# Can you have two KDP accounts on a single IP address?



## jc3000 (Mar 4, 2014)

My roommate wants to start his own KDP account to publish his books however I am concerned that it may not be allowed by Amazon to have 2 different KDP accounts on the same IP address and home address in two different peoples names, I just don't want to get my account banned. Does anyone know if this is okay?


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## BlairErotica (Mar 1, 2014)

Yes. You just need a different email address. I have two accounts and Amazon said that was fine.


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## Gone To Croatan (Jun 24, 2011)

I accidentally created a second KDP account because I had a brain-fart when trying to create an Author Central account, and Amazon's Killer Drones haven't arrived outside my door yet. However, I never used that second account.


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## R. H. Books (Aug 2, 2014)

Not the OP's case, and I apologize if it's a dumb question, but what about multiple pen names? You _can_ get payments to the same bank account, right? Separate KDP accounts with the same banking info and home address.


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## BlairErotica (Mar 1, 2014)

R. H. Books said:


> Not the OP's case, and I apologize if it's a dumb question, but what about multiple pen names? You _can_ get payments to the same bank account, right? Separate KDP accounts with the same banking info and home address.


Yes. I set up two accounts (one for each name) with the same banking information. Then, reading the TOS I had a moment of panic. I contacted support and asked if I needed to combine them and they said the only thing needed was separate email addresses. So all the rest of the information is the same and has been for a couple of years.


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## jc3000 (Mar 4, 2014)

I found that my roommate can just use his laptop to login to his KDP account and it has a different IP address, however I am still concerned about us having the same home address. Should I just let him use our home address and not worry or should I have him get a PO Box to be safe?


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

i have books under my name and pen name. Amazon doesn't know or care if it's a roommate or a penname. Same IP. Same home address for Amazon, just different email addresses. This is fine.


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## ketosis (Apr 19, 2013)

I agree.  I have a screenshot from them saying that this is fine.  My best friend and soon to be roommate publishes also, and I asked if it's okay as long as we have different names, SSNs, bank accounts, e-mails, etc.  They said that as long as they are two different people, even if they share the same address, there is no problem.


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## WordNinja (Jun 26, 2014)

Here's what the TOS says:

_*4.2 Account Information; No Multiple Accounts.* You must ensure that all information you provide in connection with establishing your Program account, such as your name, address and email, is accurate when you provided it, and you must keep it up to date as long as you use the Program. You may maintain only one account at a time._

So, no reason to think that two roommates having the same computer would be violating the TOS, even if having the same ISP might raise a red flag. You'd just need to provide documentation to prove you're different people.

If Amazon has told you that it's okay for you to have multiple accounts, yay for you. But unless you've got something in hand from Amazon, addressed to you specifically, I wouldn't recommend that you set up multiple accounts. It's a clear violation of the TOS as written. I suspect that what they're trying to do is prevent people whose accounts have been shut down from starting new accounts, and they don't really care how many accounts you have if you play nice. But don't assume that if other people here have multiple accounts, it's okay for you to set them up, too.


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## BlairErotica (Mar 1, 2014)

Andrea @ ArtWellPub said:


> Here's what the TOS says:
> 
> _*4.2 Account Information; No Multiple Accounts.* You must ensure that all information you provide in connection with establishing your Program account, such as your name, address and email, is accurate when you provided it, and you must keep it up to date as long as you use the Program. You may maintain only one account at a time._
> 
> ...


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## WordNinja (Jun 26, 2014)

BlairErotica said:


> Andrea, they specifically told me that the YOU in this statement means per email address. They consider each name separate if it has its own email address. I offered to combine my accounts and they said don't bother.


That may indeed be their intention, but until they clarify it in their TOS, people are running a risk by interpreting it that way. I don't think that in a court of law, the idea that "you" refers to an email address rather than a person would hold up. Maybe if Amazon gets enough authors contacting them for clarification, they'll rewrite their TOS to say what they mean.

Customer service reps get things wrong sometimes. They share tribal knowledge that over time becomes more and more removed from the original source, and can become skewed.

As I read the opening of the TOS, I interpret "you" in the agreement to mean either the individual or the publishing company:

_*Kindle Direct Publishing Terms and Conditions* 
This agreement (the "Agreement") is a binding agreement between the individual or the entity identified in your Kindle Direct Publishing ("KDP") account ("you" or "Publisher") and each Amazon party._


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

OP, you're fine. Using the same IP address or home address is zero problem. You'll just use a different email addy (of course) when setting up your separate accounts.


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## Bluebonnet (Dec 15, 2013)

Dumb question: as long as you use different e-mail addresses, can you have one account as a KDP publisher and another account as an Amazon shopper?  I want to keep my existing Amazon account that I use to buy tools, cosmetics, books, kitchen gadgets, shoes, computer accessories, etc., and not get it mixed up with my publisher account. (I haven't published yet, but I do a lot of shopping on Amazon.)


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## Gator (Sep 28, 2012)

Bluebonnet said:


> as long as you use different e-mail addresses, can you have one account as a KDP publisher and another account as an Amazon shopper?


Yes. That's what many of us are doing. It's best to keep the important emails from Amazon KDP separate from receipts, advisories, and ads sent to your shopping account email address.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Bluebonnet said:


> Dumb question: as long as you use different e-mail addresses, can you have one account as a KDP publisher and another account as an Amazon shopper?


Yes. I don't publish under the account I shop (and review) from.


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