Amazon Mechanical Turk Has Shut Down: What Happens to HITs and Payments?
Amazon Mechanical Turk permanently closed on September 30, 2026. HIT submission has ended and unsubmitted HITs expired, but completed work still has an approval and payment process. Requesters can approve or reject submitted work and award bonuses until October 30; workers should verify their payment preferences by then. Completed, approved HITs are paid on the normal disbursement schedule. Requesters should also verify payment information for prepaid-balance refunds. Transaction history remains available until January 28, 2027, which is not a guarantee that every assignment result is retained until that date. The MTurk worker type is also unavailable for new SageMaker Ground Truth labeling jobs and Amazon A2I review workflows. Start with account cleanup, then choose a replacement for your specific task.
The MTurk closure FAQ is the product-specific source for the remaining account actions. We have not inspected a worker or requester account, so individual payment and refund status remain unverified.
Can you still submit or complete HITs?
MTurk is closed. New submissions ended at the September 30 cutoff and remaining unsubmitted HITs expired. A HIT is a Human Intelligence Task; distinguish an unfinished task from completed work awaiting review. Closure FAQ
Do not infer that access to an account page means task submissions remain supported. Use the closure workflow for outstanding work.
What happens to completed work and pending approvals?
Amazon gives requesters until October 30, 2026 to approve or reject completed work. If they take no action, the closure process auto-approves it. Bonuses can also be awarded through that date. Pending-work rules
For a worker, approved earnings follow the normal payment schedule. For a requester, reconcile submitted work separately from expired, unsubmitted HITs. This avoids confusing the submission deadline with the review window.
What should workers do now?
Check payment preferences in the Worker Portal before October 30, including payment method and transfer frequency. If no transfer schedule exists, use Account Settings → Manage Payment Preferences to select one. Amazon directs later payment updates and overdue-payment questions to Customer Service. Its established tax-document process continues. Worker closure guidance
Our practical recommendation: keep a record of approved earnings, pending work and your payment setup. This page cannot confirm a particular transfer or promise an arrival date beyond Amazon’s stated schedule.
What should requesters do about refunds and final billing?
Verify payment details in the Requester Portal by October 30. Amazon says prepaid balances should be fully refunded within 30 days of closure; escalate a missing refund after that window. Final charges appear in subsequent billing cycles. Unsubmitted work is not charged under the closure FAQ. Requester closure guidance
Our cleanup checklist:
- Review completed submissions and resolve outstanding approvals or rejections.
- Issue any intended bonuses within the remaining window.
- Confirm payment information and track the prepaid-balance refund separately from final AWS billing.
- Export the records you need and verify that the export contains the required results.
What records remain available until January 28?
Amazon guarantees access to transaction history until January 28, 2027. This is a financial-record deadline, not a statement that every assignment result will survive until then. The same help page describes normal removal of HIT and Assignment data after 120 days. Record availability and retention
Our recommendation is to export needed financial records and task results now, then check their contents. Do not use a portal-access deadline as your data-retention plan.
Why do AWS notices show different closure dates?
The product FAQ and MTurk documentation specify September 30, 2026. AWS’s broader September 29 service availability announcement groups MTurk among services described as no longer available as of September 29. We prioritize the product-specific closure date for customer actions; these notices do not establish a verified early shutdown. MTurk documentation, AWS availability announcement
What changes for SageMaker Ground Truth and Amazon A2I?
The affected component is the Mechanical Turk worker type/public workforce for creating labeling jobs or human review workflows. MTurk’s closure does not mean every Ground Truth or A2I capability disappeared. Public workforce notice
AWS documents private and vendor workforce models. A private workforce can consist of your selected employees or contractors; vendor workforces are a separate model. Review the supported workforce configuration for the job or workflow you need. Workforce models, Private workforce management
AWS also posts a separate notice that Ground Truth and Augmented AI are no longer open to new customers from July 30, 2026. That availability restriction is distinct from removing MTurk as a worker type. Confirm eligibility before planning a new Ground Truth deployment. SageMaker feature availability notice
How should you choose what comes next?
Our decision framework starts with the task that MTurk performed:
- Worker earnings: look for available paid work and assess eligibility and payment terms.
- Academic research: assess participant recruitment, consent and study requirements.
- General crowdsourcing: evaluate the actual task format, review process and required output.
- Data labeling or human review: assess workforce access, workflow integration and quality requirements.
These are different decisions. This page does not rank replacement platforms or claim a universal substitute. For an AWS workflow, start with the workforce documentation above; for outstanding MTurk accounts, complete the payment and record actions first.
Sources
- Amazon: MTurk closure FAQ, payments and deadlinesofficial documentation
- AWS: Mechanical Turk documentation and closure noticeofficial documentation
- AWS: September 29 service availability updateofficial announcement
- AWS: SageMaker workforce modelsofficial documentation
- AWS: Mechanical Turk workforce noticeofficial documentation
- AWS: private workforce managementofficial documentation
- AWS: SageMaker feature availability for new customersofficial announcement
Frequently asked questions
Is Amazon Mechanical Turk permanently closed?
Yes. The product-specific closure FAQ gives September 30, 2026 as the permanent closure date. New HIT submission is closed.
Will workers still be paid after closure?
Amazon says completed and approved work is paid on the worker’s normal disbursement schedule. Verify payment preferences by October 30, 2026.
What happens to pending HITs?
Completed work can be approved or rejected until October 30, 2026. Amazon says work left without action is auto-approved. Unsubmitted HITs expired at closure.
Can requesters still award bonuses?
Amazon says requesters can award bonuses until October 30, 2026.
What happens to prepaid requester balances?
Amazon says to expect a full balance refund within 30 days of closure. Verify payment information and contact MTurk Customer Service if the refund does not arrive in that window.
How long is transaction history available?
Until January 28, 2027, according to the closure FAQ. Export needed records; transaction-history access does not guarantee retention of every HIT or assignment result.
Did SageMaker Ground Truth and Amazon A2I shut down too?
The closure removes the Mechanical Turk worker type for new labeling jobs and human review workflows. It does not establish that both services shut down. Review workforce options and each service’s separate availability notice.