Amazon Will Pay $8.25 Million Over DC Prime Delivery Exclusion | The Locally Times

Published 10/2/2026, 8:21:27 AM UTC · The Locally Times

The settlement refunds $7.25 million in Prime membership fees to residents of two Ward 7 and 8 ZIP codes and imposes $1 million in penalties.

Amazon will pay $8.25 million in refunds and penalties to resolve the District's lawsuit over its secret exclusion of two DC ZIP codes from its in-house Prime delivery services, Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced October 1, 2026. The company will also change its business practices under the agreement. ## What the record shows The Office of the Attorney General sued Amazon in 2024, alleging the company violated DC consumer protection law by excluding ZIP codes 20019 and 20020, east of the Anacostia River, from Amazon-branded delivery while charging residents there the full Prime subscription price. The release states that in June 2022 Amazon made an internal decision, citing purported safety reasons, to stop using its own trucks for Prime deliveries in those two ZIP codes and to rely instead on third-party delivery services, which significantly slowed Prime deliveries. Prime membership has cost $14.99 a month or $139 per year since 2022, and impacted residents will get back nearly half of the membership fee they paid during the exclusion period. Amazon stopped excluding Ward 7 and 8 consumers from full delivery services in April 2026, according to the release. The settlement puts safeguards in place so DC customers can make informed decisions about Prime memberships if Amazon implements delivery exclusions in the future, the release states. The supplied records do not include a response from Amazon to the settlement. ## Key Questions How much will affected residents receive in refunds? The release says impacted residents will get back nearly half of the membership fee they paid during the exclusion period, from a total of $7.25 million in refunds. Which ZIP codes were affected? The lawsuit covered ZIP codes 20019 and 20020, two areas east of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8.