The old system vs. the new one
If you are reading guides about '12 points,' '24 points' or 'how many violation points can you get' — stop. For US sellers, that system ended in July 2026. Following it today is worse than knowing nothing, because the two systems run in opposite directions.
Under the old Violation Points system, a shop started at 0 points and collected them for violations: reported thresholds were 12 points (7-day restrictions), 24 (14 days), 36 (28 days) and 48 (permanent deactivation). Lower was better. Points expired after 180 days.
That math is now history for US sellers — and it is still live in some other regions, which is why forums in the Philippines and elsewhere keep teaching it. It does not apply to a US shop.
The Account Health Rating starts every shop at 200 and higher is healthier — the exact opposite direction. Milestones at 150 / 100 / 50 bring the same 7 / 14 / 28-day listing and campaign blocks, and 0 can mean permanent deactivation. Points are earned back at 4 per 200 finished orders and through policy quizzes.
Advice written for the old system tells sellers to 'manage remaining points' and 'wait for the reset.' Under AHR, waiting is a strategy only if nothing else goes wrong for 180 days — and the seller who thinks they hold '36 spare points' is actually reading their score upside down. The first question for any US seller is not 'how many points do I have' but 'which system am I on, and how far am I from the next milestone.' For US shops the answer is always: AHR.
The violations themselves. Prohibited products, late dispatch, listing errors, IP trouble — the rulebook underneath barely moved. Appeals still run 2 per violation, first within 30 days. What changed is the scoreboard. If a guide's advice about the underlying behavior is sound, keep it; if it quotes point values or the 48-point ladder, it is teaching a dead system.
TikTok ran a preview period (April–June 2026) where AHR was visible before it enforced, and AHR fully replaced violation points for US sellers in July 2026. Your old records still live in Violation Records; the score that enforces today is AHR.
The score follows the shop's region. US shops: AHR. Some regions still run violation points. Never blend the two maths on one shop.
The checker above is free and always will be. The kit is the depth: the letters, the plan, and the sheets, in one place, stamped with the rules as checked October 22, 2026.