TikTok Shop AHR Score Explained: What's Replacing Violation Points in 2026
Account Health Rating (AHR) is TikTok Shop's new continuous seller health score, replacing the old Violation Points system in a rolling rollout starting July 2026. AHR measures four dimensions: after-sales handling time, return rates, product compliance, and content violations. Unlike Violation Points — which triggered action only when a threshold was crossed — AHR is scored continuously, meaning gradual decline shows up before you hit a restriction.
What is AHR and why TikTok is replacing Violation Points
The Violation Points system scored sellers on a threshold model: accumulate enough points and action is taken. The problem with threshold models is that a seller can operate near the edge for months with no signal that anything is wrong until the moment a restriction hits. AHR replaces this with a continuous scoring model that reflects seller health at any given time — not just when a threshold is breached. The change is rolling out through Seller Center starting July 2026. During the preview period, both systems are visible simultaneously so sellers can see how their AHR score maps to their current Violation Points standing. TikTok's stated rationale is to give sellers earlier warning signals and to weight operational behaviors — particularly after-sales handling — more heavily than the old system did. The shift signals that TikTok is treating seller health as an operational metric, not just a compliance metric.
What AHR measures: the four components
AHR is calculated from four categories of seller behavior. After-sales handling time (AHT) is the most heavily weighted: it measures how quickly you resolve disputes, process returns, and respond to customer complaints after a sale is completed. TikTok's Customer Complaint Rate metric was replaced by 60-day After-sales Handling Time (AHT) in 2026, making resolution speed a primary seller health signal. Return rate measures the percentage of orders that are returned, with category-adjusted benchmarks — a 15% return rate in fashion is treated differently than a 15% return rate in electronics. Product compliance measures whether your listings meet TikTok Shop's product policy requirements: accurate descriptions, correct categorization, prohibited items, and documentation for regulated categories. Content violations capture community guideline or advertising policy violations from your creator account that are linked to your Shop account.
How to check your AHR score during the preview period
During the preview period, your AHR score is visible in Seller Center under Account Health. The dashboard shows your overall AHR score alongside a breakdown by each of the four components, a 30-day trend line, and the specific events that have affected your score in the current period. To access it: log in to seller.tiktok.com, navigate to Account in the left sidebar, and select Account Health. If you see both an AHR section and a Violation Points section, you are in the preview period — both are active but AHR is not yet the enforcement mechanism. Once the July 2026 transition completes, Violation Points will be removed and AHR will be the sole enforcement basis. Screenshot your current AHR breakdown and trending data now so you have a baseline before the full transition.
What AHR score ranges mean
AHR scores run from 0 to 100. Scores of 80 and above are classified as Good — full seller functionality, no restrictions, and eligibility for promotional programs and affiliate marketplace features. Scores between 50 and 79 are classified as At-Risk — no immediate restrictions, but TikTok will flag specific areas for improvement and may limit access to certain promotional campaigns. Sellers in this range receive automated improvement recommendations in Seller Center. Scores below 50 are classified as Restricted — at this level, TikTok may limit your ability to add new product listings, reduce your Shop's placement in search results, or restrict you from the affiliate marketplace. Scores below 20 risk full Shop suspension. The continuous nature of AHR means a score can deteriorate gradually — monitor your trend line weekly, not just your current score.
Behaviors that lower your AHR and how to recover
The fastest way to lower your AHR score is slow after-sales handling. Any dispute or return request that sits unresolved for more than 48 hours begins dragging your AHT metric. Set up Seller Center notifications for every new dispute and build a response SLA of under 24 hours. High return rates in categories where your benchmark is low — typically gadgets, supplements, and personal care — will pull your product compliance score down even if the returns are not your fault; review your listing descriptions for accuracy gaps that create buyer expectation mismatches. Content violations from your creator account affect AHR directly, so the same compliance practices that protect your creator account protect your AHR. Recovery is not instantaneous — AHR is a rolling score, and a 30-day period of clean performance typically moves a score from At-Risk back into Good range. There is no single corrective action that resets AHR; sustained operational improvement is the only path.
Frequently asked questions
When does TikTok Shop's AHR system replace Violation Points?
The rollout begins in July 2026. During the preview period leading up to the transition, both systems are visible in Seller Center simultaneously. Once the transition completes, Violation Points will be removed and AHR will be the sole enforcement mechanism. The exact date varies by seller region and account tier.
Is AHR the same as Violation Points?
No. Violation Points operated on a threshold model — action was triggered when you accumulated enough points. AHR is a continuous 0–100 score that reflects your current seller health at any time. AHR also weights operational behaviors like after-sales handling time more heavily than Violation Points did, and it combines compliance signals with operational signals into a single composite score.
What is AHT and why does it matter so much in AHR?
AHT stands for After-sales Handling Time — it measures how quickly you resolve disputes, process returns, and respond to complaints after an order is completed. TikTok replaced its old Customer Complaint Rate metric with AHT in 2026, making resolution speed the primary operational signal in seller health. Sellers who respond to disputes within 24 hours maintain strong AHT scores; sellers who let disputes sit for days will see AHR decline even if their product quality and content are clean.
Does a content violation on my creator account affect my TikTok Shop AHR?
Yes. Content violations from your linked creator account feed into the content violations component of your AHR score. This means a community guideline strike on a video — even one that is not a Shop video — can affect your seller health score. The two accounts are linked once you connect a creator account to a Shop account.
How do I improve my AHR score?
The highest-leverage action is improving after-sales handling time: respond to every dispute and return request within 24 hours. Second, audit your product listings for accuracy mismatches that drive unnecessary returns. Third, review your content for compliance risks using TikTok's advertising policy guidelines. Recovery is a rolling process — 30 days of consistently clean performance will move a score from At-Risk back to Good.
What happens if my AHR score drops below 20?
Scores below 20 risk full TikTok Shop suspension. At this level, you may lose the ability to add new listings, fulfill orders, or access the affiliate marketplace. The path back is the same as recovering from any low score — sustained operational improvement — but a score this low may require direct engagement with TikTok Shop Seller Support to avoid suspension while your score recovers.
Related guides
How to Avoid TikTok Account Suspension as an eCommerce Seller
Account SafetyHow to Get Your TikTok Account Unsuspended: A Step-by-Step Guide
TikTok ShopHow to Set Your TikTok Shop Affiliate Commission Rate to Attract Creators
TikTok ShopWhy Your TikTok Shop Videos Are Getting Low Reach in 2026 (And How to Fix It)
Audit your own video free
Upload your draft and get a full breakdown of all seven conversion signals — before you post.
Audit my video free →3 free audits/month · No credit card