When you first set up an AWS account, the Free Tier period doesn’t start right away. It begins only after your account is fully activated and ready to use AWS services. At this stage, since you haven’t added your payment details or finished the phone verification process, your registration isn’t complete, and the Free Tier countdown hasn’t started yet.
The Free Tier clock starts as soon as your account is fully activated, which means completing all necessary steps—especially providing valid payment information and verifying your phone number. Just logging into the AWS Management Console without completing these steps doesn’t start the Free Tier timer.
If you decide to pause your registration now and later update your details to finish the process, your Free Tier period will begin on the day your account is fully activated with all required information. In other words, you won’t lose any Free Tier time by stopping now and completing the registration later.
In terms of leaving your registration incomplete, AWS might close accounts that stay unverified for a long time. However, this won’t affect your ability to create a new account later with proper information. The most important thing is that no Free Tier benefits are used up until your account is fully active.
To make the most of your Free Tier, just complete your registration with the correct information when you’re ready. Your 12-month free period will then start from that date, giving you access to free AWS services for a full year.