How do I create and activate a new Amazon Web Services account?

I'm getting started with Amazon Web Services. How do I create and activate a new AWS account?

Here's an overview of the process:

1. Go to the Amazon Web Services home page.
2. Choose Sign Up.
   Note: If you've signed in to AWS recently, it might say Sign In to the Console.
3. Type the requested account information, and then choose Continue.
   Note: If Create a new AWS account isn't visible, first choose Sign in to a different account, and then choose Create a new AWS account. When creating a new account, be sure that you enter your account information correctly, especially your email address. If you enter your email address incorrectly, you might not be able to access your account or change your password in the future.
4. Choose Personal or Professional.
   Note: These two account types are identical in functionality.
5. Type the requested company or personal information.
6. Read the AWS Customer Agreement, and then check the box.
7. Choose Create Account and Continue.

Note: After you receive an email to confirm that your account is created, you can sign in to your new account using the email address and password you supplied. However, you must continue with the activation process before you can use AWS services.

On the Payment Information page, type the requested information associated with your payment method. If the address for your payment method is the same as the address you provided for your account, choose Secure Submit.

Otherwise, choose Use a new address, type the billing address for your payment method, and then choose Secure Submit.

1. On the Phone Verification page, type a phone number that you can use to accept incoming phone calls.
2. Enter the code displayed in the captcha.
3. When you're ready to receive a call, choose Call me now. In a few moments, an automated system will call you.
4. Type the provided PIN on your phone's keypad. After the process is complete, choose Continue.
   

On the Select a Support Plan page, choose one of the available Support plans. For a description of the available Support plans and their benefits, see AWS Support - Features.

After you choose a Support plan, a confirmation page indicates that your account is being activated. Accounts are usually activated within a few minutes, but the process might take up to 24 hours.

Note: You can sign in to your AWS account during this time. The AWS home page might continue to display a button that shows "Complete Sign Up" during this time, even if you've completed all the steps in the sign-up process.

When your account is fully activated, you'll receive a confirmation email. After you receive this email, you have full access to all AWS services.

Account activation can sometimes be delayed. Here are some things to double-check:

• Finish the account activation process. If you accidentally close the window for the sign-up process before you've added all the necessary information, your account will not activate. To finish the sign-up process, open https://aws-portal.amazon.com/gp/aws/developer/registration/index.html and sign in using the email address and password you chose for the account.
• Check the information associated with your payment method. You can check the information associated with your payment method on the Payment Methods page. If there are errors in the information associated with your payment method, your payment method might not validate.
• Contact your financial institution. AWS validates payment methods by sending an authorization request in the form of a small charge. Financial institutions occasionally reject these authorizations for various reasons. Contact your payment method's issuing institution and ask that they approve authorization requests from AWS.
  Note: AWS cancels the authorization request as soon as it's approved by your financial institution. You are not charged for authorization requests from AWS, but these charge requests might still appear on statements from your financial institution.
• Check your email for requests for additional information. Occasionally, AWS requires additional information from you in order to activate your account. Check your email to see if AWS requires any more information from you to complete the activation process.
• Try a different browser.
• Contact AWS Support. If it's been 24 hours and you're still not sure why your account isn't activated, contact AWS Support for help. Be sure to mention any of the steps that you've already tried, so Support can more effectively troubleshoot the issue.
  Note: Do not provide sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, in any correspondence with AWS.

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Published: 2015-11-23

Updated: 2018-04-26