InvalidAMIID.NotFound
AWS InvalidAMIID.NotFound means the specified AMI does not exist, is not visible in the selected region/account scope, or is blocked by image-allow criteria.
Last reviewed: February 22, 2026|Editorial standard: source-backed technical guidance
What Does Invalid AMI ID Not Found Mean?
EC2 cannot resolve the requested AMI in the current account-region visibility context, so instance launches fail until a valid and accessible image ID is supplied.
Common Causes
- -AMI ID is incorrect, stale, or references an AMI deregistered after template creation.
- -Launch request targets a region where the AMI was never copied or published.
- -AMI exists but is private and not shared with the caller account/role.
- -Automation points to deprecated golden-image catalog entry after pipeline updates.
How to Fix Invalid AMI ID Not Found
- 1Resolve AMI IDs from current image catalog per region before launch.
- 2Verify AMI visibility with
DescribeImagesusing the same account and role. - 3Copy/share AMI to target account-region when cross-account/region launches are required.
- 4Update launch templates and ASGs to use valid active AMI identifiers.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis for Invalid AMI ID Not Found
- 1Capture AMI ID, region, account, and request ID from failing RunInstances calls.
- 2Check image lifecycle history for deregistration or replacement events.
- 3Compare launch template AMI references against source-of-truth image registry.
- 4Validate sharing permissions and KMS key access if encrypted snapshots are involved.
AMI Visibility and Lifecycle Validation
- -Query image metadata with caller identity in target region (example: AMI exists in source account but is not shared to launch account).
- -Trace AMI deregistration/replacement timeline (example: launch template references AMI removed by image-retention job).
Template and Registry Drift Checks
- -Diff launch template AMI IDs against golden image catalog outputs (example: one ASG still points to previous release image ID).
- -Validate cross-region copy completion before rollout (example: AMI copied to eu-west-1 after deployment already started there).
How to Verify the Fix
- -Run
DescribeImages --image-idsin the target account and region and confirm the AMI is visible. - -Dry-run
RunInstanceswith the same launch template path to verify AMI resolution succeeds. - -Confirm launch templates and ASGs no longer reference deregistered or inaccessible AMIs.
How to Prevent Recurrence
- -Publish region-specific approved AMI catalogs and resolve IDs at deploy time.
- -Validate every template AMI ID with
DescribeImagesduring CI before rollout. - -Monitor AMI deprecation and deregistration events that can invalidate active templates.
Pro Tip
- -publish region-scoped AMI manifests with checksum and deprecation metadata, and block launches against AMI IDs not present in the active manifest.
Decision Support
Compare Guide
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404 Not Found vs 410 Gone: Missing vs Permanent Removal
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Playbook
Resource State Playbook (404 / 410 / ResourceNotFound)
Use this playbook to separate temporary missing-resource lookups from permanent removals, then fix scope, lifecycle, and identifier drift safely.
Official References
Provider Context
This guidance is specific to AWS services. Always validate implementation details against official provider documentation before deploying to production.