When does Amazon ask for a phone number?

Amazon registration can be completed with an email address alone. Phone verification turns up later: during a sign-in security check, when you sign in from a new device or an unfamiliar location, and whenever you open a seller account. A six-digit code is sent to the number on the account.

Amazon runs a separate storefront for each country — amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk and so on — but one account works across most regions. An Amazon virtual number covers the SMS step of that account; the rest of this page explains where it stops.

How to get an Amazon virtual number

  1. Create your account and add credit.
  2. Pick Amazon from the service list, then the country you want the number from.
  3. The number is reserved instantly. Enter it in the Amazon phone field with the country code and no leading zero.
  4. Read the code from the panel and submit it.

The flow normally takes a minute or two. If nothing arrives you do not have to wait it out: cancel and try another country. A cancelled number is refunded to your balance, so several attempts cost nothing.

Amazon can ask for a code on every sign-in

Unlike most platforms, Amazon does not settle for one verification at registration. When you sign in from a new device, a different browser or an unusual location, it asks for a one-time password and sends it to the number stored on the account.

That behaviour is a real constraint for accounts opened with a temporary number: once the number returns to the pool you cannot sign in from a new device. Opening an Amazon account with a single-use number makes sense when you have one specific transaction in mind — or when you take the next section seriously and move verification off SMS straight away.

Moving verification off SMS

Amazon supports delivering the one-time password by email or through an authenticator app instead of by SMS. The setting lives under Your Account, then Login and security, where two-step verification can be configured with an authenticator app as the primary method and email as the backup.

If you opened the account with a temporary number, do this in the very first session. Skip it and the account becomes effectively unreachable once the number is gone, because Amazon support will not restore an account without asking about order history and payment details you may not have.

Setting up two-step verification step by step

  1. Open Your Account, then Login and security.
  2. Turn on two-step verification.
  3. Choose authenticator app rather than SMS.
  4. Add an email address as the backup method.
  5. Remove the temporary number from the account once setup is complete.

When that sequence is finished, the number returning to the pool no longer affects your access at all.

Orders, couriers and delivery notices

Amazon sends shipping notifications by both email and SMS, and on the delivery day the courier calls the number on the account if the address cannot be found.

A virtual number does not answer voice calls, so that call never reaches you. If you are going to order physical goods, put a reachable number on the delivery address — the verification number on the account and the contact number on a delivery address are separate fields and can differ.

Digital purchases are a better fit

For purchases that never ship — a Kindle book, a digital gift card, a subscription — courier contact never comes into play at all. An account opened with a temporary number works without friction for that kind of buying.

Physical goods are the opposite case: courier contact, returns and delivery confirmation all depend on the number, and that scenario needs a permanent line.

Prime membership and the number

A Prime subscription is tied to the account and the payment method, not to the phone number. If the number returns to the pool, the subscription carries on and the charges carry on with it.

And if you lose access to the account, you cannot cancel. That is the most concrete risk of buying Prime on an account opened with a single-use number: payment continues and cancellation is closed off. If you intend to subscribe, open the account with a permanent number, or complete the two-step setup above before you subscribe.

Seller accounts cannot be opened this way

An Amazon Seller Central application asks for identity, bank account, tax information and address verification. Address verification is completed with a code sent by post, and phone verification is part of the same process — Amazon may call the number to verify it.

Using a virtual number for a seller application causes the process to fail and can lead to the account being closed. That route needs genuine business details and a reachable line.

Which Amazon storefront?

Amazon operates country-based sites, and some of them expect a separate registration. Account sharing between the American, German, British and Turkish stores works partially; in some regions you are asked to register again.

Choosing a number from the region whose store you will shop in tends to fit better for both verification and promotional access. Country-by-country prices are on the price list.

If the account is locked

Amazon locks accounts when it sees suspicious activity and asks for identity verification. The documents requested can include a card statement, an invoice or a photo of an identity document. Changing the number does not unlock anything.

Pending orders on a locked account are cancelled and the payment is refunded. Opening a new account does not rescue the orders on the old one.

Common situations

  • No code on screen — cancel and take a number from a different country.
  • "This number is already in use" — a previous holder of the number opened an account with it. A new number is needed.
  • Voice-call verification — a virtual number does not answer calls, so do not select that option.
  • A code on every sign-in — this is normal. Bind two-step verification to an authenticator app to remove the dependency on SMS.

Single-use number or a rental?

If you only need to verify the account at registration, a single-use number is enough. On an account you will actually shop with, shipping notifications and delivery calls come into play, and neither reaches a virtual number.

The right sequence is: open the account with a single-use number, then set your own line on the account from the settings screen, or switch verification to an authenticator app.

What sets the price?

The only thing that sets the price is carrier cost. When a country is cheap, message delivery in that country is cheap; when it is expensive, the reverse. That cost moves during the day, which is why the table on this page is read fresh on every page load rather than typed by hand.

Because Amazon runs separate stores by country, its verification routes vary from country to country too, and the price gap can be noticeable. You can compare the figures for other platforms on our virtual number page.