Clarification Needed: Do the August 25, 2026 “Solution Provider” Policy Updates Apply to In-House SP-API Developers?

[francis-tan-9]

We received the recent email notice regarding “Amazon SP-API policies updates effective August 25, 2026.”

The notice states that Amazon is updating the agreements and policies governing use of the Solution Provider Portal, and that:

“These changes apply to all solution providers.”

The email references updates to the:

• Data Protection Policy
• Solution Provider Portal Agreement
• Acceptable Use Policy

We would like clarification on the definition and scope of “Solution Provider” in this context.

Our situation

We are an in-house development team for a seller.

We develop and maintain our own SP-API application solely for our company's internal use. We do not provide SP-API applications, software, or services to external sellers or customers.

Our management currently does not intend to create a Solution Provider Portal (SPP) account, as we are not operating as a third-party solution provider.

Because we do not have an SPP account, we also do not appear to have a way to open an SPP support case to ask Amazon for clarification.

Questions

Could someone from Amazon please clarify:

1. Does the term “Solution Provider” in the August 25, 2026 policy updates include a seller's own in-house development team that develops and uses an SP-API application only for its own seller organization?

2. Is a seller with a self-developed / in-house SP-API application required to create and maintain a Solution Provider Portal account?

3. Do the updated Data Protection Policy, Solution Provider Portal Agreement, and Acceptable Use Policy apply to an in-house SP-API application that is not provided to any external customers?

4. If an in-house developer does not have an SPP account, what is the appropriate support channel for obtaining official clarification about these policy changes?

We want to ensure that we correctly understand the scope of the new requirements and complete any required compliance actions before August 25, 2026.

An official clarification on whether seller self-developed / in-house SP-API applications are considered “Solution Providers” would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[puppsupr]

Hi @francis-tan-9,

Q1 & Q3: Yes — the Data Protection Policy (DPP), Solution Provider Portal Agreement (SPPA), and Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) apply to all developers accessing SP-API data, including in-house teams building apps solely for their own seller account. If your application accesses SP-API, your team meets the "Developer" / "Solution Provider" definition and must comply with all three policies effective.

Q2: If you already have a developer account, the updated policies apply to your existing account automatically without needing a separate SPP registration specifically for a third-party provider context.

Q4: If you don't have an SPP account, you can still open a case via Seller Central > Help > Contact Us.

Additionally, we encourage you to migrate to the Solution Provider Portal (SPP), which is replacing Developer Central as the central gateway for SP-API developers. SPP is not only for third-party providers, private developers can use it as wel. Key advantages:

• Centralized management — consolidate developer profiles, apps, and data access in one place
• Compliance tooling — automated compliance monitoring via Guard
• API usage monitoring — view call efficiency, success rates, and errors;
• No Seller Central dependency — manage everything independently

To migrate, go to Seller Central → Develop Apps and follow the guided workflow. Full steps: Unify Your Developer Accounts.

Refer: https://developer.amazonservices.com/tools/solution-provider-portal

Let me know if you have further questions!