Amazon recently ended the Prime Invitee Program and tightened how benefits are shared, changing to Amazon Family. Prime now allows one other adult in your physical household to share benefits, and only if you enable wallet sharing.
If you’re an indie author, here’s what matters—and what doesn’t. 1
KDP and Prime —the TL;DR of this Episode
You do not need Prime to publish on KDP.
Prime does not apply to author copies.
Wallet sharing is required to share Prime with another adult.
KDP identity verification (rolling out to some accounts) requires a legal ID.
One KDP/Amazon account per person.
Listen to the podcast episode, or keep reading for a summary.
What Changed With Prime (Amazon Family and Wallet Sharing)
Amazon now calls the shared-benefits setup Amazon Family. To share benefits:
Both adults must list the same home address.
You must enable wallet sharing to verify you’re one household.
Each adult keeps their own payment methods.
Each adult can see the last four digits and expiration dates of the other’s cards.
Either adult can add the other’s card to their wallet (Amazon says it will notify the owner if that happens).
If you disable wallet sharing, you lose shared Prime benefits and Family Library.
Author takeaway: If you use a dedicated business card for publishing expenses, double-check your Amazon Family settings so your business card isn’t casually added to another adult’s wallet.
What Didn’t Change for KDP
Prime isn’t required to use KDP. It never was.
Prime shipping benefits don’t apply to author copies (wholesale orders placed through your KDP dashboard). They never did.
Readers can still use Prime on retail purchases of your book on Amazon. Yay!
Protect Your Business Payments
Review Amazon Family settings: Confirm which payment methods appear in each adult’s wallet.
Set your default card on your account to your business card; keep spouse cards separate.
Watch for add-card alerts: Keep email/SMS notifications on so you’ll see if someone adds your card.
Audit monthly: Glance through your Amazon orders and card statements for any crossover charges.
Keep clean records: Use one card for business-only expenses to simplify bookkeeping and tax prep.
KDP Identity Verification
KDP has asked some authors to verify their identity with a government-issued photo ID (e.g., driver’s license, passport, permanent resident card, work permit, visa). If you see the banner or receive the email:
Go to Your Account → Your Identity in KDP and upload the requested document.
Use your legal name on the account. If you publish under a pen name, enter that pen name only in the author name field in the metadata when publishing each title.
Why this helps: Verification raises the bar against fraud and impersonation, which ultimately protects your author brand.
The “One Account” Rule—Don’t Panic
You’re allowed one KDP account tied to one Amazon account. If you get locked out:
Pause. Don’t open a brand-new account with a different email.
Contact support and work through the recovery steps.
If you inadvertently created a duplicate, ask Amazon to merge and close the secondary account.
I’ve seen authors create extra work for themselves by reacting too fast. Most of the time, nothing about your KDP setup actually changed—Prime changes just made a lot of noise.
Quick Author Checklist
Confirm Amazon Family and wallet sharing settings.
Ensure your business credit card is your default on your account and not added to another adult’s wallet.
Stick to one Amazon/KDP account.
Treat your publishing as a business. No sketchy account sharing.
This is not legal/financial advice. Policies evolve—always check the latest guidance in your Amazon and KDP dashboards before making changes.
