Prohibited Words on Amazon: Complete List of Title and Bullet Violations

Why Amazon Prohibits Certain Words

Amazon's product listing policies exist to protect customers from misleading claims, maintain a consistent shopping experience, and comply with federal regulations (FTC, FDA, CPSC). When sellers use prohibited language, they risk listing suppression, forced edits, and in severe cases, account suspension.

In 2026, Amazon has dramatically increased automated enforcement of these policies. Where previously a prohibited word might go undetected for months, Amazon's machine learning systems now scan listings continuously and can flag violations within hours of publication.

Understanding what you cannot say is just as important as knowing what you should say.

The Auto-Rewrite Enforcement System

Amazon introduced automated title and bullet point rewriting in late 2024, and the system has expanded significantly since then. Here is how it works:

Detection: Amazon's automated systems continuously scan product titles and bullet points for policy violations.

Notification: When a violation is detected, you receive a notification in Seller Central with a 14-day window to correct the issue.

Forced rewrite: If you do not make corrections within 14 days, Amazon automatically rewrites the offending section. These rewrites are algorithmic and often strip out not just the prohibited term but surrounding content, resulting in degraded listing quality.

Repeat offenses: Sellers with repeated violations may face escalating consequences, including temporary listing suppression and account health warnings.

The 14-day auto-rewrite system means that even if a prohibited word slips through initially, it will eventually be caught and corrected — often in a way that hurts your listing more than a manual fix would.

Category 1: Promotional and Pricing Terms

These are the most commonly violated prohibitions. Sellers naturally want to highlight deals and value, but Amazon strictly prohibits promotional language in titles and bullets.

Prohibited Promotional Words

Pricing-Related Restrictions

You cannot include any of the following in titles or bullets:

• Dollar amounts ($19.99, $XX.XX)
• Percentage discounts (50% off, save 30%)
• References to coupons or promo codes
• Comparison to MSRP or "retail price"
• "Worth" or "valued at" language

Amazon handles all pricing, promotion, and deal presentation through its own UI elements. Any pricing language in your listing content is considered a policy violation.

Category 2: Health and Medical Claims

Health claims are among the highest-risk violations on Amazon. They can trigger not just listing suppression but also FDA and FTC regulatory action.

Prohibited Health Terms

Disease and condition claims:

• Cures, treats, prevents, heals, remedies
• FDA approved (unless your product genuinely has FDA approval, and even then, the claim must be precisely worded)
• Clinically proven (requires specific clinical trial documentation)
• Doctor recommended (requires verifiable endorsement)
• Pharmaceutical grade (regulated term)
• Medical grade (regulated term unless certified)

Body function claims:

• Boosts immunity / immune support (heavily scrutinized post-2020)
• Anti-aging (permitted in some cosmetic contexts, prohibited for supplements)
• Detox / detoxify / cleanse (prohibited for supplements and most health products)
• Weight loss / fat burning (requires FTC-compliant substantiation)
• Pain relief (regulated term for non-OTC products)
• Anti-inflammatory (medical claim unless product is an approved drug)

Safe Alternatives for Health Products

Instead of making direct health claims, describe the ingredients, their traditional uses, and let customers draw their own conclusions:

The general principle: describe what is IN the product, not what the product DOES to the body.

Category-Specific Health Regulations

Supplements: Must comply with DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act). Structure/function claims require a disclaimer. Disease claims are strictly prohibited.

Cosmetics and skincare: Can make appearance-related claims ("reduces the appearance of fine lines") but cannot make drug claims ("eliminates wrinkles").

Cleaning products: Can claim "kills 99.9% of bacteria" if EPA-registered. Cannot make health claims beyond the product's registered uses.

Food products: Nutrient content claims must follow FDA guidelines. Cannot claim a food "prevents" or "treats" any condition.

Category 3: Subjective and Superlative Claims

Amazon prohibits unsubstantiated subjective claims — assertions about quality or ranking that cannot be verified.

Prohibited Subjective Terms

• Best / best-in-class / world's best
• Top / top-rated / top-quality
• #1 / number one / leading
• Premium / luxury (context-dependent — see below)
• Superior / unmatched / unrivaled
• Perfect / flawless
• Amazing / incredible / extraordinary
• Ultimate / definitive
• Guaranteed (as a quality claim)

The "Premium" Gray Area

"Premium" is a frequently debated term. Amazon's policy technically prohibits unsubstantiated quality claims, but "premium" appears in thousands of active listings. The enforcement is inconsistent.

Safer approach: Use "premium" only when you can substantiate it with a specific detail. "Premium 18/8 stainless steel" is more defensible than just "premium water bottle" because it ties the claim to a verifiable material specification.

Safe Alternatives for Quality Communication

Instead of subjective superlatives, use specific, verifiable language:

Category 4: Special Characters and Formatting

Amazon's title and bullet formatting rules have tightened considerably:

Prohibited Special Characters

• Pipe characters ( | )
• Tildes ( ~ )
• Asterisks used for emphasis ( * * )
• Equal signs for separation ( = )
• Plus signs used as separators ( + ) — "+" is acceptable when describing bundle contents like "bottle + lid + brush"
• Excessive exclamation marks ( !!! )
• Brackets used for decoration ( [ ] )
• Angle brackets ( < > )

ALL CAPS Rules

• Full title in ALL CAPS: prohibited
• Individual ALL CAPS words for emphasis: prohibited
• Accepted ALL CAPS: standard acronyms (USB, LED, BPA, UV, SPF, LCD) and established abbreviations

Prohibited: "ULTRA STRONG Stainless Steel Water Bottle FOR GYM AND TRAVEL"

Correct: "Ultra Strong Stainless Steel Water Bottle for Gym and Travel"

Number and Unit Formatting

• Write out units: "32 oz" or "32 Ounces" — not "32OZ" or "thirty-two ounces"
• Use numerals for measurements: "6mm thick" not "six mm thick"
• Separate numbers from units with a space: "32 oz" not "32oz"

Category 5: Competitor and Trademark References

Strictly Prohibited

• Naming competitor brands anywhere in your listing
• Using phrases like "comparable to [Brand]" or "alternative to [Brand]"
• Including competitor brand names in backend search terms
• Using competitor product names (even generic-sounding ones that are trademarked)
• Claiming compatibility with a trademarked product without authorization

The Compatibility Exception

If your product is genuinely compatible with another brand's product (like a phone case for a specific phone model), you may reference that product for compatibility purposes only:

Acceptable: "Compatible with iPhone 15 Pro Max"

Not acceptable: "Better than Apple's official case"

The key distinction is factual compatibility statement vs. comparative marketing claim.

Category 6: Safety and Certification Claims

Terms That Require Documentation

These terms are not blanket-prohibited, but using them requires that your product has the corresponding certification on file with Amazon:

• UL Listed / UL Certified
• CE Marked
• FCC Compliant
• USDA Organic
• NSF Certified
• CPSC Compliant
• ASTM Standard (must cite specific standard number)
• ISO Certified (must cite specific ISO number)

Using these terms without documentation can result in listing removal and requests for compliance documentation.

Terms That Are Always Prohibited Without Certification

• FDA Approved (only drugs, medical devices, and certain food additives receive FDA approval)
• EPA Registered (only pesticides and antimicrobial products)
• GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe — an FDA designation, not a marketing term)

Category 7: Category-Specific Restrictions

Different product categories have additional prohibited terms:

Children's Products

• "Non-toxic" requires CPSIA testing documentation
• Age recommendations must match CPSC guidelines
• "Educational" for toys has specific FTC requirements

Food and Supplements

• "Organic" requires USDA certification
• "Natural" has no regulated definition but is under FTC scrutiny
• "Non-GMO" should be backed by Non-GMO Project verification or equivalent
• "Gluten-free" must meet FDA definition (less than 20 ppm)

Electronics

• "Waterproof" must have an IP rating (e.g., IP67, IP68)
• "Shockproof" must have MIL-STD or equivalent rating
• "Fireproof" / "fire-resistant" requires UL or equivalent certification

Beauty and Personal Care

• "Hypoallergenic" has no FDA regulation but is scrutinized
• "Dermatologist tested" requires documentation of testing
• "Cruelty-free" should be backed by Leaping Bunny or similar certification
• SPF claims require FDA-compliant testing

How to Audit Your Listings for Violations

Step 1: Download Your Listing Content

Export your title, bullets, description, and backend terms for each ASIN into a spreadsheet.

Step 2: Automated Keyword Scan

Search your exported content for every term listed in this article. Flag any matches for review.

Step 3: Category-Specific Check

Look up your specific category's style guide in Seller Central and check for additional restrictions.

Step 4: Competitor Comparison

Review your top 5 competitors' listings. If they use terms that are technically prohibited, do not assume it is safe — they may be facing enforcement actions you cannot see, or they may have documentation you lack.

Step 5: Proactive Correction

Fix all flagged terms before Amazon's automated systems catch them. A proactive fix lets you control the rewrite. An Amazon-forced rewrite often degrades your listing quality.

Safe Word Substitution Guide

Here is a quick-reference table for the most common prohibited-to-safe word swaps:

Staying Compliant at Scale

For sellers with large catalogs, maintaining compliance across hundreds or thousands of ASINs is a significant challenge. Every title update, seasonal refresh, or new product launch requires a compliance check.

AI-powered listing generation tools can help by building compliance rules into the generation process — ensuring that prohibited terms never make it into your listings in the first place. This is significantly more efficient than writing listings manually and auditing them afterward.

The Bottom Line

Amazon's prohibited word list is extensive and growing. The combination of automated detection, 14-day auto-rewrite enforcement, and escalating penalties means that non-compliance is no longer a minor risk — it is a direct threat to your listing visibility and account health.

The good news: compliant listings are not weaker listings. The safe alternatives in this guide are often more specific, more credible, and more persuasive than the prohibited terms they replace. "Made with 304 stainless steel" sells better than "best quality materials" because it gives customers verifiable information to base their purchase decision on.

Audit your listings against this guide, fix violations proactively, and build compliance into your listing creation workflow from the start.