Amazon Product Image Requirements (2026): The Complete, Sourced Checklist

By ABS Jony, founder of PhotoPixc · Sources checked October 23, 2026

Technical requirements (every image)

Images that fail these technical checks can’t be uploaded at all.

Amazon also accepts an optional file naming format, with the ASIN plus a variant code such as B000123456.MAIN.jpg or B000123456.PT01.jpg. New images can take up to 24 hours to appear on the detail page.

Main image rules

The main image is the one shoppers see in search results, and it has the strictest rules. Per Amazon’s product image guide, the main image must:

• Be on a pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255). Lifestyle main images are allowed only for limited product types.
• Show the product filling 85% of the image.
• Show the whole product, without cutting any part off, and only once (for example, the front only, not front and back).
• Show one unit plus any accessories that are included.
• Be a realistic, professional-quality image that shows the product’s real scale, quantity and colour. No placeholders, not even temporary ones.
• Not show packaging, unless packaging is an important feature.
• Not include props that aren’t part of the product, or a mannequin.
• Carry no added text or extra logos. Category style guides also rule out text, logos and watermarks on the main image.

Some categories add rules. For example, a single shoe faces left at a 45° angle, adult clothing is shown on a standing model, and accessories and multipacks are shown flat. Check your category’s style guide before you shoot.

Secondary image rules

Secondary images (variant codes PT01 to PT08 and beyond) are where you show the product in use, its scale, details and benefits. Props, backgrounds and lifestyle settings are allowed here, as long as it is clear what the buyer actually receives. These rules apply to the main image and every secondary image:

• Images must be accurate and match the product title.
• No nudity or sexually suggestive images. Children’s and baby undergarments, swimwear and similar items must be shown lying flat, without models.
• No Amazon logos, Amazon badges such as “Amazon’s Choice”, or anything that looks like them.
• No review or star rating imagery, and no claims like “free shipping”, sale prices or seller information.

Amazon’s guide also lists “No text or pricing details (swatch image only)”. In practice, sellers in most categories use secondary images with text callouts, sizing diagrams and comparison charts, and Amazon’s own A+ and Store guidance shows images with text. Read the line carefully against your category style guide, and keep text on secondary images factual and free of prices.

How many images, and do you need video?

Every product needs at least one compliant main image. Amazon recommends uploading at least six more images and one video, and the Sell on Amazon blog says you can upload up to nine photos, in the order you want them shown. How many appear depends on category and device.

Uploading an image doesn’t guarantee it is displayed. Amazon chooses and arranges images from multiple sellers on the same product, so keeping every image compliant gives yours the best chance.

Category style guides

The rules above apply to every category. Many categories add their own rules in a product page style guide, which you can find through Seller Central Help. Examples from Amazon’s product image guide:

• Footwear: the main image shows a single shoe facing left at a 45° angle.
• Adult clothing: shown on a standing model (not sitting, kneeling, leaning or lying down).
• Clothing accessories and multipacks: shown flat, without a model.
• Children’s undergarments and swimwear: shown lying flat, without models.

Some older category style guide PDFs still say images can be “up to a maximum of 2000 pixels”. The current product image guide allows up to 10,000 px, so treat the old cap as out of date and follow the help page.

AI-generated and 3D-rendered images

Amazon’s product image guide now covers AI. If an image includes a photorealistic person generated by AI, tag the file with the keyword contains-synthetic-performer in its XMP dc:subject metadata field, because some jurisdictions require disclosure. You don’t need the tag for photos of real people edited with AI tools.

The product itself still has to be accurate. An AI render that changes the product’s colour, size or included parts breaks the accuracy rule, whatever tools made it.

Amazon’s guide doesn’t ban 3D renders. It asks for a “realistic, professional-quality image” that accurately shows scale, quantity and colour. A render that looks like the real product and matches what ships meets that standard; a stylised or idealised render may not.

Why images get rejected or suppressed, and how to fix it

Per Amazon’s guide, images that fail the requirements can’t be uploaded or may be removed from search. Uploading also doesn’t guarantee display: Amazon chooses and arranges images from multiple sellers, and may modify images to meet its requirements.

The most common causes, and the fix for each:

• Upload fails: the file is under 500 px, over 10 MB, CMYK or an unsupported format. Re-export as RGB JPEG at high quality, between 1,000 and 10,000 px on the longest side.
• Main image background isn’t pure white: an off-white or shadowed background. Re-clip the product and set the background to RGB 255, 255, 255.
• Product too small: crop so the product fills about 85% of the frame.
• Extras on the main image: text, badges, added logos, props or packaging. Remove them and move the information to a secondary image.
• Mismatch with the title: the image shows a different colour, quantity or model. Reshoot or correct the listing.

Publication is always Amazon’s decision. A designer can work to the published rules, but no one can guarantee approval.

Best practice beyond the rules (our recommendation)

This section is PhotoPixc’s own practice, not Amazon’s rules.

• Design for the phone first. Most shoppers see your images on a small screen, so any text has to be readable at that size.
• One question per image. List the top concerns from your reviews and customer questions, and give each one an image: size, what’s in the box, how it works, what it’s made of.
• Sequence on purpose. Main image, then the strongest benefit, then proof and details, then lifestyle.
• Export at 2,000 px or more on the longest side, so zoom has room.

Pre-upload checklist

1. Main image: pure white background, product at about 85% of the frame, nothing extra.
2. Every file: JPEG (preferred), PNG, TIFF or non-animated GIF, RGB, under 10 MB, at least 1,000 px on the longest side.
3. No Amazon badges, star ratings, prices or shipping claims on any image.
4. Everything shown matches the title and what is in the box.
5. Category style guide checked (clothing, footwear, jewellery and multipacks have extras).
6. AI-generated people tagged in XMP metadata.
7. Seven or more images planned (main plus at least 6), plus a video if you have one.
8. Every image read at phone size, where most shoppers see it.

Want this done for you? See how we plan a set on our Amazon listing images page. Sets start from $179.

Sources

• Amazon Seller Central: Product image guide
• Amazon Seller Central: Technical image file requirements
• Amazon Seller Central: Error 20013 (image file size)
• Sell on Amazon blog: How to create Amazon product listings
• Seller Forums, Listings Lounge: Product image requirements (Amazon staff post)

All sources were checked on October 23, 2026. Amazon updates its help pages often, so check the live page before you upload.

Related: Amazon listing images · A+ vs Premium A+ · How much listing images cost