined time for the process, and it depends totally on Amazon. The application review process for some categories can last two weeks. But, other categories for this process will take up to as long as 12 weeks. By experience, getting ungated in some categories, such as Sexual Wellness, is faster and easier. In comparison, other categories, such as Fine Jewelry, have a long process.
Final Thought
Everything you require to know about getting ungated on Amazon is covered in this post. One of the biggest challenges all sellers face while starting their eCommerce business is dealing with restricted categories on Amazon. But, sellers can send an application for Amazon approval as they follow the guidelines. Most categories can be ungated, although the restriction for others can remain. As a consequence of getting ungated, you will have access to more significant customers and potentially more sales. However, sellers can use ungating services from companies to have less risk and more chance of getting ungated on Amazon-restricted products and categories.
11 replies on “How to Get Ungated on Amazon in 2025?”
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