Do Amazon FBA sellers need a US LLC?
Amazon does allow sellers from many countries without a US entity. The reasons founders form one anyway are payouts, supplier terms, and separating personal liability from a business holding inventory.
The essentials
Verified July 28, 2026
- Required by Amazon?
- NoAmazon accepts sellers from many countries without a US entity. This is a business decision, not a platform requirement.
- Common reasons
- Payouts, supplier terms, liability separationNot platform access.
- EIN needed for
- US business banking and W-9Suppliers and payment providers typically ask for one.
- Formation cost
- $249 + $100 Wyoming feeGrowth plan, including EIN guidance.
What's included
- A US entity that can hold supplier relationships and sign contracts in its own name
- An EIN, which US banking and W-9 requests both depend on
- Separation between your personal assets and a business carrying inventory risk
What's not included
- Access to Amazon itself — many countries can sell without any US entity
- Sales tax registration and remittance, which is a genuine and growing obligation for FBA sellers with inventory across states
- Any customs, import or product-compliance handling
Assuming the LLC handles sales tax. It does not.
FBA is unusual because Amazon moves your inventory between fulfilment centres, which can create nexus in states you have never been to. That triggers sales tax registration and filing obligations that have nothing to do with your entity type — a US LLC neither creates nor solves them. Sellers who discover this late face back-filing across several states. Budget for a sales tax service or an accountant who handles FBA specifically.
Be clear about why you are forming one
Unlike SaaS founders, who often genuinely cannot get Stripe without a US entity, Amazon sellers usually can operate without one. Forming an LLC is about how you want to hold the business — supplier credibility, cleaner payouts, liability separation — rather than about being allowed to sell. If a vendor tells you Amazon requires a US LLC, that is a reason to distrust the vendor.
Inventory changes the liability calculation
A business holding physical goods has a different risk profile from one selling software. Product liability, supplier disputes and shipping claims are real exposures, and the point of an LLC is that they attach to the company rather than to you personally. That protection is not absolute and depends on operating the company properly, but it is the substantive argument for FBA sellers.
Worth knowing
Sales tax is the obligation that actually catches FBA sellers, and it scales with where Amazon stores your inventory rather than where you formed. Forming a US LLC does not address it. Anyone selling you formation as a solution to sales tax is either confused or misleading you.
Common questions
Does Amazon require a US LLC?
No. Amazon accepts sellers from many countries without one. Forming an LLC is a decision about liability, banking and supplier relationships — not a condition of selling on the platform.
Will an LLC help with sales tax?
No, and this is the most important thing on this page. FBA can create nexus in states where Amazon stores your inventory, which triggers registration and filing obligations independent of your entity. Get an accountant who handles FBA sales tax specifically.
Which state should an FBA seller form in?
Wyoming for most sellers, on cost. Note that forming in one state does not exempt you from registering in states where you have nexus — and for FBA, inventory placement is what creates that, not your formation state.
Form your US LLC with RazorFile
Wyoming filing, Registered Agent and EIN guidance from $249 plus the state fee. Filed in one to three business days.
RazorFile files companies. We are not a law firm or tax advisor, and nothing on this page is legal or tax advice.