2026-06-10 · all guides

How to Set Up a KDP Account: The Complete First-Time Guide

What you need before you start

A KDP account is free and rides on a regular Amazon account, so if you already shop on Amazon you can sign in at kdp.amazon.com with the same credentials. Before you start, gather three things: your legal name and address, your bank account details for royalty deposits, and your tax identification number. For US publishers that is a Social Security Number or EIN; international publishers use their local tax ID. Amazon pays royalties by direct deposit in most countries, so have your routing and account numbers handy.

One rule matters more than any other: Amazon permits one KDP account per person. Opening a second account, even for a different pen name or genre, violates the terms of service and can get both accounts terminated with royalties frozen. You do not need multiple accounts anyway. A single account can publish unlimited books under unlimited pen names, so plan to run everything through one login from day one.

Completing your account profile

When you first sign in, KDP shows a yellow banner saying your account information is incomplete. Click through to the settings page and work top to bottom. The author or publisher section wants your legal name and country, not your pen name. This information never appears on your book listings; it exists so Amazon knows who to pay and who to report tax income for. Your pen name goes on each individual book later, during title setup.

The payment section asks where to send royalties. Direct deposit is available for banks in dozens of countries, and you can set different accounts for different Amazon marketplaces if you want, though almost nobody needs to. If your country is not supported for direct deposit, Amazon holds payments until they hit a threshold and pays by check, which is slower and has minimums, so use a supported bank if you possibly can.

The tax interview, demystified

The tax interview is the step that intimidates people, but it is a five-minute guided form, not an audit. Amazon is legally required to collect taxpayer information before paying you, and the interview generates the right form automatically: a W-9 for US persons or a W-8BEN for non-US persons. Answer the questions about your legal status, enter your tax ID, and sign electronically. Validation usually completes within minutes, though it can take a couple of days if your details need manual review.

Use real information here even if you plan to publish under a pen name. The tax identity and the public author name are completely separate systems: readers see the pen name, the tax authorities see you. Non-US publishers should pay attention to the treaty section of the W-8BEN, because claiming a tax treaty benefit with your local tax ID can reduce US withholding on your royalties from 30 percent to as little as zero depending on your country.

What happens after setup

Once your profile, payment, and tax sections all show complete, your dashboard unlocks and you can create your first title. There is no approval wait for the account itself; the review process happens per book, after you hit publish, and typically takes no more than 72 hours. It is worth clicking around the Bookshelf and the Reports tab now so the interface is familiar before you have a live book to manage.

The account is the easy part; the real work is having a manuscript and cover that meet KDP specs. If you have not produced your files yet, ebookdone generates a complete KDP-ready book, including formatted interior and sized cover, for 9 dollars, and you can preview the outline and first chapter free at /new before paying. With an active account and files in hand, the upload itself takes under an hour.

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