Probably born sometime in the late 1450s/1460s, Amias Paulet was the son of Sir William Paulet (d. 1488) of Hinton St. George, Somerset, and Elizabeth Paulet. Paulet was brought up a Lancastrian and took part in Buckingham's rebellion of 1483 against Richard III for which he was attainted. Restored two years later, in 1485, Paulet was subsequently made sheriff for Somerset and Dorset under Henry VII.