Getting started: Are you a first-time Amazon user? - Amazon Account Management
PrerequisitesStep 1: Create your Amazon Web Services accountStep 2: Activate MFA for your root userStep 3: Create an administrator userRelated topics
Services or capabilities described in Amazon Web Services documentation might vary by Region. To see the differences applicable to the China Regions, see Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China (PDF).

Getting started: Are you a first-time Amazon user?

If you're a first-time user of Amazon, your first step is to sign up for an Amazon Web Services account. When you sign up, Amazon creates an Amazon Web Services account with the details that you provide and assigns the account to you. After you create your Amazon Web Services account, sign in as the root user, activate multi-factor authentication (MFA) for the root user, and assign administrative access to a user.

Prerequisites

To sign up for an Amazon Web Services account, you need the following information:

  • An account name – The name of the account appears in several places, such as on your invoice, and in consoles such as the Billing and Cost Management dashboard and the Amazon Organizations console.

    We recommend that you use a standard way to name your accounts so that you can give your accounts names that are easy to recognize. For company accounts, consider using a naming standard such as organization-purpose-environment (for example, AnyCompany-audit-prod). For personal accounts, consider using a naming standard such as first name-last name-purpose (for example, paulo-santos-testaccount).

    For information about changing an account name, see How do I change the name on my Amazon Web Services account?.

  • Address – If your contact address is in India, the user agreement for your account is with Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL), a local Amazon seller in India. You must provide your CVV as part of the verification process. You might also have to enter a one-time password, depending on your bank. AISPL charges your payment method 2 INR as part of the verification process. AISPL refunds the 2 INR after verification is complete.

  • An email address – The email address is used as the sign-in name for the root user and is required for account recovery. You must be able to receive email messages that are sent to this address. Before you can perform certain tasks, you must verify that you have access to email sent to this address.

    Important

    If this account is for a business, use a secure corporate distribution list (for example, it.admins@example.com) so that your company can retain access to the Amazon Web Services account even when an employee changes positions or leaves the company. Because the email address can be used to reset the account's root user credentials, protect access to this distribution list or address.

  • A phone number – This number can be used to confirm the ownership of your account. You must be able to receive calls at this phone number.

    Important

    If this account is for a business, use a corporate phone number so that your company can retain access to the Amazon Web Services account even when an employee changes positions or leaves the company.

Step 1: Create your Amazon Web Services account

  1. In your browser, open the Amazon home page.

  2. Choose Create an Amazon Web Services account.

    Note

    If you signed in to Amazon recently, choose Sign in. If the option Create a new Amazon Web Services account isn't visible, first choose Sign in to a different account, and then choose Create a new Amazon Web Services account.

  3. Enter your account information, and then choose Verify email address. This will send a verification code to your specified email address.

  4. Enter your verification code, and then choose Verify.

  5. Enter a strong password for your root user, confirm it, and then choose Continue. Amazon requires that your password meet the following conditions:

    • It must have a minimum of 8 characters and a maximum of 128 characters.

    • It must include a minimum of three of the following mix of character types: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and ! @ # $ % ^ & * () <> [] {} | _+-= symbols.

    • It must not be identical to your Amazon Web Services account name or email address.

  6. Choose Business or Personal. The difference between these options is the information that we ask you for. Both account types have the same features and functions.

  7. Enter your business or personal information. Refer to the recommendations in the Prerequisites section about the email address and phone number.

  8. Read and accept the Amazon Customer Agreement. Be sure that you read and understand the terms of the Amazon Customer Agreement.

  9. Choose Continue. At this point, you'll receive an email message to confirm that your Amazon Web Services account is ready to use. You can sign in to your new account by using the email address and password you provided during sign up. However, you can't use any Amazon services until you finish activating your account.

  10. Enter information about your payment method. If you want to use a different address for billing purposes, choose Use a new address.

  11. Choose Verify and Continue.

  12. Enter your country or region code from the list, and then enter a phone number where you can be reached in the next few minutes. Enter the CAPTCHA code, and submit.

  13. When the automated system contacts you, enter the PIN you receive and then submit.

  14. Select your Amazon Web Services Support plan. For a description of the available plans, see Compare Amazon Web Services Support plans.

  15. Choose Complete sign up. A confirmation page appears that indicates that your account is being activated.

  16. Check your email and spam folder for an email message that confirms your account was activated. Activation usually takes a few minutes but can sometimes take up to 24 hours.

    After you receive the activation message, you have full access to all Amazon services.

Note

If you are having trouble with account activation, see Troubleshooting issues with Amazon Web Services account creation.

Step 2: Activate MFA for your root user

We strongly recommend that you activate MFA for your root user. MFA dramatically lowers the risk of someone accessing your account without your authorization.

  1. Sign in to the Amazon Web Services Management Console as the account owner by choosing Root user and entering your Amazon Web Services account email address. On the next page, enter your password.

    For help signing in using your root user, see Sign in to the Amazon Web Services Management Console as the root user in the Amazon Sign-In User Guide.

  2. Turn on MFA for your root user.

    For instructions, see Enable a virtual MFA device for your Amazon Web Services account root user (console) in the IAM User Guide.

Step 3: Create an administrator user

Because you can't restrict what a root user can do, we strongly recommend that you don't use your root user for any tasks that don't explicitly require the root user. Instead, assign administrative access to an administrative user in IAM Identity Center, and sign in as that administrative user to perform your daily administrative tasks.

For instructions, see Set up Amazon Web Services account access for an IAM Identity Center administrative user in the IAM Identity Center User Guide.