Published
July 14, 2026
If you were an Amazon Prime member between mid-2019 and mid-2025 and did not already get an automatic payment, the clock is running: the window to file for up to $51 closes July 27, 2026. Here is who still needs to file, exactly where to do it, and how to avoid the scams that follow every big settlement.
What Is This About?
Eligible Amazon Prime members have until July 27, 2026 to file a claim in the Federal Trade Commission's $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon over how the company enrolled people in Prime and how hard it allegedly made canceling. The claims window opened January 5, 2026, so the people who still need to act are running out of time.The settlement resolves an FTC case, FTC v. Amazon.com, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The FTC alleged that Amazon used deceptive "dark pattern" designs to enroll consumers in Prime without clear consent and then made cancellation deliberately difficult, in violation of the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA). Amazon agreed to the settlement in September 2025 and did not admit wrongdoing; the company has said it has always followed the law and settled to move forward.
There is an important catch that trips people up: not everyone files a claim. The settlement splits eligible consumers into two groups — one that was already paid automatically in late 2025, and one that must file by July 27, 2026. Knowing which group you are in is the whole game.
Status
Claims Open · Deadline July 27, 2026
claims window opened January 5, 2026
Eligibility Window
June 23, 2019 – June 23, 2025
when you were enrolled in Prime
Payout
Up to $51
per eligible consumer · reduced pro rata if claims are high
To File, You Need
Claim ID + PIN from your notice
automatic-payment group files nothing; claims group needs the notice code
Who Qualifies — and Which Group You Are In
Eligibility turns on three things: when you enrolled, how much you used Prime, and how you got in (or tried to get out). The settlement then sorts qualifying consumers into two payment groups.• Automatic Payment group (files nothing): consumers who enrolled through one of the challenged enrollment flows and then used no more than three Prime benefits in any 12-month period. These members were identified from Amazon's records and paid automatically in late 2025, generally via an email invitation to collect the money — there is no claim to file.
• Claims Process group (files by July 27, 2026): consumers who used fewer than 10 Prime benefits in any 12-month period and did not already receive an automatic payment. These are the people the deadline is about.
Across both groups, the underlying eligibility is the same: you were enrolled in Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, and you either enrolled through one of the enrollment flows the FTC challenged or you tried to cancel Prime and did not complete the cancellation. A "Prime benefit" means something a non-member would not get — free or fast delivery, Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading, and the like.
Here is the reassuring part: you do not have to figure out which enrollment flow you used or tally your benefit usage yourself. The settlement administrator has already run that analysis from Amazon's data — on the claim form you simply confirm your information and check the box for whether you were enrolled without consent or tried to cancel. (Note the usage rule is a low-usage test: heavy Prime users who ordered constantly generally fall outside the group, because the case targets people who were enrolled but barely used the service.)
How Much You Can Get
The $2.5 billion settlement is split into two buckets: $1.5 billion set aside to refund consumers — an estimated 35 million people — and a separate $1 billion civil penalty paid to the government. Individual payments are capped at up to $51.Because the consumer fund is a fixed pool, the final per-person amount can be reduced pro rata if the number of valid claims is high — the more people who file, the thinner each check can become. Filing early does not increase your payment (everyone in a group shares on the same basis), but it does remove the single biggest risk: missing the July 27, 2026 deadline entirely.
How to File Before July 27, 2026
If you are in the Claims Process group, you file through the official court-appointed settlement administrator's website, SubscriptionMembershipSettlement.com. The FTC's own amazon-refunds page is an information page that routes you to that administrator — you do not file through Amazon, and you should never pay a third party to file for you.To submit the claim, you enter the Claim ID and PIN printed on the settlement notice you received by email or mail, then confirm your details. The process takes only a few minutes. If you believe you qualify but never received a notice — or you lost it — use the contact page on the official settlement website to ask the administrator to reissue your Claim ID and PIN; do not rely on a code from an unsolicited message.
Filing is free. Because the deadline is a hard cutoff, submitting well before July 27 avoids the risk of a last-minute website slowdown or simply forgetting. For a fuller walkthrough of the claim form, the automatic-payment path, and how the refund is delivered, see our FTC Amazon Prime settlement claim guide.
Watch Out for Settlement Scams
Big settlements attract scammers. Expect fake websites that mimic the official claim page, phishing emails claiming you have "won" a payment, and texts asking you to "verify your claim" by clicking a link — all designed to harvest personal or financial information.A few rules keep you safe: the legitimate claim site is the administrator's official domain, and the FTC's information page lives on ftc.gov — not a look-alike URL ending in ".net," ".info," or a random variation. No one legitimate charges a fee to file, and the FTC does not cold-call, email, or text claimants asking for payment or account details. If you get an unsolicited message about the settlement, do not click its links or call its numbers; instead, go directly to the official settlement website or ftc.gov yourself to confirm you are in the right place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline to file an Amazon Prime settlement claim?
Consumers in the Claims Process group have until July 27, 2026 to file a claim through the court-appointed settlement administrator. The claims period opened January 5, 2026. Consumers in the separate Automatic Payment group were paid in late 2025 and do not need to file anything.
Who qualifies to file a claim in the Amazon Prime settlement?
The Claims Process group generally covers U.S. consumers who, between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, either enrolled in Prime through one of the enrollment flows the FTC challenged or tried and failed to cancel, used fewer than 10 Prime benefits in any 12-month period, and did not already receive an automatic payment. The administrator determines the benefit-usage analysis for you.
How much is the Amazon Prime settlement payment?
Eligible consumers can receive up to $51. The exact amount can be reduced pro rata depending on the total number of valid claims. The $2.5 billion settlement includes $1.5 billion for consumer refunds and a separate $1 billion civil penalty.
Where do I file the Amazon Prime settlement claim?
Claims are filed on the official court-appointed administrator's website, SubscriptionMembershipSettlement.com. To file, you enter the Claim ID and PIN printed on your settlement notice. The FTC's amazon-refunds page is an information page that points you there. Filing is free, and no one should charge you to submit a claim.
Related Coverage & Sources
• FTC Amazon Prime settlement — full claim guide (eligibility, automatic vs. claim path, how the refund is paid).• Auto-renewal & subscription class actions — other "hard to cancel" subscription cases.
• Adobe subscription cancellation-fee lawsuit — a related subscription-practices case.
Primary sources: the FTC press release announcing the $2.5 billion Amazon settlement (September 25, 2025) and the FTC's Amazon Refunds and consumer-alert pages; the court-appointed settlement administrator at SubscriptionMembershipSettlement.com; and reporting by CNBC, NBC News, NPR, and CBS News.
Important Disclosures
This page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal or financial advice. OpenClassActions.com is not a law firm and is not the settlement administrator, and this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Eligibility, deadlines, and payment amounts are governed by the official settlement documents and the administrator's determinations.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Settlement approved · Claims open (deadline July 27, 2026)
Case Title
FTC v. Amazon.com, Inc.
Court
U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
Statute
Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA); FTC Act §5
Settlement
$2.5B total · $1.5B consumer refunds + $1B civil penalty
Claim Deadline
July 27, 2026 (Claims Process group)
Official Website
Subscription Membership Settlement
