Updated: July 24, 2026
Amazon Prime customers in the United States have until Monday, July 27, 2026, to seek compensation of up to $51 from Amazon’s $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The deadline applies to qualifying customers who did not receive an automatic refund during the first payment stage in late 2025.
A settlement notice is helpful but not essential. Customers who believe they meet the requirements can use the official claims portal even if they did not receive an email or postcard.
The settlement resolves allegations that Amazon enrolled customers in Prime without properly obtaining informed consent and made online cancellation unnecessarily difficult. Amazon defended its conduct and settled without admitting liability.
Amazon Prime settlement details
- Claim deadline: July 27, 2026
- Maximum individual refund: $51
- Covered period: June 23, 2019, through June 23, 2025
- Total settlement: $2.5 billion
- Customer refund fund: $1.5 billion
- Civil penalty: $1 billion
- Payment options: PayPal, Venmo or mailed check
- Expected payment period: By September 2026
The $51 amount is a maximum rather than a guaranteed flat payment. An approved customer can recover qualifying Prime membership fees paid during the covered period, minus earlier refunds, credits or chargebacks.
Who can submit a claim?
A customer may qualify for the current claims process if all of the following conditions apply:
- The customer held an Amazon Prime membership in the United States.
- The relevant enrollment or cancellation experience happened between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.
- The customer unintentionally enrolled through a challenged Prime sign-up method or unsuccessfully tried to cancel online.
- The customer used fewer than 10 Prime benefits during any 12-month period of enrollment.
- The customer did not already receive an automatic settlement payment.
The claims process is therefore not open to every person who subscribed to Prime during the six-year period. Each application remains subject to account and eligibility checks by the settlement administrator.
What counts as an unsuccessful cancellation?
An unsuccessful cancellation can mean that a customer entered Amazon’s online Prime cancellation process but did not complete it.
It can also include unintentionally accepting a “save offer,” such as a discounted membership or extended free trial, while trying to end the subscription.
Which Prime enrollment pages are covered?
The settlement identifies four “challenged enrollment flows” used during the covered period:
- Universal Prime Decision Page
- Shipping Option Select Page
- Prime Video enrollment flow
- Single Page Checkout
Customers do not have to determine which page they encountered. They are also not required to collect records proving how many Prime benefits they used. Amazon and the administrator will complete those checks using available account information.
What counts as a Prime benefit?
Prime benefits include goods or services received because of an active membership. These can include qualifying delivery services, shopping offers, Prime Video, Prime Music, reading products and other member features.
Free expedited shipping does not count when the same delivery speed would have been provided without a Prime subscription.
How to file before the July 27 deadline
Customers can submit a form through the official Amazon Prime settlement website. The form must be completed, signed and submitted on or before July 27, 2026.
People who received a notice should use the Claim ID and PIN included in their email or postcard. Those details help connect the submission with the correct Amazon account.
Someone who did not receive a notice may still open the claims portal and provide the identifying information requested. The administrator will then determine whether the account satisfies the settlement rules.
The form asks applicants to confirm whether they were unintentionally enrolled, could not complete an online cancellation or inadvertently accepted a save offer. If they cannot remember every detail, they should select the response that best matches their recollection.
Can a claim be submitted by email?
Yes. A completed form can be emailed to info@subscriptionmembershipsettlement.com. However, the administrator recommends using the online portal because it is generally the quickest and most accurate filing method.
Questions about notices, eligibility or payment problems can be sent to admin@subscriptionmembershipsettlement.com. Assistance is also available by calling 1-888-999-8094.
How payments are calculated
Approved applicants can receive the Prime fees they paid during the applicable period, capped at $51. Previous refunds, account credits and chargebacks are deducted from that calculation.
A customer who paid only a small trial charge or previously recovered part of the membership cost may receive considerably less than the maximum amount.
When will approved claims be paid?
Amazon has 30 days to review each submitted claim. That review period does not necessarily mean the payment will arrive within 30 days.
The administrator says applicants will likely receive decisions about their claims during July or August 2026. Approved payments are scheduled to be issued by September 2026 through PayPal, Venmo or mailed checks.
Claimants should keep their confirmation page, Claim ID and correspondence with the administrator until the process is complete.
Why some customers received automatic refunds
The settlement divides compensation into two groups. The first was the Automatic Payment Group, covering qualifying customers who enrolled through a challenged flow and used no more than three Prime benefits during a 12-month period.
Amazon distributed those payments by December 24, 2025, without requiring claim forms. Some mailed checks may have arrived later because of postal delivery times.
The current Claim Process Payment Group uses a threshold of fewer than 10 Prime benefits. However, applicants must confirm that they were unintentionally enrolled or unsuccessfully attempted to cancel. Anyone who received an automatic payment cannot collect a second refund through the current process.
Why the FTC took action
The FTC brought the case under the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, commonly called ROSCA.
The agency alleged that Amazon obtained billing information before clearly disclosing important Prime terms, failed to secure express informed consent and did not provide a straightforward cancellation method.
The FTC estimated that unwanted enrollment or delayed cancellation affected about 35 million customers. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington entered the settlement on September 25, 2025.
What Amazon must change
The settlement requires Amazon to provide a clear option allowing customers to decline Prime rather than relying on language focused on losing free shipping.
Amazon must clearly disclose the subscription price, billing date, frequency of charges, automatic-renewal terms and cancellation instructions during enrollment.
The company must also allow customers to cancel through the same method used to sign up. The process cannot be unnecessarily difficult, costly or time-consuming.
An independent third-party supervisor is responsible for monitoring Amazon’s compliance with the consumer refund process.
How to avoid settlement scams
There is no charge to submit a claim or receive an approved refund. The legitimate process does not require a Social Security number, Amazon password or payment to release the money.
The FTC says it is not calling people about Amazon refunds. Anyone who demands money, makes threats or promises special access to a guaranteed payment should be treated as a potential scammer.
Customers should enter personal information only through the verified settlement portal. Government guidance can be checked on the FTC’s Amazon refunds page.
For another consumer safety update, see the details of the Molly’s Kitchen pasta salad recall, including the affected product and recommended customer action.
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