Last reviewed by The publishing.co.uk Team — May 2026
Select your rejection reason below to get specific, step-by-step fix instructions. You can also search by keyword.
UK note: UK-specific considerations apply — ISBN purchases go through Nielsen (not Bowker), VAT rules differ from the US (print books are zero-rated; ebooks carry 20% VAT), and GDPR applies to any email/customer data. See our UK self-publishing guides for specifics.
Prevention Checklist
Before submitting to KDP, run through these checks to avoid the most common rejections:
- Margins — Use our Margin Calculator to verify gutter and outside margins
- Cover dimensions — Use our Cover Formatting Guide for exact dimensions
- Page count — Ensure an even number of pages (add a blank page if odd)
- Fonts — Embed all fonts in your PDF
- Images — 300 DPI minimum, no upscaled low-resolution images
- ISBN — If using your own ISBN, ensure it matches exactly in metadata and copyright page
- Content — No placeholder text, no "lorem ipsum", no blank chapters
- File format — PDF for paperback interior, EPUB for Kindle eBook
- Bleed — If enabled, content must extend 0.125" beyond trim on all edges
- Preview — Always check the KDP online previewer before submitting
Frequently asked questions
What's the most common mistake first-time authors make with kdp rejection fixes?
Skipping the verification step. Most kdp rejection fixes problems are caught by a 10-minute pre-flight check before upload — we see this in our formatting queue every week.
How much time does kdp rejection fixes usually take?
Allow 2-8 hours for a first attempt, 30-60 minutes once you've done it twice. The first time eats time because you're learning the controls; subsequent times are mechanical.
Are the free tools good enough or should I pay?
Free tools work if you have time to learn them. Paid tools (or services) save 10-30 hours and reduce rejection rates. Worth it if you're launching multiple titles.
Where can I check my work before going live?
Run a free KDP Readiness Score — catches 35+ common issues in 60 seconds, no signup. If anything fails, the report tells you exactly what to fix.
Further reading from official sources
- KDP — Content guidelines — the official rules KDP reviewers apply.
- KDP — Quality issues and how to fix them — Amazon's quality-flag documentation.
Related Tools
Specific error pages
Each of these covers one common KDP rejection cause — what triggers it, why it happens, the exact fix, and how to pre-flight it before resubmitting. Use the free KDP Readiness Score to catch all of them at once.
Margin, gutter & page-count issues
- Margin too small (gutter or outside)
- Odd page count
- Under minimum pages (<24)
- Over maximum pages (>828)
- Page-count rules
Image & DPI issues
Font & typography
Cover & trim issues
- Cover dimensions don't match interior trim
- Low-res cover (<2560×1600)
- Cover text in bleed zone
- Bleed misconfigured
- Crop marks present
- Spine too narrow for text
- CMYK colour-space
ISBN & metadata
EPUB & Kindle
- EPUB validation failed
- ToC broken links
- Kindle fixed-layout metadata missing
- Right-to-left flag missing (Arabic / Hebrew)
Content & quality
- Lorem ipsum / placeholder text detected
- Blank chapter
- Over maximum file size (>650MB)
- Content-quality flag (AI content not disclosed)
About this guide
Written by The publishing.co.uk Team for publishing.co.uk. Last reviewed May 2026. Specs and pricing change — verify current figures with the linked sources before relying on them.
