Why AWS partner applications and funding requests get sent back

Most of what an AWS competency application or funding request has to show is published, on the program pages, in the AWS Partner Central guides, and on the AWS Partner Network blog. Below are eight places a package can fall short of it: the first five mostly in competency applications, the last three in funding requests.

AWS does not publish approval rates or ranked rejection reasons, so this is not a ranking. Khavion works only from published requirements, AWS makes every approval decision, and program pages change, so open the linked source before you file.

Sources checked October 22, 2026.

1. The program name is out of date

The requirement: AWS renamed the AWS Generative AI Competency to the AWS AI Competency on November 30, 2025, adding three agentic categories, and renamed the Data and Analytics Competency to the AWS Data Competency on September 29, 2026. AWS Service Delivery and AWS Service Ready Specializations will be deprecated on June 1, 2027, and new applications are closed.
A weak submission: Documents still use the old competency name, or next year's plan counts on a new Service Delivery or Service Ready designation, which AWS has closed to new applications.
A fixable version: Every document uses the current program and category names from the program page. A plan built on a closed designation moves to a competency that is still open.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

2. The tier or stage is not there yet

The requirement: The tier page lists the AWS Competency Program as a benefit for Advanced and Premier tier partners. Each tier sets minimums for accredited individuals, certifications (including Professional or Specialty at Advanced and Premier), and launched opportunities with a total monthly recurring revenue (MRR); Advanced and Premier also need a Partner Business Plan. AWS's competency guidance adds the Validated stage, and a certification minimum for some competencies, such as Migration.
A weak submission: The application goes in at Select tier, or quotes certification and launch counts from an old export.
A fixable version: Compare the current counts in Partner Central with the tier table line by line. If a line is short, the plan names who closes it and by when, and the application waits.

Sources: 4, 5

3. The FTR is missing, expired, or for another solution

The requirement: For software partners, an approved Foundational Technical Review (FTR) opens badging, program eligibility, and funding benefits, including the AWS Competency Program and the AWS ISV Accelerate Program. It is requested per solution in Partner Central with a SOC 2 Type II or Well-Architected Framework Review report, returns approval or remediation steps within minutes, and is valid for two years.
A weak submission: The application relies on an FTR that has lapsed, or on an approval for a different solution than the one being submitted.
A fixable version: Check the approval date and solution name in Partner Central and use that exact name everywhere. Renew an approval near its two-year mark, and close any remediation steps before filing.

Sources: 6

4. Case studies that do not meet the evidence rules

The requirement: AWS Specializations require rigorous technical assessments that include reviews of customer success examples. AWS's January 2024 checklist update says public case studies are required for AWS Competency and AWS Managed Service Provider (MSP) applications, and an anonymous case study must be publicly available, published by the partner with the customer name left out. AWS's competency guidance gives a Migration Competency example: four complex projects for different customers within the last three years, at least two as public case studies.
A weak submission: Case studies that read like marketing, with no architecture, AWS services, dates, or measured result, or an anonymous case study that is published nowhere.
A fixable version: Each case study names the problem, the AWS services and architecture, your role, the dates, and a measured result. Count them against your competency's checklist and publish the public and anonymous ones before you file.

Sources: 3, 7, 5

5. Checklist answers that are marketing copy

The requirement: A competency application starts with a self-assessment against the validation checklist. AWS's guidance says to send it to your Partner Development Manager or Partner Solutions Architect for initial validation, to expect an audit of the whole practice and not only the technology, and to bring detailed explanations and supporting evidence. An application that is not approved gets specific feedback and can be submitted again.
A weak submission: A checklist answer that restates the requirement in the partner's own words, links to a product page, or says yes with no pointer to proof.
A fixable version: Every item points to an artifact that shows the work was done: a runbook section, an architecture diagram, a dated report. No artifact yet means a gap to close, not a sentence to write.

Sources: 5

6. Numbers that do not tie to the opportunity

The requirement: In Partner Central, the opportunity record holds expected AWS spend as a monthly recurring revenue estimate and can link to an AWS Pricing Calculator estimate. The funding agent drafts fund requests from that record and calculates potential funding from the opportunity value and the program rules; final eligibility is decided in the application review.
A weak submission: The business case uses an annual figure, the opportunity a different monthly one, and effort is one lump, such as "800 hours of migration work", that cannot be checked.
A fixable version: One set of numbers across the opportunity, the request, and every attachment, with the monthly estimate backed by a Pricing Calculator estimate. Effort comes in countable units: "42 servers in 3 waves at 12 hours per server, plus 2 weeks of cutover" can be checked with arithmetic.

Sources: 8, 9

7. Outcomes with no deliverable and no measure

The requirement: Where AWS ties funding to results, the results are defined up front. In the Business Value Realization (BVR) motion, the partner defines the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the business value the customer expects, each pit stop has KPI thresholds to meet, funding is paid at milestone completion, and the customer attests to the outcomes. The Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) template ties claim milestones to realized revenue outcomes.
A weak submission: The business case promises outcomes, such as faster releases or lower costs, that no deliverable in the statement of work produces and no success criterion measures.
A fixable version: A table that runs from each outcome to the deliverable that produces it, a measure with a baseline and a target, and a milestone date. An outcome without a row gets one or is cut.

Sources: 10, 11

8. The account or the dates are not ready

The requirement: MDF and POA fund requests need an AWS Payee Central account, with bank account registration and the tax interview done. If the button to create a fund request is unavailable, Partner Central has found the account not eligible for that funding, because of Partner Path status or a missing MDF wallet. MAP funding is available to Migration Competency Partners and partners at the Validated stage. A rejected request can be revised and resubmitted, but its start date then has to be at least 14 days out.
A weak submission: Payee Central setup starts after drafting, or the start date sits days after filing, so one resubmission moves the whole delivery plan.
A fixable version: Check Payee Central, path status, and program eligibility before drafting, and pick a start date with room for one resubmission.

Sources: 12, 13, 11, 14

Sources

Public AWS pages only, each opened on October 22, 2026. Dates are the ones the page itself shows; pages with no date are marked as undated.

New Agentic AI Categories for AWS AI Competency Partners. AWS Partner Network Blog, November 30, 2025. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/new-agentic-ai-categories-for-aws-ai-competency-partners
New categories and benefits for AWS Data Competency Partners. AWS Partner Network Blog, September 29, 2026. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/new-categories-and-benefits-for-aws-data-competency-partners/
AWS Specializations. AWS Partners program page, updated October 15, 2026. https://aws.amazon.com/partners/programs/specializations/
AWS Services Partner Tiers. AWS Partners program page, updated October 15, 2026. https://aws.amazon.com/partners/services-tiers
Best Practices for AWS Partners Applying for an AWS Competency. AWS Partner Network Blog, January 18, 2024. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/unlocking-efficiency-best-practices-for-aws-partners-applying-for-an-aws-competency/
AWS Foundational Technical Review. AWS Partners program page, updated October 15, 2026. https://aws.amazon.com/partners/foundational-technical-review/
Updated Validation Checklists for AWS Specialization Programs. AWS Partner Network Blog, January 10, 2024. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/updated-validation-checklists-for-aws-specialization-programs/
ExpectedCustomerSpend. AWS Partner Central API Reference, undated. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/partner-central/latest/APIReference/API_ExpectedCustomerSpend.html
Using agents for funding recommendations and fund requests. AWS Partner Central Getting Started Guide, undated. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/partner-central/latest/getting-started/partner-funding-agent.html
Business Value Realization. AWS Partner Central Getting Started Guide, undated. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/partner-central/latest/getting-started/bvr-overview.html
New MAP Incentives to Accelerate Migration and Modernization. AWS Partner Network Blog, July 1, 2024. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/new-map-incentives-to-accelerate-migration-and-modernization
Funding Benefits for AWS Partners. AWS Partners program page, updated October 15, 2026. https://aws.amazon.com/partners/funding/
Managing fund requests in AWS Partner Central. AWS Partner Central Getting Started Guide, undated. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/partner-central/latest/getting-started/partner-funding.html
Resubmitting a fund request or claim. AWS Partner Central Getting Started Guide, undated. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/partner-central/latest/getting-started/resubmit-fund-request-claim.html

Khavion is an independent firm. It does not speak for Amazon Web Services, is not endorsed or sponsored by AWS, and has no say in approval decisions. AWS decides.

Filing soon? We check a package against these published requirements before you submit it. $1,500 for a funding request or claim, $1,950 for a competency application.

Funding request or claim review, $1,500 Competency application review, $1,950