To cancel an Amazon FBA shipment, open the shipment’s Send to Amazon workflow and click Cancel shipment at the bottom of the workflow page; Amazon then cancels every shipment created in that workflow and moves them to Canceled status in your Shipping Queue (data checked 2026-09-14). The button is the easy part. What you still pay depends on two clocks: Amazon partnered carrier charges are billed unless you cancel within 24 hours of accepting them for small parcel, or one hour for LTL and FTL, and a shipment deleted after you approved the plan can draw a per-unit inbound defect fee.
This page covers where the option sits, which time limits apply, what cancelling does and does not refund, and what to do when the boxes have already left. Building the shipment itself is covered in how to ship to Amazon FBA.
Fact Block: Amazon’s Cancellation Rules at a Glance
Every row comes from Amazon’s US Seller Central help pages, checked 2026-09-14.
| Rule | What Amazon’s help pages say |
|---|---|
| Where to cancel | Cancel shipment, at the bottom of the Send to Amazon workflow page |
| Scope | Cancels all shipments created in the workflow; individual shipments cannot be cancelled |
| Partnered carrier, small parcel | Not billed if cancelled within 24 hours after accepting charges |
| Partnered carrier, LTL or FTL | Not billed if cancelled within one hour after accepting charges |
| Arrival deadline | Domestic within 45 days of creation, international within 75 days, or the shipment closes automatically |
| Multi-destination plans | All shipments must arrive within 30 days of the first received shipment |
| Deleting after approval | Per-unit inbound defect fee, from $0.32 per small standard unit (shipments created on or after January 15, 2026) |
| Disputing a defect fee | Within 90 days of the shipment problem notification |
Source note (checked 2026-09-14): Send to Amazon: Change or cancel your shipment, Send to Amazon: General Troubleshooting, Amazon Partnered Carrier program, Deleted, misrouted, and incomplete shipments, Inbound defect fees and FBA inbound placement service fee. All apply to selling in the United States; other marketplaces publish their own versions.
Where the Cancel Option Lives in Seller Central
Shipments are cancelled where they were created: Send to Amazon (Seller Central → Inventory → Send to Amazon). Open the workflow the shipment belongs to, scroll to the bottom of the workflow page, and click Cancel shipment. Amazon’s help page states this “will cancel all shipments that you created and move them into Canceled status in your Shipping Queue.”
Cancelling is all-or-nothing per workflow. Asked “Can I cancel individual shipments in my workflow?”, Amazon’s FAQ answers: “No, it is not possible to cancel individual shipments in Send to Amazon.” If one plan became three shipments and only one is the problem, the button still takes all three.
Old workflows can be hard to find. Amazon’s Send to Amazon: General Troubleshooting page notes that the Active workflows window shows only 30 workflows, but each keeps its inbound plan ID beginning with “wf”, and any workflow can be viewed by putting that ID into the Seller Central page URL. Workflows you void or cancel leave the active window.
From the Shipping Queue, a shipment in Working status shows Work on shipment, and one in Ready to ship shows Track shipment. Every status is decoded in tracking FBA shipments.
The Time Limits: 24 Hours, One Hour, and the Deadlines That Cancel for You
Three different clocks run on an FBA shipment.
The partnered carrier void window. If you bought inbound freight through the Amazon Partnered Carrier program (48 contiguous US states), Amazon’s program page says your account won’t be billed if you cancel within:
- Small-parcel shipments: 24 hours after accepting charges
- LTL or FTL shipments: one hour after accepting charges
The clock starts when you accept the carrier charges, not when you created the plan. Amazon’s troubleshooting page gives the same windows for voiding test workflows.
The edit windows. The same limits govern box changes on partnered carrier shipments: 24 hours for small parcel and one hour for pallets to edit box weight or dimensions, or add or remove boxes. Edits can change estimated shipping fees, and new labels must be printed and applied.
The arrival deadlines. Amazon can effectively close a shipment for you. Per the deleted, misrouted, and incomplete shipments page, domestic shipments must arrive within 45 days of shipment creation and international shipments within 75 days; late shipments get a non-compliance notification and close automatically. A shipment stays open if it is on the way with a dock appointment, or is Delivered, Checked in or Receiving on the day it needs to arrive. Multi-destination plans must see all shipments arrive within 30 days of the first received one.
Once a shipment is auto-closed, you can’t print its labels, make changes, or use it to book a dock appointment. Amazon states deliveries arriving against a closed shipment may be rejected, and that to still send the inventory you should create a new shipment and relabel your boxes.
What You Still Pay After You Cancel an Amazon FBA Shipment
Cancelling stops the shipment. It does not undo every charge attached to it.
1. Partnered carrier charges past the window
Once the void window expires, Amazon’s program page says “the cost is billed to your account as an inbound transportation charge and appears as a service fee in your Payments report.” Amazon’s stated refund route is to cancel the shipment, verify that you’ve been charged, and contact Selling Partner Support; the page does not promise an outcome. To verify, match an inbound transportation charge in the Payments report to the partnered-carrier cost on the shipment summary page. None of this covers freight booked with your own carrier; the Amazon pages checked say nothing about those charges.
2. Inbound defect fees for deleting after approval
Amazon’s inbound defect fee page lists “Your shipment was deleted or canceled from the shipping plan after you’ve approved it” as a defect, alongside abandoned and incomplete shipments and missed arrival deadlines. For shipments created on or after January 15, 2026, misrouted, deleted and abandoned units share one per-unit rate (data checked 2026-09-14):
| Size tier | Weight | Fee per unit |
|---|---|---|
| Small standard | 16 oz or less | $0.32 |
| Large standard | 12 oz or less | $0.38 |
| Large standard | 12+ oz to 1.5 lb | $0.46 |
| Large standard | 1.5+ to 3 lb | $0.59 |
| Large standard | 3+ to 5 lb | $0.74 |
| Large standard | 5+ to 7 lb | $0.94 |
| Large standard | 7+ to 10 lb | $1.14 |
| Large standard | 10+ to 15 lb | $1.44 |
| Large standard | 15+ to 20 lb | $1.74 |
Small Bulky rates on the same page run from $1.38 to $5.25, and Large Bulky from $1.43 to $5.72, by weight band. Tier definitions are in FBA size tiers. Amazon’s own worked example: a Large Standard item of 12 oz or less with 800 units abandoned carries 800 × $0.38 = $304 in inbound defect fees.
One ambiguity matters. Amazon’s pages call deleting after approval a defect, yet also say that to change an approved plan you “must delete all of the shipments in that plan before you begin shipping any portion of it.” Neither page says plainly whether cancelling a whole plan before anything ships is exempt. Check the Inbound Performance report and Transaction report afterwards; Amazon accepts investigation requests within 90 days of the shipment problem notification.
3. The placement fee
The inbound placement service fee is not a cancellation charge. Amazon’s placement fee page says that starting January 15, 2026 it is charged on received units, while deleted, abandoned or incomplete shipments “will incur a defect charge” instead. Its pricing is covered in shipping to one Amazon warehouse.
Amazon’s non-compliance section also lists possible rejection of shipments at receiving, loss of access to optimized placement options in future plans, and, for repeated non-compliance, suspension of your ability to send shipments.
Edit Instead of Cancel: Changes That Don’t Need a New Shipment
Many reasons for cancelling can be handled as edits. Amazon’s change-or-cancel page lists what can be adjusted after you confirm a shipment:
| Change you need | Allowed? | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Unit quantity | Before arrival, up to 5% or 6 units per SKU per shipment, whichever is greater | View or edit contents |
| Remove a SKU | If the original quantity was 6 units or fewer | View or edit contents |
| Box weight, dimensions, box count | Within 24 hours (partnered small parcel) or one hour (partnered pallets) | View or edit contents |
| Ship date | Yes | Step 3, Print box labels → Change ship date |
| LTL pickup date | If enrolled in Partnered Carrier | Shipment events → Change freight-ready date |
| Ship-from address | No, once finalized | Cancel and create a new shipment |
You can’t remove all SKUs or leave a shipment empty, and changes beyond the quantity limits require cancelling and recreating. Sellers not enrolled in Partnered Carrier should contact Selling Partner Support at least 24 hours before the pickup day to reschedule. If the real problem is a label, reprint it instead; formats are in how to print Amazon FBA labels.
Already Shipped or in Transit: The Exits That Remain
Once boxes are with a carrier, cancelling becomes the least attractive option. None of the six Amazon help pages checked for this guide describes a Seller Central control that recalls a shipment already in transit.
Read together, the published rules make cancelling a shipment that will still be delivered a double problem: deleting after approval is a listed defect, and delivering a shipment after it was closed, cancelled or deleted is on Amazon’s list of things not to do. Amazon also states that deliveries arriving against a closed shipment may be rejected.
The exits Amazon’s documentation does support:
- Let it arrive, then correct. Let the shipment be received and pull unwanted units back with a removal order; the process is covered in Amazon FBA removal orders.
- If the carrier returns the boxes to you, treat the old shipment as dead: create a new shipment and relabel, as Amazon instructs for closed shipments.
- If units go missing after partial delivery, reconciliation applies instead; see the FBA reimbursement guide.
Refused pallet deliveries usually trace back to appointments or pallet specs, covered in FBA pallet requirements.
Cancellation Checklist
- Rule out an edit: quantity within 5% or 6 units, box changes, new ship date
- Check whether other shipments in the workflow should survive
- Note when partnered carrier charges were accepted: 24 hours small parcel, one hour LTL or FTL
- Confirm no box has reached a carrier
- Click Cancel shipment and confirm Canceled status in the Shipping Queue
- Past the window, match the Payments report charge before contacting Selling Partner Support
- Dispute any wrong inbound defect fee within 90 days
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I cancel an Amazon FBA shipment?
Open the shipment’s workflow in Send to Amazon and click Cancel shipment at the bottom of the workflow page. Amazon cancels all shipments created in that workflow and moves them to Canceled status in the Shipping Queue (data checked 2026-09-14).
Can I cancel just one shipment from a split shipping plan?
No. Amazon’s help pages state it is not possible to cancel individual shipments in Send to Amazon, and that individual shipments can’t be deleted from an approved multi-destination plan.
Do I get my partnered carrier fee back if I cancel?
Only within 24 hours of accepting charges for small parcel, or one hour for LTL and FTL. After that the charge is billed as an inbound transportation charge; Amazon’s refund route is to cancel, verify the charge, and contact Selling Partner Support.
Is there a fee for cancelling an FBA shipment?
Amazon lists a shipment deleted or cancelled after plan approval as an inbound defect. For shipments created on or after January 15, 2026, the per-unit fee runs from $0.32 for small standard items to $5.72 for the heaviest Large Bulky band (data checked 2026-09-14).
What happens if my shipment never arrives?
Domestic shipments not arriving within 45 days of creation, or international shipments within 75 days, close automatically and can draw inbound defect fees. To send the goods later, create a new shipment and relabel.
Conclusion
Cancelling an Amazon FBA shipment takes one click, but it is clean only before anything ships and before the partnered carrier void window closes. Check whether an edit will do, cancel knowing the whole workflow goes with it, then watch your Payments and Transaction reports. When boxes are already moving, receiving and removing is usually the lower-risk path.