As of today, July 15, 2026, Amazon has capped the account-level default handling time setting for Fulfilled by Merchant orders at a maximum of one day. If your account was previously set to a two-day or longer default handling time, that setting no longer applies. You're now on zero or one day, whether or not that reflects your actual operations. That's a meaningful change for sellers who've been using a padded handling time as a buffer.
This isn't entirely new news; Amazon announced the change weeks ago. But the effective date is today, which means sellers who haven't acted yet are now operating under the new constraint in real time. If you sell through FBM and haven't checked your account-level handling time setting, now is a good moment.
What Changes in September
The more consequential part of this update kicks in on September 1, 2026, and it's getting less attention than the July 15 cap. Starting September 1, Amazon can activate Automated Handling Time for an individual SKU if that SKU's configured handling time is more than one day longer than the seller's actual performance, and that gap persists for more than 30 consecutive days. Amazon will make the adjustment automatically, without requiring seller action or approval.
The logic is straightforward: if you say it takes you two days to handle an order but your actual shipment data shows you're consistently shipping same-day, Amazon will update the configured time to match reality. The practical problem is that a seller who relies on padding their handling time as a buffer against occasional delays doesn't get to negotiate the automated adjustment. The system uses your actual performance data, and if that data shows faster fulfillment than you've declared, the configured time gets corrected.
There's a legitimate concern here for sellers in categories where fulfillment speed varies by product. A seller with a diverse catalog might ship some SKUs same-day and others in two days, and an automated system that sets handling time based on rolling averages may not account for that variation well. The SKU-level application of Automated Handling Time is worth monitoring closely in September, particularly for any products where your fulfillment process isn't consistent.
The September 30 Business Hour Delivery Rate Requirement
Alongside the handling time changes, Amazon is also introducing a Business Hour Delivery Rate metric for FBM sellers who ship to Amazon Business customers. Starting September 30, 2026, you need to maintain a rate of at least 90% for your seller-fulfilled Amazon Business shipments. The metric tracks the percentage of those orders that are delivered during the customer's stated business hours, on a rolling 14-day basis.
If your rate falls below 90% on September 30, Amazon sends a notification. If it remains below 90% by October 30, Amazon may deactivate your offers specifically for Amazon Business customers, without affecting your regular consumer listings or FBA inventory. If Amazon Business orders are a meaningful part of your revenue mix, the time to understand this metric is now, not when the notification arrives. You can check your performance under Account Health in Seller Central.
Taken together, these three changes, the July 15 handling time cap, the September 1 Automated Handling Time trigger, and the September 30 Business Hour Delivery Rate threshold, represent a sustained push by Amazon to close the gap between what FBM sellers declare and what they deliver. It's not a coincidence that all three changes land in the same quarter. Amazon is tightening FBM performance standards ahead of Q4. You can read more about how our team approaches Amazon brand and fulfillment strategy for sellers navigating these changes.
What to Check Now
For the handling time cap: go to Seller Central, navigate to Account Settings, then Shipping Settings, and confirm your account-level default handling time is set to zero or one day. If you had it set higher, it's been capped automatically, but it's worth confirming the setting reflects your actual operations rather than a now-obsolete buffer.
For Automated Handling Time: review your top FBM ASINs and compare your configured handling time to your actual shipment data in the Fulfillment reports. If you have SKUs where there's a gap of more than one day between configured and actual, you have until September 1 before Amazon may close that gap for you. If you want to close it on your own terms first, now is the time.
For the Business Hour Delivery Rate: if you have Amazon Business customers on FBM orders, look for the metric in Account Health. If you can't find it yet, check again in August; Amazon typically makes new metrics visible 30 to 60 days before enforcement begins.
FBM performance requirements are moving faster than most sellers expected this year. If you want to work through how these changes affect your specific catalog and fulfillment setup, schedule a call and we'll map out what needs to change before September.