Question

What's the certificate rejection algorithm in Tax Exemption Review?

Answer 1

Amazon’s Tax Exemption Review system doesn’t publish its exact “algorithm,” but in practice it behaves like a rule-based and OCR (text-recognition) filter that auto-rejects a large share of bad or incomplete certificates before a human ever looks at them.​

Here’s what it typically checks and why certificates get rejected:

1. Form structure and type

   • The system looks for a valid, state-specific exemption form (e.g., that state’s official resale or nonprofit form), not a generic letter.

   • If the layout, fields, or required statements don’t match expected patterns, it’s flagged.

2. Legibility and format

   • Blurry scans, photos with shadows, or partial pages often fail OCR.

   • Non-PDF uploads or multi-page docs where the key page is missing also cause rejection.

3. Data matching

   • The legal name, address, and tax ID on the certificate must match the account details exactly.

   • If the state, jurisdiction, or exemption type doesn’t align with where exemption is being claimed, it’s rejected.

4. Dates and validity

   • Expired certificates or missing issue/expiration dates are treated as invalid.

Because much of this pre-check is automated, even small formatting or mismatch issues can trigger a denial, which is why clean, state-correct, machine-readable PDFs with perfectly matched account information are so important.