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KDP error messages explained

KDP's messages are short and sometimes vague. Paste one below to see the most likely causes, or browse the list. The explanations are ours; the final word is always in KDP's own message.

Checked November 9, 2026Plain text version

Got a message from KDP?

Paste the email or the Print Previewer warning. We explain what it most likely means and how to fix it. The text stays in your browser.

This is our reading of the message, not KDP's. When in doubt, follow what KDP asks.

Interior

Something sits too close to the page edge

Text or a picture reaches into the margin KDP keeps clear. Printers trim each page a little, so anything near the edge can be cut off.

  1. Open the checks on the Publish screen and use “Move inside the margin” on each flagged box.
  2. If a picture should run to the edge on purpose, turn on bleed for the book instead.
  3. Make the print files again and upload the new interior.

The bleed setting does not match the file

On KDP you chose bleed or no bleed, and the interior PDF was made the other way. A bleed file is slightly larger than the trim size.

  1. Look at the interior PDF size: with bleed it is 0.125 in wider and 0.25 in taller than the trim.
  2. Pick the matching bleed option on KDP's Content tab and upload again. You do not need new files for this.

The page size differs from the trim size

The interior PDF pages are not the size chosen on KDP.

  1. Check the trim size on KDP's Content tab against the book's format.
  2. If the book's format is wrong, change it in setup and make the files again.

A font is not embedded

The PDF uses a font that is not stored inside the file, so the printer cannot draw it.

  1. Files made here always embed their fonts. If you edited the PDF elsewhere, upload the original download instead.

Some text is too small to print well

Very small type (under about 7 pt) can blur or break up in print.

  1. Use “Raise to 7 pt” on the flagged boxes in the checks, then make the files again.

There are too many blank pages

Long runs of empty pages can look like a printing mistake, so KDP may ask about them.

  1. Remove extra blank pages in the editor, or put something on them (a note, a pattern, “This page is left blank”).
  2. Make the files again.

The page count is outside what KDP prints

Every format, paper and size has a lowest and highest page count. A paperback needs at least 24 pages.

  1. Add or remove pages, or pick a format that allows this count, then make the files again.

The file has transparency or layers the printer cannot use

Some see-through effects must be flattened before print.

  1. Files made here are flattened. If you edited the PDF in another program, upload the original download.

Cover

There is text on a spine that is too thin

KDP only allows spine text when the book is thick enough (over 79 pages). Thin spines cannot hold readable text.

  1. Our cover leaves the spine blank on thin books; make the files again if the cover is older.
  2. If the cover is your own, remove the spine text or add pages.

The cover file is the wrong size

A full cover is back, spine and front in one PDF. Its width depends on the page count and paper, so a page count change makes the old cover wrong.

  1. Make the print files again: the cover is sized from the final page count.
  2. Upload the interior and the cover from the same download.

Something covers the barcode area

KDP prints a barcode on the back cover, near the bottom corner by the spine. That area must stay clear.

  1. Move text and pictures away from the lower back cover near the spine, or let our cover layout place them, then make the files again.

Content

A picture is low resolution

An image prints at less than 300 DPI and may look blurry or pixelated in print.

  1. Find the page in the checks list and redraw or replace the picture.
  2. Do not enlarge a small image; use a larger one.

KDP thinks the content offers too little to readers

KDP turns down books that copy freely available text, repeat the same pages, or do not deliver what the title promises.

  1. Make sure the book has its own text and pictures and that the pages are not near copies of each other.
  2. Check that the title and description describe what is really inside.
  3. Reply to KDP if you believe the decision is wrong; explain what is original in the book.

Details and listing

The title or author on the cover differs from the details

What you typed on KDP's Details tab must match the cover and title page exactly, including the subtitle and the author's name.

  1. Copy the title, subtitle and author from the Publish screen's KDP guide into KDP.
  2. If you changed them in setup, make the files again so the cover matches.

The title, subtitle or keywords look misleading

KDP does not allow keyword lists in the title, claims like “best seller”, other authors' or brands' names, or words that promise something the book is not.

  1. Keep the title and subtitle to what is on the cover.
  2. Remove prices, rankings, review claims and other brands from the description and keywords.
  3. The listing checks on the Publish screen flag most of these.

The low-content and ISBN choices do not fit

Low-content books (journals, logbooks, puzzle and coloring books) can be published without an ISBN. Once you take a free KDP ISBN, the low-content option is closed.

  1. For a low-content book, tick “Low-content book” and publish without an ISBN.
  2. For any other book, use a free KDP ISBN or your own.

Rights

KDP wants proof that you hold the rights

KDP asks for proof when a book looks like it may be published elsewhere, uses a known character or brand, or matches content online.

  1. Answer the email with what you can show: that you wrote the text, the AI disclosure, and where pictures came from.
  2. Remove characters, logos or names that belong to someone else.

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