Authors: Verify Yourself on Amazon KDP Before Your Books Disappear

When the first email came, I thought it was phishing.

It said Amazon needed to verify my identity or my KDP account would be suspended. My email flagged it as spam, and honestly, it looked like every other scam email I get in a week. So I deleted it. Nothing ever came by regular mail.

Then on October 13, 2026, I went to check my monthly royalties. I usually get a couple of dollars every month, nothing fancy, but I like to look. I could not get in. Amazon had terminated BOTH of my KDP accounts for “unable to verify ID.”

Now, I have been publishing with Amazon since 2014, back when it was still CreateSpace. They have had my W-9 and my bank information on file for years. I keep two accounts with the same W-9 for one reason: so I can have two Author Central pages, one for my non-fiction as Jolene MacFadden and one for my L.J. Green fiction. Didn’t matter. Every one of my books was deleted, and the notice said my outstanding royalties were forfeited. Wouldn’t you know it, the First Coast Romance Writers anthology books that went through my account were gone too.

The only titles still standing were the ones I had published through Draft2Digital and IngramSpark.

I sent appeal emails for both accounts on October 16. On October 17, KDP reinstated my accounts and my books were visible again. Four days. It felt a lot longer than that. And yes, I am happy to report my royalties were paid this month after all.

So here is why I am telling you all this. Earlier this week we had to skip a book tour feature because the author’s ebook was not available on Amazon and the only paperback listed was out of print. I do not know that author’s whole story, and it is not mine to tell. But I know mine, and I do not want it happening to you.

What Amazon Is Asking For

Amazon now requires identity verification on KDP, and not just for new accounts. Existing accounts are being asked too. KDP says that if you don’t verify by the deadline, it can restrict your publishing features or close your account. One small press wrote last year that your books stay up while you sort it out. That was not my experience.

Here is the most important tip I can give you: do not click the link in the email. Open your browser, go to KDP yourself, and sign in. If Amazon really needs you to verify, you will see a banner at the top of the page that says “Identity verification required.” No banner? Make sure you are signed in with the right email address and password. If you have more than one account like I do, check every one of them.

Step by Step: How to Verify Yourself on KDP

These steps come from Amazon’s own help page, Verify your identity.

1. Sign in to KDP. Go to Your Account, then Your Identity.
2. Check your details. Your name and country have to match your government-issued ID. If you publish as a business, enter the information for the person authorized to represent it.
3. Save any changes.
4. Click Verify identity and choose your ID type. Most government-issued IDs work, such as a passport, residency permit, or driver’s license.
5. Take a picture of your physical ID. Amazon recommends using your phone. If you started on a computer, you can switch to your phone with a QR code or a secure link.
6. Take a selfie when it asks. Amazon says the selfie is not used for biometric identification.
7. Click Submit. Amazon says it usually takes about 30 seconds.

A Few Tips That Save Headaches

• Use the real card. Amazon cannot process photos of digital IDs or paper IDs.
• Get a clear picture. The photo has to be in focus, fill the frame, and show all the information with nothing cut off. Luminare Press reported their authors had better luck with a passport than a driver’s license.
• Do not keep hammering the button. If you fail too many times, Amazon makes you wait 72 hours before you can try again.
• Pay attention to the due date in any request you get, and finish before it.
• Check your spam folder now and then. Mine is where my warning ended up.

Don’t Keep All Your Eggs in One Basket

The books that never went anywhere were the ones I published through Draft2Digital and IngramSpark. That taught me a lesson. I am going with IngramSpark and Draft2Digital from here on out, whatever Amazon does. IngramSpark will publish my workbooks and Draft2Digital won’t, so I expect I will use IngramSpark the most.

Amazon is still the biggest bookstore around, and I am not telling you to leave. I am telling you not to let one company hold every copy of your work. Being a published writer is a lot like being a woman in corporate business. We get the short end of the stick any way you go. So protect yourself.

If you need help getting your books set up wide, that is exactly what we do at Southern Dragon Publishing.

Has this happened to you? Did you get the verification email, or worse, the termination notice? Tell me about it in the comments. The more we share, the more we can help each other.

And please share this post with your author friends. It might save somebody’s books.

Till next time…

Jolene

I use AI to help me write. It helps me separate out what I am actually trying to say. The story is mine, the facts are mine, and every word gets read and approved by me before it goes out.

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