KDP can ask you to prove you hold the publishing rights to your book before it goes on sale. The copyright page inside your book does not count as proof, and KDP will not look at papers until it asks for them.

So this week, make one rights folder for each book you have out or plan to publish. Then a request from KDP becomes a quick reply instead of a hunt through old email.

What KDP says about proof

Each point below comes from the KDP Help page Intellectual Property Rights Frequently Asked Questions, checked 7 October 2026.

  • KDP may ask for more documents to confirm you hold the publishing rights before your book can go on sale. If your book was published before, in whole or in part, or was created by someone other than you, the page says you may want to gather your documents before you submit.
  • The copyright page inside your book is not enough to prove you hold the rights.
  • KDP will not take documents in advance. It only accepts them when it asks for them.
  • Once KDP has your documents, it usually replies within five business days.

So you cannot send proof early, and the page you wrote yourself does not count. What you can do is have the proof ready.

What to put in the folder

This is our list of what to keep ready, not Amazon’s list. Not every book needs every item. Keep the ones that fit your book.

A folder labelled Book title holding five documents: reversion letter, contracts and licences, website ownership proof, pen-name note, and dated manuscript files
  1. Reversion letter. If a publisher put out the book before, keep the letter that says the rights came back to you. The KDP page gives this as one example of proof.
  2. Contracts and licences. Your old publishing agreement, plus any written agreement with a co-author, ghostwriter, cover designer, or illustrator.
  3. Proof you own any website the text appeared on. If chapters ran on your blog, keep a screenshot that shows the site’s owner details match your KDP account. If the text was on a site you no longer use, keep a note showing you took it down. The KDP page mentions both.
  4. A pen-name note. A few lines that connect your pen name to your legal name and your KDP account.
  5. Dated manuscript files. Early drafts with their original dates, saved where you will not lose them.

Name the folder after the book. Keep one copy on your computer and one copy in online storage.

A small example

This one is made up, just to show the idea. Say your first novel came out with a small press years ago, and the rights came back to you. Before you upload it to KDP, its folder holds the reversion letter, the licence for the cover you plan to reuse, and your old manuscript file with its original date. If KDP asks, you attach the letter and reply that day.

When the email arrives

Read it slowly. Send the papers that match what it asks about. Write down the day you sent them. KDP says it usually replies within five business days, so you know roughly when to expect an answer.

Think twice before a pen-name shuffle

Some authors unpublish older books and put them out again under a new pen name. On 24 September 2026, Dale L. Roberts reported one author’s case: KDP flagged books moved this way as substantially similar content and closed the account. The account was later reinstated. That is one author’s story, not a KDP rule. If you plan a move like that, build the folder first.

The folder is an afternoon’s work. It turns a request into a reply.