What business address should you use for your Amazon store

If you’re thinking of starting or already running an Amazon FBA store, one important requirement you can’t overlook is the business address you display on your Amazon seller profile. Since September 1, 2020, Amazon requires all sellers in the U.S. marketplace to publicly list a valid business name and address on their storefront. This is part of Amazon’s efforts to reduce fraud and build customer trust.

So, what does this mean for you and your business?

You need to be careful with the type of business address you use for your Amazon Store because it will be public and what you choose may affect your operations.

This guide will walk you through why your choice of business address matters, the risks of common options like using your home or a P.O. box, and why a virtual mailbox might be the best solution to protect your privacy, comply with Amazon’s rules, and support your growing FBA business.

What to know about business addresses as an Amazon seller

Amazon requires sellers to verify their business addresses as part of the seller onboarding and ongoing account health checks. Here’s why it matters:

• Verification: Amazon may request documents proving your business address, such as utility bills or lease agreements. An address that is recognized and verifiable helps avoid account suspension or holds.

• Transparency: Showing a valid business address builds buyer trust, making shoppers more comfortable purchasing from your store.

• Fraud Prevention: Amazon’s crackdown on fraudulent accounts helps ensure a safe marketplace for customers — and a level playing field for sellers.

Using a business address that meets these standards is critical for maintaining a healthy, uninterrupted Amazon seller account. As an FBA seller, your business address appears publicly on your storefront and is used for returns, verifications, and legal documentation.

• New sellers setting up their account will need a valid business address during registration.

• Experienced sellers expanding their brand may want to revisit their address for privacy and professionalism.

• Businesses planning to grow should have a commercial-style business address that boosts credibility with a leased address, lease agreement, and utility bill.

Avoid using your home address for your Amazon Store

As a seller, using your home address for your Amazon Store will put you in an uncomfortable situation in multiple ways.

First, you will be exposing your home address to the public for all shoppers to see and access. Your home address will be visible to all your Amazon customers, which means as a seller you could have buyers show up at your house asking for their packages! That’s a big YIKES!

Scenario 1: Sarah used her home address on her Amazon seller profile. One day, a frustrated customer arrived unannounced asking for a late delivery. Sarah felt uncomfortable and worried about her family’s privacy.

There is also the issue of liability concerns. If there is something wrong with your product or something goes wrong with your shop, you could be made liable without the business protection because you used your personal home address. It’s not a good idea to mix your business with personal property or information, specific to when you’re an LLC.

Using your home address may seem like the easiest option when starting out, but it carries significant risks:

• Public Exposure: Your home address will be visible to every Amazon customer, potentially inviting unwanted visits or harassment.

• Safety Concerns: Sharing your residential location increases your vulnerability to identity theft or stalking.

• Liability Risks: If your business is an LLC or corporation, mixing personal and business addresses could weaken your legal protections in case of lawsuits or claims.

• Professional Image: A home address may make your store appear less established, potentially affecting buyer confidence.

For these reasons, we strongly recommend not using your home address on your Amazon seller profile.

A P.O. Box presents big limitations for your Amazon Store

Let’s clear up the fact that the business address shown on your profile can be a street or P.O. box address. However, we just covered how your home address might not be ideal because of privacy and liability concerns for your seller profile.

Now, for your return address, where returns will be shipped, you can set a different address from the seller profile. You can even set different return addresses based on different conditions.

So, yes you can use a P.O. box, but it’s not recommended due to package, courier, and product limitations. If you choose to use a P.O. box as your return address for your Amazon Store, you will be limited by the restrictions that a P.O. box presents to your business.

Depending on what your Amazon store sells, you will have to be careful about the size of the P.O. box you choose and the volume of packages and mail it can handle. Otherwise, it might not work, and you could risk losing or wasting the time hunting down all of the packages and returns that are sent to your P.O. box.

You also need to be aware of the fact that P.O. boxes do not accept packages from other couriers besides USPS. That’s a big barrier for any store because that means you’ll have to get a separate address in order to receive from couriers such as UPS and FedEx.

And finally, P.O. boxes may limit you in the type of items you can receive, including certain electronics that may not be accepted by P.O. boxes. Save yourself the headache and skip the P.O. box.

Scenario 2: Mike rented a small P.O. box for his business address, but when FedEx attempted to deliver a large shipment, it was returned because P.O. boxes don’t accept FedEx packages. This caused costly inventory delays.

Although Amazon allows either a street address or a P.O. box, P.O. boxes present notable challenges for FBA sellers:

• Courier Restrictions: P.O. boxes only accept packages delivered by USPS. FedEx, UPS, DHL, and other couriers cannot deliver to them. This means shipments from these services either won’t reach you or require additional arrangements.

• Size Limitations: P.O. boxes have physical size limits, which can be problematic if your returns or inventory shipments are large or numerous.

• Verification Issues: Some institutions and services do not accept P.O. boxes for address verification, which may complicate bank account setup, licensing, or Amazon account verification.

• Inconvenience: Frequent trips to the post office to pick up packages can become a logistical headache and cause delays.

While P.O. boxes offer some privacy, these limitations often outweigh the benefits for Amazon FBA sellers.

So, is there an address you can get that will protect your privacy and not have barriers like couriers, size, or product limitations?

Get a virtual mailbox for your Amazon Store

A virtual mailbox provides you with a physical street address that you can use as your business address. You receive all of your mail and packages at this address, but the virtual mailbox address accepts all courier services, so you can be confident that you will be receiving all of your items, whether it is being delivered by UPS, FedEx, USPS, or another service.

There are many aspects of this physical address that you can take advantage of for your business. You can rest assured that you are safe from nosy customers, scary strangers, or prying eyes of competitors because your home address is not being used as the business address for your Amazon Store. They will see the location of your business address instead.

You can also capitalize on the fact that your separate address can be attached to a commercial building, boosting the prestige and reputation of your business. Rather than having your store look like it’s run out of your home, you can present the image that you are a successful shop with a commercial location. This will make your business more attractive to potential customers who are looking to purchase your products!

With a virtual mailbox, you won’t have to worry about the size of your packages or storage needs. The virtual mailbox service will notify you of every delivery made, and you will have the option of forwarding, discarding, or storing your packages and mail.

Scenario 3: Ana opted for a virtual mailbox address attached to a commercial building. She received instant notifications of deliveries from all couriers and felt confident that her professional image impressed buyers browsing her storefront.

A virtual mailbox offers a modern, flexible, and secure alternative to both home addresses and P.O. boxes.

• Physical Street Address: Unlike a P.O. box, virtual mailboxes provide a real street address — often located in commercial office buildings — that can be used as your business address on Amazon.

• All Courier Deliveries Accepted: Virtual mailbox services accept packages from all couriers including USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL.

• Privacy Protection: Your home address remains private. Customers see only the virtual mailbox address on your storefront.

• Package Handling: Receive notifications, scan mail, forward packages anywhere, or even have items consolidated and shipped — saving you time and storage headaches.

• Professional Image: A commercial street address enhances your business’s reputation and can improve customer trust.

• Compliance-Friendly: Virtual mailbox addresses are accepted for Amazon verification, bank accounts,

Compare addresses for your Amazon Store

How to Edit Your Amazon Business Address

1. Log into your Amazon seller account.
2. In the Settings menu at the top right corner of Seller Central, click Account Info to view the Seller Account Information page.
3. To change your business name, click Display Name, and change the address, click Business Address. Enter the new information or edit the current information.
4. Submit to save.

Ready For A Virtual Mailbox?

When running an online business, some Amazon sellers will opt to use their home address. This isn’t an uncommon option however, you might not be comfortable with sharing the location of your home.

If you want to keep your home address private, a virtual mailbox is an easy and affordable solution. Some Amazon sellers even have a physical warehouse or location, but want to keep it private to avoid surprise visits from customers.

• Use the address on shipping and return labels.
• Protect your personal address on your website and storefront to lend legitimacy to your brand.
• Include it on legal documents and certain registrations.
• Use the address to receive mail.

Now you know what business address you need to use for your Amazon Store. Instead of exposing your personal privacy and your business liability by using your home address, get a virtual mailbox! A virtual mailbox bypasses the headache you get with a P.O. box with limited courier services (P.O. boxes only get mail and packages from USPS) and makes it easier to verify the address as it’s a real street address.

With VPM, you can get started and selling today!