New Product Advertising API (PA API) Registration

Product Advertising API sign-up was formerly independent of Associates registration and Access Key pairs were linked to your AWS account. You had to login to the AWS console to manage your Access Key credentials.

We have now merged the PA API signup with Associates registration and simplified the steps to create and manage credentials to access the PA API, all within Associates Central!

Existing PA API users can continue to manage their credentials using the AWS console or choose to migrate to the new registration pipeline. Once you choose to migrate away from an AWS account, you need to update your Access Key and Secret Key with new set of credentials created as part of the migration.

The new set of credentials is always linked to the primary account holder of the Associates account and the primary account holder has complete control of the credentials. Secondary account holders can view the list of linked credentials but cannot modify them.

The automatic increase in request rate to PA API, based on the performance of the Associate account i.e. sales generated in the last 30 days, is linked to the primary account holder. Hence, please ensure that you use the credentials that are listed under your Associates account.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What’s new in the registration pipeline?

PA API registration pipeline has been combined into Associates Central and we have simplified the approach to create and manage credentials. Now secondary account holders have visibility into which credentials are in use for the Associates account, though they do not have control over the credentials.

My PA API access is linked to an AWS account. How can I move to the new registration pipeline?

You can migrate your PA API Access Keys from an AWS account by clicking the ‘Migrate’ option under the Product Advertising API tab under Tools within Associates Central.

What are the implications of migrating PA API Access Keys into a new registration pipeline?

Once you request to migrate, your AWS account shall be unsubscribed for PA API access. That means your existing Access Key pair will no longer be valid to access PA API. You will receive a new set of Access Key pairs created using the new registration pipeline. Please ensure that you update all of your integrations with the new set of Access Key pairs.

Can I use the same set of Access Key pairs across all of my Associates accounts?

As long as you are the primary account holder of all your Associates accounts, Access Key pairs can be used for Associates accounts in the same regions. Amazon Associates programmes are currently grouped into the following three regions: 

I. Americas/Europe – United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and India
II. Japan
III. China

What are the implications if the primary account holder of the Associates account changes?

The allowable PA API access rate i.e. TPS (transaction per second), is linked to Access Key credentials and Associates account sales performance. If the websites operated by the associate are updated with Access Key credentials of a new primary account holder there is no impact. If they are not, website performance will be attributed to the old primary account holder and the website might experience throttling due to the mismatch in the assignment of PA API access rate.

Where can I find my Access Keys?

You can locate the list of Access Keys related to your Amazon Associates account within Associates Central under the Product Advertising API tab under Tools. If you have lost or forgotten your Secret Access Key, due to security reasons, you have to add a new pair of Credential and delete the old one. It is not possible to visualize the old Secret Access Key again.

In case you have not migrated your Access Keys from your AWS account, you need to go through the AWS console by clicking the ”Manage Credentials” option under the Product Advertising API tab within Associates Central.