What to Do With an Amazon Account After Someone Dies

What to Do With an Amazon Account After Someone Dies

An Amazon account can be much more than a shopping login. It may hold Prime subscriptions, order history, saved addresses, payment methods, Kindle purchases, Alexa-linked services and sometimes the trail that helps you identify other household commitments.

That is why the safest approach is not to rush straight to closure. First work out what you need to preserve, what needs stopping now, and whether you are authorised to ask Amazon to make changes.

The short answer

Amazon UK has a dedicated bereavement support route. If you only need to stop subscriptions, recurring deliveries or deactivate the account, Amazon says you can email bereavement-support@amazon.co.uk with the death certificate and the email address or phone number linked to the account.

If you want account information, closure or other changes without logging in, Amazon says it will usually require proof that you are the legal representative of the estate, a copy of the death certificate, photo ID and the email address or phone number linked to the account.

Do not close the account before checking what depends on it

This is the biggest mistake families make with digital accounts. Closing an account too early can make later admin harder.

Before you do anything, ask:

• Is there an active Prime membership?
• Are there regular Subscribe & Save deliveries still arriving?
• Was the account used for household purchases that might need invoices or order history?
• Is it linked to Kindle books, Fire devices, Alexa routines or smart-home purchases?
• Could the email inbox linked to the Amazon login help you trace other accounts, subscriptions or bills?

Even if your goal is closure, it can be worth pausing long enough to make sure you are not cutting off information you still need.

What Amazon says it can do without full authorisation

Amazon's UK bereavement support page says that if you cannot provide all the documents needed for full authorisation, it can still help with:

• terminating subscriptions
• stopping recurring deliveries
• deactivating the account

For those requests, Amazon says to email bereavement-support@amazon.co.uk and include:

• the death certificate
• the email address or phone number associated with the account

That is useful if the family urgently needs to stop ongoing charges but probate or executor paperwork is not ready yet.

If you have access to the account

Amazon says that if you have access to the email address or phone number associated with the account, you may be able to sign in or reset the password using the normal recovery route.

Even then, move carefully.

Access does not always mean you should start deleting things immediately. A better order is usually:

1. Check subscriptions and recurring deliveries.
2. Review recent orders and digital services.
3. Save any information you may need later.
4. Decide whether the account should be left alone for a short period, deactivated, or formally closed.

If you do not have access to the account

Amazon says verification is required if you want account information, account closure or changes without having account access.

According to the bereavement support page, Amazon may ask for:

• a copy of the death certificate
• proof of authorisation showing you are the legal representative of the estate, such as probate or executor documentation
• valid photographic ID for the authorised person
• the email address or phone number linked to the account

If you do not know the login email address, Amazon says extra identifying information may help it locate the account. Examples include a unique charge ID or order number found on packaging, confirmation emails or payment statements.

Why this account is different from a generic digital-account guide

Amazon is not just a message platform or a photo store. It often combines:

• payments and household ordering
• subscriptions
• physical deliveries
• digital purchases
• device and smart-home links
• cross-border account access on multiple Amazon sites

Amazon's account-closure guidance also says closure affects products and services accessed through the account across Amazon sites globally. It also says closed accounts cannot be restored. That means a rushed closure can create unnecessary loss of access.

What to stop first

In most cases, the immediate priority is to stop anything that keeps renewing, charging or arriving.

Start with:

• Prime membership
• Subscribe & Save deliveries
• any visible third-party subscriptions billed through Amazon
• household items still being auto-delivered to an empty property

If parcels are still arriving, do not assume the account is inactive.

When you may want to wait before closure

You may want to delay permanent closure if:

• you still need invoices or order history
• you are trying to identify regular household spending
• there are returns or refunds still in progress
• there are linked devices or services the family needs to untangle
• you are still proving your authority to act

A short pause is often more practical than a fast deletion.

What Amazon says about permanent closure

Amazon's account-closure page says:

• account closure permanently deletes personal information through that route
• confirmation is sent to the linked email or phone number and must be verified within five days when the user is closing their own account
• once closed, the account is no longer accessible and cannot be restored
• closure can affect access across global Amazon sites using the same credentials
• business-related accounts and services linked to the login may also be affected

For bereaved families, the practical lesson is simple: only close the account when you are confident you no longer need what is inside it.

A sensible order of operations

1. Identify the account

Find the login email, phone number, recent Amazon emails, bank statements or packaging labels.

2. Stop avoidable charges

Use Amazon bereavement support to stop subscriptions or recurring deliveries quickly.

3. Preserve useful information

Make a note of active services, open orders, returns or anything that may matter later.

4. Confirm authority

If you need deeper changes, gather the death certificate, proof of authority and ID.

5. Only then decide on deactivation or closure

Permanent closure should be the final step, not the first one.

Related digital-admin guides

If you are working through several accounts, these may help next:

• How to Handle Someone's Digital Accounts After They Die
• What to Do With Email Accounts After Someone Dies
• What to Do With a Google Account After Someone Dies
• What to Do With an Apple ID and iCloud After Someone Dies

Final thought

Families often think of Amazon as just online shopping. After a death, it is usually an account map, a subscription hub and sometimes a clue to the rest of the digital estate. Slow down, stop the live charges first, and do not delete before you have taken what you still need.