> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.quiverstone.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configure AWS Alternate Contacts

A guide to setting up alternate contacts on your AWS accounts for billing, operations, and security notifications.

AWS allows you to configure **alternate contacts** so that important notifications are routed to the correct teams rather than only the root account email. This is a critical governance step that ensures billing alerts, operational issues, and security findings reach the people who can act on them.

***

## **Why Alternate Contacts Matter**

By default, AWS sends all notifications to the root account email. This creates problems:

* Security alerts may go unnoticed if the root inbox isn't actively monitored.
* Billing notifications may not reach finance teams.
* Operational alerts (e.g., service health) may not reach the on-call team.

Alternate contacts solve this by routing each category of notification to a dedicated recipient.

***

## **Contact Types**

AWS supports three alternate contact categories:

| Contact Type   | Purpose                                                               | Example Recipient                      |
| :------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------- |
| **Billing**    | Invoice notifications, payment issues, cost anomaly alerts            | `billing@corp.co` or finance team DL   |
| **Operations** | Service health events, maintenance windows, operational notifications | `ops@corp.co` or platform team DL      |
| **Security**   | Abuse reports, compromised resource notifications, security findings  | `security@corp.co` or security team DL |

***

## **Configuring via the Console**

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console.
2. Navigate to **Account Settings** (or go to `https://console.aws.amazon.com/billing/home#/account`).
3. Scroll to the **Alternate Contacts** section.
4. Enter the **Full Name**, **Title**, **Email Address**, and **Phone Number** for each contact type.
5. Click **Update**.

***

## **Configuring via AWS CLI**

```bash theme={null}
aws account put-alternate-contact \
  --alternate-contact-type BILLING \
  --name "Finance Team" \
  --title "Billing Contact" \
  --email-address "billing@corp.co" \
  --phone-number "+1-555-000-0001"

aws account put-alternate-contact \
  --alternate-contact-type OPERATIONS \
  --name "Platform Team" \
  --title "Operations Contact" \
  --email-address "ops@corp.co" \
  --phone-number "+1-555-000-0002"

aws account put-alternate-contact \
  --alternate-contact-type SECURITY \
  --name "Security Team" \
  --title "Security Contact" \
  --email-address "security@corp.co" \
  --phone-number "+1-555-000-0003"
```

***

## **Configuring at Scale with AWS Organizations**

If you manage multiple accounts, you can set alternate contacts programmatically across all member accounts from the management account:

```bash theme={null}
aws account put-alternate-contact \
  --account-id 123456789012 \
  --alternate-contact-type SECURITY \
  --name "Security Team" \
  --title "Security Contact" \
  --email-address "security@corp.co" \
  --phone-number "+1-555-000-0003"
```

<Note>
  This requires the **Organizations trusted access** for the Account Management service to be enabled. You can also automate this with AWS CloudFormation StackSets or Terraform.
</Note>

***

## **Best Practices**

* Use **distribution lists** or **shared mailboxes** rather than individual emails so contacts survive team changes.
* Set alternate contacts on **every account** in your organization, not just the management account.
* Review and update contacts quarterly or when team structures change.
* Consider using the same security contact across all accounts for centralized incident response.

***

## **Verification**

To confirm your alternate contacts are set:

```bash theme={null}
aws account get-alternate-contact --alternate-contact-type BILLING
aws account get-alternate-contact --alternate-contact-type OPERATIONS
aws account get-alternate-contact --alternate-contact-type SECURITY
```

***

## **Next Steps**

* [New AWS Account Setup](/consulting/management-governance/accounts/new-aws-account)
* [Organization Configuration](/consulting/management-governance/organizations/organization-configuration)