Instacart: Shopper Agreement violation (no clear reason given) deactivation appeal

Independent self-help tool. We are not Instacart, not affiliated with Instacart, and we never ask for your Instacart password.

Check my Instacart notice freeFree check first. The full written appeal is $34 flat, with a free rewrite if it's denied.

What this deactivation means

The email from Trust and Safety only says you violated the Independent Contractor Agreement, with no order or incident named. This is common, and the real trigger is usually one of the other reasons on this list (a fraud flag, a complaint, a metric). Reread the email for any order number or date, and check your app for recent order issues before you write.

Where and when to appeal

Channel
Reply to the deactivation email, or in-app Help (the ? icon, then the headset icon). Criminal-record cases: the Shopper Mitigation form. Background-check data errors: dispute with Checkr/Sterling first.
Deadline
No universal deadline; FCRA disputes run 30 days; Seattle/NYC give 90 days. Appeal immediately.
Decision time
Quoted ~48 hours but realistically 7-27 days. Don't open a new account while waiting; it reads as fraud evasion.

The evidence that moves this reason

  • The exact wording of the deactivation email (screenshot it)
  • Your ratings and stats screens
  • Your last few weeks of orders
  • Delivery photos and chat logs from any order that had a problem
  • Any earlier warning emails

What actually works

Ask Instacart to name the order and the specific violation, then answer the most likely trigger anyway. Walk through your recent orders, flag anything that had an issue and give your side of it with proof, and state plainly that nothing you know of breaks the agreement. Ask them to point to the exact incident so you can respond to it directly.

You can win this one, but only with strong, specific proof; a form letter won't move it.

Denied, or planning the next move? The full guide (re-appeals, report disputes, arbitration) is on the Instacart appeal page.