Every error you'll hit, organized by Amazon's own categorization
Amazon's bulk-sheet validator is strict, and when an upload fails, you get a result file with per-row error messages. This article is the reference for fixing each one. The categories below mirror Amazon's own documentation structure: ID-related errors, invalid values, missing values, duplicates, limits, and other errors. Use Ctrl+F to find a specific error message.
Where to read errors
After every upload, Amazon produces a result file in your Bulk Operations history with status "Finished with errors" if any failed. The result file has two tabs:
- Upload Processing Summary — a separate tab listing every error with three useful columns: the row number (Original record #), error category, and the error message itself.
- The campaign-type tab (e.g., Sponsored Products Campaigns) — your original data, with error messages appearing in the far-right columns of each failed row.
Both contain the same error info; pick whichever is easier. You can edit the file directly in the campaign tab, save, and re-upload to fix — no need to start over with a fresh download.
Try it: decode an error
Before scrolling to a specific category, paste your error message below — the decoder will identify which category it falls into and surface the matching fix.
The "not processed due to errors from other rows" warning
One warning message you'll see frequently before any real errors:
"This row was not processed due to errors from other rows"
This isn't really an error for that specific row — it's a downstream effect. If you're creating a Campaign with an Ad Group and Keywords in one upload, and the Campaign row has an error, the Ad Group and Keyword rows can't be processed because their parent doesn't exist. Don't fix this warning directly; fix the actual upstream error, and the rows it cascaded to will work on the next upload.
Category 1: ID-related errors
This is the largest category and the one most beginners get caught on. The concept underneath all these errors:
- When creating a new entity, you use a temporary, text-based ID that you make up (e.g.,
auto-airfryer-2026). Amazon converts this to a numeric ID once the entity exists. - When updating an existing entity, you use the actual numeric ID that Amazon assigned. You find these IDs in a downloaded bulk sheet — they look like long numeric strings (e.g.,
352147809573164).
Mix these up and you get one of the errors below.
"Invalid value for column: 'Campaign ID', which can't be found in any parent entity row"
"Invalid value for column: 'Ad Group ID', which can't be found in any parent entity row"
You used a Campaign ID (or Ad Group ID) in a child row that doesn't match the parent row's ID exactly. Most often a typo in one of the child rows. Verify all child rows reference the same parent ID precisely — capitalization, dashes, and underscores all matter exactly.
"This Create operation requires you to specify a temporary 'Campaign ID' (any non-numeric text)"
"This Create operation requires you to specify a temporary 'Ad Group ID' (any non-numeric text)"
You're creating a new entity but entered a numeric ID. Use any text-based ID instead, like my-new-campaign-2026. Amazon will assign the real numeric ID after creation.
"This Update operation requires you to specify an actual 'Campaign ID', rather than a temporary ID"
"This Update operation requires you to specify an actual 'Ad Group ID', rather than a temporary ID"
You're updating an existing entity but entered a text-based ID. The entity already has a real numeric ID assigned — look it up in a downloaded bulk sheet and use that. Note: Amazon specifically calls out that you should use the bulk-sheet ID, not the ID visible in the advertising console UI (the console sometimes shows a different identifier).
"Parent entity not found"
You're creating a child entity (keyword, product target, product ad) but the parent ID you referenced doesn't match any existing parent in your account or in the same upload. Either the parent doesn't exist yet (you forgot to include it), or the ID is mistyped.
"Could not find [keyword | targeting clause | campaign | ad group | product ad | negative keyword] with id: OBJECT_ID"
You're updating an existing entity by ID, but the ID doesn't exist in your account. Causes: typo, you've archived the entity (archived entities can't be updated), or you grabbed the ID from somewhere other than a fresh bulk-sheet download.
Category 2: Invalid values
For these errors, the value in a cell isn't one Amazon recognizes. Fix the value, save, re-upload.
Note: Amazon's docs explicitly state most values are not case-sensitive but must be spelled correctly. So enabled and Enabled typically both work, but enabledd fails. That said, matching the spec's canonical values (lowercase for State and Match Type; capitalized for Operation) is the safest choice for consistency.
"Keyword is invalid"
The keyword text contains invalid characters. Amazon has restrictions on what characters can appear in keyword text — typically letters, numbers, and spaces are fine; special characters often aren't.
"Invalid value: 'VALUE' for column: 'Bid'"
Bid values must be numeric. Common causes: currency symbol in cell ($1.20 fails, 1.20 works); comma thousands separator (1,000 fails, 1000 works); cell formatted as Text rather than Number (Excel sometimes shows a green corner triangle indicating this); a stray space or letter.
"Invalid value: 'VALUE' for column: 'Match Type'"
Match Type for positive keywords: broad, phrase, or exact. For negative keywords: Amazon's docs use negative exact or negative phrase (with spaces), though the Config sheet uses the camelCase negativeExact and negativePhrase. Both formats are typically accepted.
"Invalid value: 'VALUE' for column: 'State'"
State values: enabled, paused, or archived.
"Invalid value: 'VALUE' for column: 'Bidding Strategy'"
Bidding Strategy must be exactly one of: Dynamic bids - down only, Dynamic bids - up and down, or Fixed bid. Note the spaces around the dashes. Defined in the Campaign row.
"Invalid product: 'PRODUCT_INPUT'"
The Product column (campaign type) must be one of: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, or Portfolios. Misspellings or unrecognized values fail.
"Invalid entity: 'ENTITY_INPUT'"
Entity values vary by campaign type but include Campaign, Ad group, Keyword, Product ad, Product targeting, Negative keyword, Negative product targeting, Campaign negative keyword, Bidding adjustment, and several others.
"Invalid operation: 'OPERATION_INPUT'"
Operation must be Create, Update, or Archive. To pause an entity, use Update with the State changed to paused — there's no separate "Pause" operation.
"Campaign name has invalid characters"
"Ad group name has invalid characters"
Names have character constraints — most letters, numbers, and basic punctuation work; some special characters don't. If you're pasting from a creative brief or document, check for hidden formatting characters that snuck in.
"Invalid value: INVALIDDATEINPUT specified for field: Start Date, the correct date format is yyyyMMdd"
Dates must be YYYYMMDD with no separators. July 12, 2024 = 20240712. Excel auto-formats dates aggressively — either set the cell to Text format before typing, or prefix with apostrophe ('20240712) to force text. The apostrophe doesn't appear in the cell, only in the formula bar.
Category 3: Missing values
A required field is blank. Fix: fill in the missing value. The Bidding adjustment row is the one exception where State can be blank.
"Missing value for column: 'State'"
State is required on essentially every row. Default to enabled if you're not sure.
"Missing value for column: 'Campaign ID'"
Required on every row in the file. All child entities must reference their parent Campaign ID.
"Missing value for column: 'Ad Group ID'"
Required on every row except the Campaign row itself. All ad group children (keywords, product targets, product ads) need the Ad Group ID.
"Missing value for column: 'Keyword ID'"
Only relevant for Update operations on existing keywords. When updating an existing keyword's bid (or pausing, etc.), you need the system-generated Keyword ID from your downloaded bulk sheet.
"Missing value for columns: Campaign ID, Ad Group ID"
Multiple missing values may be reported in one message.
"Missing value for column: 'Match Type'"
Required for Keyword and Negative Keyword rows. Positive: broad, phrase, exact. Negative: negativeExact, negativePhrase.
"Missing value for column: 'Ad Group Default Bid'"
Required when creating a new ad group. This is the fallback bid for child entities that don't specify their own.
"Missing value for column: 'Ad group name'"
Ad groups (and campaigns) must have unique names within their scope.
"Product ad did not specify sku for create operation"
Creating a Product Ad requires a SKU (or, for vendors, an ASIN). The SKU goes in the SKU column.
Category 4: Duplicate values
Amazon doesn't allow certain values to be duplicated. The two common patterns:
- Duplicate IDs in one upload. Each ID should be unique within the file.
- Duplicate names within a scope. Campaign names must be unique within an account; Ad group names must be unique within their parent campaign.
Critical to know: when creating new Keywords, Product Targets, or Product Ads, leave the ID columns blank. Amazon generates the IDs automatically. Providing your own often causes Duplicate Id errors. After creation, the IDs become available in a downloaded bulk sheet for any future updates.
"Duplicate Id for column: 'Ad Group ID', which is the same as row ROW_NUMBER"
You've used the same Ad Group ID for two different ad groups. Each new ad group needs its own temporary ID.
"Duplicate Id for column: 'Campaign ID', which is the same as row ROW_NUMBER"
You've used the same Campaign ID multiple times. New campaigns need unique temporary IDs.
"Duplicate Id for column: 'Keyword ID' / 'Product Targeting ID' / 'Ad ID', which is the same as row ROW_NUMBER"
You filled in IDs for these entities. Best practice: leave blank when creating; Amazon generates them.
"Duplicate 'Keyword Text', which is the same as row ROW_NUMBER"
Within a single ad group, the combination of Keyword Text + Match Type must be unique. You can have "air fryer" exact in two different ad groups, but not twice in the same ad group.
"Campaign with name=CAMPAIGN_NAME already exists!"
Campaign names must be unique within your account, including against archived campaigns. Even if you've archived an old "Holiday 2025" campaign, you can't create a new one with that exact name.
"AdGroup with name=ADGROUPNAME already exists!"
Ad group names must be unique within their parent campaign.
"TargetingClause with campaignId=X, adGroupId=Y, ... already exists!"
"NegativeTargetingClause with campaignId=X, adGroupId=Y, ... already exists!"
You're trying to copy a keyword or product target from one campaign/ad group into another, but you left the old IDs in place. When copying targets between campaigns, change the Campaign ID and Ad Group ID to match the destination, and clear out the Keyword ID or Product Targeting ID (so Amazon generates fresh ones).
"ProductAd with campaignId=X, adGroupId=Y, asin=Z, sku=W already exists!"
The same SKU is already being advertised in this ad group. You can't have two Product Ads for the same SKU in one ad group.
Category 5: Limits
Amazon enforces minimums and maximums on various fields. Some are account-wide; others are per-campaign or per-marketplace.
"Number of non archived campaigns exceeds the limit per advertiser"
Your account has hit Amazon's campaign limit. Archive campaigns you're no longer using to free up the count. Limits are documented in Amazon's Sponsored Ads campaign management guides.
"Number of non archived ad groups exceeds the limit per advertiser"
"Number of non archived ad groups exceeds the limit per campaign"
Same idea — too many ad groups, either across the account or within a single campaign.
"Campaign name is too long"
"Ad group name is too long"
"Keyword text is too long"
Names and keyword text have character limits (campaign names are typically ~128 chars; keywords ~80 chars). Shorten and retry.
"Bid is lower than the minimum allowed by the marketplace"
Bid minimums vary by marketplace. In the US, Sponsored Products minimums are typically $0.02. Other ad types and other marketplaces may have different (often higher) minimums. Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display tend to have minimums in the $0.10+ range. Round up to the marketplace minimum or pause the entity.
"Bid is out of range (must be in [X, Y])"
The error message includes the actual marketplace-specific range. Adjust within range.
Category 6: Other errors
Errors that don't fit the categories above.
"Product is ineligible for advertising"
Your SKU has eligibility issues. Check the downloaded bulk sheet — there's an "Eligibility status" column showing whether each SKU can advertise, and a "Reason for ineligibility" column explaining why. Common reasons: out of stock, missing image, missing title, suspended listing, restricted category, or buyability issues.
"Archived entity cannot be modified"
Archived entities can't be updated, paused, or un-archived. The state is final. Two scenarios:
- You're trying to un-archive or modify an archived entity. The fix: create a new version with a new temporary ID. Copy the relevant data from the archived row, change the IDs, and create fresh. The old entity's performance history stays with the archived version; the new entity starts clean.
- You're archiving an entire campaign and included
Archivein the Operation column for child rows too. Only the parent Campaign row needs to be archived; children are archived automatically. The errors on child rows are inconsequential — the campaign was still archived correctly.
To avoid being stuck with archived entities you wish you could revive: pause instead of archiving when you might want to re-enable later.
"Only negative keywords and negative product targets are allowed in auto-targeting campaigns"
You can't add positive keywords or arbitrary product targets to an Auto campaign. The Auto campaign decides its own targeting. Exception: you can create four specific Product Targeting rows with these expression values to control bids per auto-targeting group: close-match, loose-match, substitutes, complements. This is documented in the SP Auto campaign article. Any other targeting rows in an Auto campaign fail.
"Start date cannot be in the past"
Common gotcha. You wrote your bulk sheet on Monday and dated the campaign for Monday, but didn't upload until Wednesday. Update the Start Date to today or a future date. Note: the date format is YYYYMMDD.
"merchantSku cannot be changed"
Once a Product Ad is created with a SKU, the SKU is permanent. To advertise a different SKU, create a new Product Ad with the new SKU rather than trying to update the old one. If you no longer want to advertise the old SKU, pause or archive its Product Ad.
How to prevent errors before uploading
A pre-upload checklist that catches 90% of errors:
- Filter to your modified rows. Confirm count is reasonable.
- Sort by Bid descending. Spot-check the top values — any obvious typos like $50 instead of $0.50?
- Sort by Bid ascending. Confirm nothing is below the marketplace minimum.
- Filter to Operation = Create. Verify Campaign ID, Ad Group ID, etc. are text-based (not numeric).
- Filter to Operation = Update. Verify ID columns contain real Amazon-assigned numeric IDs (from a downloaded sheet).
- Check date columns are in YYYYMMDD format.
- Spot-check 3 random rows for sanity.
When errors recur on the same row
If you fix an error, re-upload, and the same row fails again with the same error:
- Maybe your fix wasn't applied — check the cell again; the value might be reverting due to a formula or auto-fill.
- Maybe the error message points at one cell but the real cause is a different cell in the same row.
- Maybe the entity reference is broken in a way that's account-state-dependent (paused parent campaign, archived ad group).
If you've fixed the obvious thing three times and the error persists, escalate: ask in the Amazon Seller Forums, or contact Amazon Advertising support with the specific row from your file.
The single best preventive measure
Use a tool that validates before upload. BulkSheet Pro's validator runs all of the above checks (and more) on your edited sheet before you ever click Upload at Amazon. The errors are flagged in your editor, with line numbers and explanations. Catching them locally saves the round-trip to Amazon's parser. Try it free →