Who this is for

A US shop whose legal structure changed. A sole proprietorship that became a corporation or a partnership. A corporation that became a different corporation or a partnership. Every route ends at a corporate account. There is no route back to an individual account.

Before you submit

All of these must be true:

  • Shop status is Normal and account health is normal.
  • No withdrawal is in progress.
  • The Seller Center owner account has moved to the new entity.
  • Holiday Mode is on. The shop takes no orders and none are in delivery.
  • You hold no other shops, other than active or deactivated ones.

Move settled money to your bank first. You will not be able to touch it during review.

The steps

  1. Open the Qualification Center and start the entity change.
  2. Complete the Entity Ownership Criteria Acknowledgement checklist.
  3. Pass the one-time password check.
  4. Enter the new entity's details. Company type, legal name, addresses, EIN, primary representative, owner information, product categories.
  5. Upload the Novation Agreement on TikTok Shop's own template.

The Novation Agreement

  • It moves the contract from the old entity to the new one.
  • It needs names, signatures and addresses of both entities, and the state of registration.
  • The date must be within the last three months.
  • The scan must be complete and uncropped.
  • Every detail must match Seller Center records exactly.

What freezes

  • Orders: off for as long as Holiday Mode is on.
  • Funds: frozen from submission until 24 hours after approval.
  • Withdrawals: blocked for 24 hours after the change.

What resets on approval

  • Bank accounts are unlinked. Link one in the new owner's name.
  • Brand qualifications are void. Products that need them go inactive.
  • Category qualifications are void for the affected categories.
  • The Official Shop badge is removed. Apply again.

Plan it like a launch

Pick a quiet week. Tell your creators the date. Have the brand and category documents ready to resubmit the hour approval lands. Every day those products sit inactive is revenue your creators cannot bring.

A timeline that works

  • Two weeks before. Form the new entity, get the EIN, open the bank account.
  • One week before. Move the Seller Center owner account. Draft the Novation Agreement on the template. Collect brand and category documents under the new name.
  • Three days before. Tell creators the pause dates. Stop new sample shipments.
  • The day before. Ship every open order. Withdraw settled funds.
  • The day. Holiday Mode on. Submit.
  • Approval day. Link the new bank account. Resubmit brand and category qualifications. Reapply for the badge. Holiday Mode off when products are active again.

Mistakes that cost weeks

  • A company name on the agreement that differs by one character from Seller Center.
  • An agreement dated more than three months back.
  • Submitting with a withdrawal still in progress.
  • Forgetting that authorization letters name the old entity. Ask brand owners for new letters early.

The last one is the slow one. See the brand authorization guide for what a letter must show.

Running this for a brand is what we do. Book a discovery call.