Amazon requires completed packaging certification documentation before a product can be listed or fulfilled through FBA. gh Package and Product Testing runs all three Amazon certification paths from ISO 17025 accredited labs in Fairfield, Ohio and Phoenix, Arizona.
Need testing for FedEx, Sam’s Club, Walmart, or LTL freight too? See our E-Commerce & Carrier Packaging Compliance page.
Amazon Packaging Certification: SIOC, Over-Boxing, and ISTA 6-Amazon
The certification must be submitted through the Vendor or Seller Central portal and accepted before the listing is activated. There are three certification paths, and selecting the wrong one means starting over with a full retest cycle.
SIOC — Ships in Own Container
SIOC certification applies to products that ship in their existing retail or product packaging without any additional boxing. The packaging must pass drop, compression, and vibration sequences without an outer carton. Programs that target SIOC certification early in development tend to require fewer test cycles than programs that retrofit an existing retail design.
Over-Boxing
Over-Boxing applies when a separate shipping carton is added around retail packaging before the product enters the fulfillment network. The test evaluates the combined package through the same parcel distribution hazards. Over-Boxing is the most common path for CPG and consumer products where the retail package is designed for shelf presence rather than parcel durability.
ISTA 6-Amazon
ISTA 6-Amazon covers products shipped as-is through the Amazon parcel fulfillment network. The test sequence was developed by ISTA for the Amazon fulfillment environment to simulate the specific hazards of that environment: sortation, conveyor systems, drop events, and delivery vehicle vibration. ISTA 6-Amazon is required when the product packaging is what the carrier handles directly, with no outer carton added at the warehouse.
If you’re new to packaging testing and not sure where to start, read this first.
When ISTA certification is part of the program, gh testing manages the submission on behalf of the client. You receive certified documentation without managing the process yourself.
Testing Programs for Amazon Sellers
- ISTA 6-Amazon SIOC — Ships In Own Container certification. Tests retail or product packaging as shipped through the Amazon parcel network, with no additional outer boxing. Validates that the existing packaging can withstand the parcel distribution environment without an outer carton.
- ISTA 6-Amazon Over-Boxing — Tests the combined package, shipping carton plus retail packaging plus product, through the Amazon parcel distribution sequence. The most common path for products where retail packaging is not designed for standalone parcel durability.
- Vibration, Drop, Compression, Incline Impact — Run individually or sequenced to replicate complete parcel distribution exposure from fulfillment center to doorstep.
- Environmental Conditioning — Temperature and humidity profiles from -20°F to 140°F, run before mechanical test sequences. Amazon packaging requirements do not prohibit additional conditioning, and for products with adhesive closures or heat-sealed components, conditioning before the mechanical sequence produces a more complete test record.
Environmental conditioning is the step most Amazon packaging programs skip under schedule pressure. It is also the step that reveals how adhesive closures, heat-sealed components, and corrugated structures behave under temperature and humidity stress, before a drop or vibration sequence begins. Both our Ohio and Phoenix labs run conditioning integrated with mechanical test sequences.
Why Amazon Sellers Choose gh Testing
- ISO 17025 Accredited — Our accreditation covers the full scope of ISTA test methods. Reports meet the documentation standard for Amazon Vendor and Seller Central submissions.
- ISTA Certified — gh testing manages ISTA certification submissions directly. You receive certified documentation without coordinating the submission process.
- Path Selection Support — The most common source of lost time in Amazon certification programs is selecting the wrong path before samples arrive. We help you confirm whether SIOC, Over-Boxing, or ISTA 6-Amazon applies to your specific product and listing configuration before the program begins.
- Two Lab Locations — Our Ohio lab serves Midwest and East Coast distribution networks. Our Phoenix lab is positioned for West Coast supply chains and Amazon fulfillment operations in the Goodyear and Las Vegas corridor, reducing freight time and sample cost for West Coast sellers.
- Conditioning Integrated with Mechanical Testing — Both lab locations run environmental conditioning programs integrated with mechanical test sequences. This is the step most Amazon programs skip, and the one most likely to reveal real-world failure modes before product ships.
- Full Documentation — Test reports, photographs, video documentation, and measurement uncertainty data. Everything an Amazon submission requires.
- 38 Years of Packaging Testing Experience — We have seen the certification path changes, the retailer requirement updates, and the supply chain shifts across e-commerce and Amazon fulfillment programs. That institutional knowledge is part of what you get when you work with gh testing.
ISTA procedures referenced on this page are published by the International Safe Transit Association. Official ISTA procedure documentation is available at ISTA.org.
Talk to gh Testing Before You Submit a Single Sample
The best time to call us is before you have committed to a certification path, not after. We can tell you whether SIOC, Over-Boxing, or ISTA 6-Amazon applies to your product, what the timeline looks like, how many samples you need, and what documentation Amazon requires. That conversation takes fifteen minutes and it saves a lot of time downstream.
If you have an Amazon launch deadline, a new product configuration, or a packaging failure that needs investigation, call now.
Ohio — Midwest and East Coast: 513-870-0080
Phoenix — West Coast and Southwest U.S.: 623-869-8010
You can also email info@ghtesting.com or contact us. Include your product category, distribution channel, and any platform or retailer requirement, we will respond with a program recommendation and next steps.