Seller Enforcement Policy
This policy outlines how TikTok Shop addresses non-compliance with our policies and performance standards.Key Points:
- TikTok Shop may take enforcement actions when your shop violates our policies or does not meet our performance standards. These actions may include deducting points from your Account Health Rating (AHR). We will take additional enforcement actions when your AHR drops to 150, 100, 50 and 0 points.
- You can appeal or correct your violations, but these are subject to strict timelines, so check your Account Health Rating page regularly! If your appeal or correction is successful, we will remove the enforcement actions for these violations and restore any privileges withdrawn.
Enforcement Actions
We may take enforcement actions against a seller's account or their shop for violating our policies or not meeting our performance standards. These include:- Sending warning messages
- Temporarily restricting access to specific seller account features and functions
- Removing or freezing product listings
- Suspending or restricting access to campaigns, user growth events, affiliate programs, and other platform benefits
- Temporarily restricting a seller from creating new listings, when duplicate product listings are identified across multiple shops in the same shop group
- Temporarily reducing the visibility of the shop or its products
- Limitations or restrictions on Seller Shipping (from 90 days up to 365 days)
- Order volume limits, up to and including suspension of new orders
- If a seller's shop is deactivated or the Order Volume Limit (OVL) reaches 0, the e-commerce permissions of its associated creator accounts (Official Accounts or Marketing Accounts) will be blocked simultaneously. If a seller's permissions are restored, the creator accounts' permissions will be restored accordingly
- Requiring account re-verification
- Deferred Settlement Period
- Temporarily or permanently suspending the ability to withdraw funds from the seller account
- Deducting from the seller account balance to cover any losses or damages
- Initiating legal action against the seller
- Reporting the seller to relevant authorities
- The law requiring us to do so
- We suspect fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or harmful activity on the seller account
- The seller breached policies that fall outside the scope of the AHR
Withholding Balance
If we determine that the seller violated any of our policies or our Seller Terms of Service, we may take enforcement actions against their account. This may include temporarily suspending their ability to withdraw funds from their account.Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the seller's funds may be temporarily withheld for 45, 90 or 365 days. At the end of the withholding period, we will offset any outstanding financial losses, such as those described in the Seller Terms of Service, and disburse the remaining funds.
We may also withhold funds for reasons including:
- Inventory removal costs
- Guarantee programs
- Outstanding financial obligations including negative balances, fees, chargebacks, refunds, and undelivered items
- Any other losses associated with the seller's account
We reserve the right to take further enforcement actions in accordance with our policies and Seller Terms of Service.
Connected Accounts
TikTok Shop may consider seller accounts to be connected where information, use, management, or operations show that the accounts are related.Connected accounts may include accounts that share or overlap in characteristics such as:
- Contact information, including phone numbers, email addresses, or addresses
- Payment information or bank accounts
- Ownership, operators, managers, or other persons with access to or control over the accounts
- Devices, systems, tools, or other resources used to register, access, manage, or operate the accounts
- Business operations, inventory, fulfillment, suppliers, products, or other commercial resources
Accounts registered under different individuals or legal entities may still be considered connected where they are used, managed, or operated in a related manner.
Sellers are responsible for the registration, management, and operation of shops under their account, including where a third party registers, manages, or operates a shop on the seller's behalf.
If a seller account is suspended, banned, terminated, or otherwise subject to enforcement for breaching our policies or Seller Terms of Service, TikTok Shop reserves the right to take corresponding enforcement actions against its connected accounts. This includes where another account is used to continue the same business or activity after enforcement has been taken. Corresponding enforcement actions may include suspending the connected accounts or suspending the ability to withdraw funds from them.
For more information on creator binding, please refer to the Guidelines for Creator Binds.
Notification Of Violation
We will inform you of any violation via email and your Seller Center Inbox. We may use additional channels to inform you, depending on the nature of the violation. We will also inform you via the same channels when your AHR is 10 points away from the next milestone.
Appeal
Depending on the violation, you may be able to appeal an enforcement action. Appeals must be filed through the Seller Center. We will investigate the case and take corrective actions where applicable. All decisions are made at our sole discretion.❗Submitting an appeal does not guarantee approval. It only ensures a careful review of your evidence. We may also review your account history and risk profile if they are relevant to the violation.
- You are limited to two appeals per violation. All decisions made by us after the second appeal are final.
- You must file your first appeal within 30 days of being notified of the violation. If your appeal is rejected, you can file a second one within 15 days. We will not review any appeals raised after these timelines.
- If your appeal is successful, we will remove any enforcement actions taken and restore any privileges withdrawn.
- It is your sole responsibility to collect, prepare, and upload all supporting documentation supporting your appeal. We may request additional information, if necessary.
Correction
Please check our step-by-step guide: How to Correct Seller Violations.Depending on the violation, you can take actions to correct it, as an alternative to appealing it. Corrections must be done through the Seller Center. Correction is available for some violations where we do not take immediate enforcement actions.
