What happens to an Amazon account when someone dies

“Amazon grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and make personal and non-commercial use of the Amazon Services. ... Amazon reserves the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, terminate your rights to use Amazon Services, remove or edit content, or cancel orders in its sole discretion.”¹

Documents go by email to the bereavement address; Amazon's team verifies them, acts on the request, and securely deletes all documents after validation.²

Without the full authorization set, Amazon can still terminate subscriptions, stop recurring deliveries and deactivate the account on receiving the death certificate and the account email or phone number.²

Amazon states that "To request account information, close an account, or make changes without having access, verification is required," so order and purchase history is within what the authorized estate manager can ask for.²

Amazon's self-service closure flow requires signing in to the account being closed and answering a confirmation sent to the account's own email address or phone number within five days.³

Closure affects the related accounts, features and services linked to the account across Amazon sites globally, including any AWS, Selling Partner, Associates, Business or Flex account on the same credentials.⁴

Amazon Family and Family Library operate while the accounts are active, and closing the primary account ends both.⁵

An AWS account is closed by its root user or an AWS Organizations admin rather than through Bereavement Support; running infrastructure keeps billing until it is closed, and the post-closure period is 90 days.⁶

Closure ends order history and invoices, Kindle content with its notes and annotations, Prime Video and Amazon Music purchases, Audible content and credits, Appstore purchases and coins, Amazon Photos content, device registrations and Alexa data.⁴

Amazon warns that closing the account can affect a later warranty claim or proof of purchase, states it is legally required to retain some types of data such as order history, and recommends downloading uploaded content first.⁴

Amazon Photos content is user-owned files rather than licensed content, but access requires an active account.⁷

Amazon grants only a limited, non-transferable license to its services, and "Kindle Content is licensed, not sold"; the customer may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights in it.^{1, 8}

Kindle books, Prime Video purchases, Amazon Music purchases, Audible audiobooks, apps and games are non-transferable, and the Kindle Store Terms allow viewing and use for personal, non-commercial use only.^{8, 1}

The part of the Amazon.com Balance made up of gift cards issued after October 1, 2005 does not expire, and the balance may not be redeemed for cash or returned for a cash refund "except to the extent required by law."⁹

Once the account is closed, the gift-card balance is no longer available.⁴

Audible credits have no cash value, are non-refundable and expire.¹⁰

The Amazon Pay Customer Agreement treats inactive balances as dormant property, notifies the account holder, and escheats unclaimed funds to the state of residency, or to Delaware when the address is unknown or foreign.¹¹

Written requests from someone with no account, or from an authorized agent under applicable state law³

Requests from an agent under a power of attorney during incapacity, not death¹²

A Seller Central balance and FBA inventory, pursued through the same bereavement address²

Ownership of Ring doorbells, cameras and Alarm devices, through the Request Ownership flow¹³

Closing an AWS account, through its root user or an AWS Organizations admin⁶