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How do I get my PO Box on my Shipping labels and not Street Address?

JulieMeyerMPLS
Visitor
1 0 0

• I've updated my General Settings address with my PO Box, but street address is still populating in the return address on my shipping labels.

• I can only turn on or off the 'shipping from' in my Shipping Settings and it is showing my street address, but doesn't not give me the ability to change the address.

• What am I missing here?

 

 

Accepted Solution (1)

Bethlynne5
Tourist
3 1 1

This is an accepted solution.

For those who are having issues, my postal service worker told me to use the street address of the post office (or whenever your PO Box is located), then put the PO BOX # in the “unit/apt/suite” field.

 

not sure if that’s been answered already or not but I don’t feel like reading this entire thread to find out, and it worked for me!🙂

View solution in original post

Replies 58 (58)

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hello, @JulieMeyerMPLS.

Elias here with Shopify Support. Thanks for reaching out.

The address under General settings is for your own invoices and tax documents, so you can keep that as your business or home address. If you’ve set up your rates and zones without using Shipping profiles, then you can change the ‘Shipping from’ address under the Shipping settings and this will be reflected on the shipping labels. However, since you are using Shipping profiles, you can change your address under the Locations settings

Let me know how that goes! If you have any other questions about shipping, feel free to reply to this thread and I’d be happy to help.

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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hawthornefarm
Tourist
4 0 5

Hi, I am opening my business on July 20th.  I would like to omit my home address from my shipping labels as well as my customer's receipt/invoice I have rented a p.o. box but I am having great difficulty trying to add the P.O. box 

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @hawthornefarm.

Welcome to the thread! You can change your address or add your P.O. Box address to your Locations Settings, this is located under Settings > Locations. If this will be the main address for fulfillment and shipping labels, then I'd also recommend changing this to your default location. That way, you don't have to keep toggling the address each time you fulfill an order.

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to let me know!

 

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hawthornefarm
Tourist
4 0 5

I have done this then it says because it is a po box it is unable to verify therefore i will be may be unable to fulfill future orders

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @hawthornefarm.

Thanks for the follow-up!

For Shopify Shipping Labels in the US or Canada, you can double-check how the address is formatted. For example, some US commercial addresses may have extra numbers in their ZIP codes (eg. XXXXX-XXXX) - you can use USPS ZIP look up for this.

For Shopify Shipping Labels in Australia, Sendle does not support PO Boxes, which is mentioned in our guide for Sendle's shipping address eligibility.
Let me know if that helps!

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hawthornefarm
Tourist
4 0 5
I’m still getting the same error message that this address cannot be
verified may be unable to print shipping labels.

Is there something special with PO Boxes?

This must be a common problem I’ve seen so many others with the same issue
Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @hawthornefarm.

Thanks for checking the address format! I've tested a couple of PO Box addresses and, though the error popped up initially, the error eventually disappeared in my test store. Nonetheless, I've also seen the rates pull correctly without any issues for PO Boxes. That being said, I'd recommend double-checking the Shopify rates directly with your post office on the next few orders, just to make sure that they're correct. However, it's important note that the rates won't be exactly the same, as there's a discount for Shopify Shipping rates.

If you run into any roadblocks or if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to let me know!

 

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ProGaiters
Visitor
1 0 4

Hi!  We are having the same issue with shipping label not having the correct address.  We have a PO Box as well.  We have tried several things to update address (shipping settings, settings locations, etc) with no results.  Any help on this issue would be great!

loveeybly
Tourist
5 0 3

The same problem here it says the PO box cannot be verified? how do I remove my home address completely??

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @ProGaiters & @loveeybly.

 

Thank you for following up!

 

I understand that both of you have been running into issues with adding the PO Box addresses to your Online store. I recommend using USPS Zip Lookup to find the correct format for your PO Box. The correct format should look something like this: 

 

 

PO Box ####
City, State, Zip Code (XXXXX-XXXX)

 

If the issue continues to persist, then it looks like we'll need to access your account in order to get a closer look at the issue. While we’re not able to provide account-specific support via the Shopify Community at this time, we’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit the Shopify Help Center and log in to your account to create a support request.

 

As for changing the shipping address on the shipping labels, you will need to change the Shipping from address in the shipping profiles. If you're unable to locate this, then this is something that our Support team can help you with as well. 

 

I'd love to know if our Support team can help with identifying and resolving the address verification. Keep me posted!

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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LibraUnique
Tourist
3 0 1

I’ve added my P.O. Box and made it my default under locations but my address keeps appearing on the packing slips and shipping labels.

Jess22
New Member
4 0 0

Hi, @Elias Can the Australia PO box only use for receiving items that customer returns? is that a problem? 

Thanks 

Jess 

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hi, @Jess22.

 

Thank you for joining the thread!

 

I have seen some stores use PO Box addresses as their Shipping from address, which serves as the return address on the shipping labels, and this can be changed in the Locations and Shipping & delivery settings. However, while I don't think this would be a problem, I'd recommend seeing if other merchants on the Shopify Community can share their insight since you're looking to confirm this specifically for Australia. 

 

I'd love to hear more about your business! What kinds of products do you sell? Are you dropshipping or do you make your own products? 

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goobscloset
Visitor
2 0 1

Could I please get help with this issue? My PO box cannot be verified, and I entered the address exactly as it is written on my USPS official document. I talked to a Mark in the online support and he wasn't knowledgeable enough to resolve this issue, so I just used the solution that another user provided on here which was to enter the post office's address in the address line and the PO box in the apartment line. I don't know if this is correct and I don't want any issues arising from this. Please let me know the correct way to get my PO box verified.

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @goobscloset.

 

Welcome to the thread!

 

I have seen stores use their PO Box addresses, and the unverified address doesn't appear to be much of an issue as most calculations for the shipping costs can be determined using the ZIP/postal codes. However, if you're not comfortable with using your PO Box address due to the unverified status, then you can consider using the address of the postal office and they should be able to receive the packages on your behalf. That being said, you can also double-check with your postal office and see what the address recommendations are for your PO Box. 

 

I can see that you're a new member of our Shopify Community! Once you've confirmed the PO Box address with your postal office, I'd love to hear more about your experience so far and share some resources to help you get started!

 

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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betefeliciano
Visitor
1 0 0

The thing is that it asks for regular address which if you write PO BOX xxxxxx you still have to add zipcode and everything else etc. This isn't very helpful, I think that if you could post a picture or video as you do this successful would help all of us, cause step by step isn't working.

 

Thanks.

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @LibraUnique.

After adding your PO Box to the Locations settings, you'll also need to change the Shipping from address located in the Shipping and delivery settings (Settings > Shipping and delivery). From there, simply click manage rates and look under Shipping from. Once you've made the change, the shipping labels and packing slips will reflect this address. That being said, you can also change the fulfillment location when fulfilling your orders; however, this method does need to be toggled for each order. 

Let me know if that helps!

 

Hey, @betefeliciano.

Though you can omit the ZIP code in some cases; however, most online checkouts will need the ZIP code for a PO Box, so that the system can apply tax calculations and shipping conditions to the order (or the shipping labels in this case). That being said, if you're running into a roadblock - I'd be happy to take a closer look.

Can you tell me more about which step isn't working for you? Or, share a screenshot of the issue?

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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ftracing
Excursionist
10 0 5

So has anybody from above thread been able to ship with a PO Box? I would think many shopify users are home based and want the privacy but I don't see that this has been resolved. 

Signed - Newbie to Shopify

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @ftracing.

Welcome to the Shopify Community Forums, my name is Elias! 

I can confirm that you can use your PO Box for privacy reasons, and we've covered how to set that up in earlier posts. To start, simply add your PO Box address to your Locations settings (Settings > Locations). After that, change the shipping origin to your PO Box in your Shipping profiles (Settings > Shipping and delivery > Manage).

We've also got a detailed guide to help with setting up your locations, you can find that right here. In addition, I'd recommend taking a look at assigning inventory to your locations and setting the priority of locations for fulfilling orders, as these functions often leads to something not working properly when overlooked. If you run into any roadblocks while trying to set up your locations, simply get back to me here and I'd be happy to take a closer look!

With that being said, did you create your store with Shopify yet? 

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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Alexsl
Visitor
1 0 0

Hello, Can you please help me set up my PO Box address on locations? I have tried setting up exactly as you explained ( PO Box 78, Riverside, CA, 92556) . I've tried it many other ways as well but it does not accept my po box address. I am located in the US. I hope this problem can be fixed, because my company is planning to start shipping from our PO box address. Please let me know who I can reach out to, to help us out with this issue.

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @Alexsl.

Thank you for joining this thread and sharing your PO Box address - That's extremely useful for me to help you with this!

I've double-checked your PO Box address on USPS - Look Up a ZIP Code and they weren't able to confirm your PO Box address. The information provided by USPS also confirms my the results when I added your address to my test store. According to USPS, PO Box 78 in Riverside has the 92502 Zip Code, whereas the 92556 Zip Code appears to be in Moreno Valley. 

Here's a screenshot from the USPS address lookup:

* There are some commercial addresses in the US has an extra 4-digit number at the end of their ZIP Code (eg. XXXXX-XXXX), which can help with the accuracy of finding the address. However, it's worth noting that not all addresses will have this.

Here's a screenshot from my test store:

* The suggested address only appears when the address was first added to the Locations settings. After leaving or refreshing the page, it'll only show the verification error without the suggested address. However, if you deactivate/reactivate or add a new location, it will be able to generate the suggested address again.

That being said, I've also tested the ZIP code suggested by USPS and I didn't run into any errors:

I'd love to help you get to the bottom of this; however, since we're seeing conflicting data from USPS -  Can you contact your post office and see if they can confirm the ZIP code for your PO Box?

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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gootra
Visitor
1 0 0

I have followed the steps in this thread and see my PO Box when I click on "Manage Rates", however my shipping label still has my home address. I tried removing rates for my home address, but then on my checkout screen this error appears for customers: "Shipping not available for the selected address."

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @gootra.

Thank you for joining the thread!

I understand you've followed the steps in this thread; however, the shipping label still has your home address and the checkout isn't able to display any shipping rates.

After adding the PO Box to the Location settings, you also need to change the shipping origin ('Settings > Shipping & delivery > Manage rates'). The shipping labels pulls the address from the shipping origin, so this should resolve the issue with your shipping labels. 

It's also important that you replicate the shipping rates from your home address, so the PO Box address has the same shipping rates. Once that's done, the error from in the checkout should also be resolved and you can deactivate your home address from the locations. 

Let me know if you're able to resolve the issue with this?

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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JTLABEL
Visitor
1 0 0

HI CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME SET UP MY PO BOX IM also having issues with adding a po box I did everything you said on the thread I changed it on locations and on shipping as well but its not being verified I tried putting in so many different ways and its not working. im launching tomorrow so ineed this resolved Im in the US. THE PO BOX 901584, 2220 E PALMDALE BLVD CA 93590-1584

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hi, @JTLABEL.

Welcome to the thread!

I've checked your address on the USPS Address Lookup and, using that information, I was able to verify the address you provided. It's worth noting that you can omit the street name and number for PO Boxes. 

Here's the info provided by the USPS Address Lookup:

02-49-3uhh1-2aftj

Here's the verified address from my test store:

02-54-u2fco-vrq56

Let me know if this helps you resolve the address verification?

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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sabs
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi,

I am unable to add the PO box having the address cannot be verified error. The PO box is located in UK/England and it can also be verified here. We have already opened shop and do have a few orders to fulfil but we do not wish for the house address to be leaked.

We have followed all the suggestions and steps in the whole thread to no avail.

Address format in in the locations page input as follows:

Po Box XXX

Leyland

United Kingdom XXXX XXX

 

With the first set of Xs as the Po box number and the next set the postcode.

 

Please advise.

Thank you

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hi, @sabs.

Welcome to the thread!

Sorry to hear that you're unable to verify your PO Box. While I'm unable to help check your PO Box, as that would require you to share the address. However, our Support team would be happy to assist you with this through live chat, email, or callback, this way you're not leaking the address on the Community Forums. To start a support request, please visit the Shopify Help Center and log in to your account. 

I'd love to know if our Support team can help you resolve the issue. Let me know!

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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lululucas
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi, I'm having trouble adding my PO Box to Locations.  Thus, I'm not able to create shipping labels with PO Box to hide my home address.

Here is the error I got:

Screen Shot 2021-08-29 at 3.01.49 PM.png

I really appreciate if someone can help me.

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hi, @lululucas.

Thank you for joining the thread!

I've tested your PO Box address in my test store and I wasn't able to replicate the same error. The only difference is that I typed in "PO Box" as opposed to "Po Box"; however, I'm not sure that is the cause of the problem. Are you able to try adding your PO Box using a different device or browser?

Here's a screenshot from my test store:

29-48-34402-48651

If this issue continues to persist, then it looks like we’ll need to access your account in order to resolve this issue. While we’re not able to provide account-specific support via the Shopify Community at this time, our Support team would be happy to continue assisting you with this through live chat, email, or callback. To get in touch with our Support team, please visit the Shopify Help Center and log in to your account to create a support request.

I'd love to know if you're able to resolve this issue using a different browser/device. Let me know!

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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LibraUnique
Tourist
3 0 1

Sorry that I'm super late, but if you haven't you do need to deactivate your home address so that you p.o box is the primary. Let me know if this helps.

LindyM
Tourist
4 0 1

Unfortunately it cannot be done which is frustrating.  If you have a sendle direct account then you can hide your address but it defeats the purpose of the shopify & sendle integration.

Yourprintplug
Visitor
1 0 0

I’ve changed my address to a P.O. Box but now it won’t let my customers check out? Anyone have the same issue?

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @Yourprintplug.

 

Thank you for joining the thread.

 

I understand your customers are unable to checkout since changing your address. Can you confirm if you've set the PO Box address as your primary location? Also, did you change the 'Shipping from' to your PO Box as well? 

 

If the issue continues to persist, then it looks like we’ll need to access your account in order to resolve this issue. While we’re not able to provide account-specific support via the Shopify Community at this time, we’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit the Shopify Help Center and log in to your account to create a support request.

 

I'd love to know if setting your primary location and shipping from address can resolve the issue. Keep me posted!

 

 

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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NBN
Tourist
3 0 0

Hello, I followed the instruction. When I input the PO Box, I get an error message saying I won't be able to print shipping labels.

shoot1stjb
Visitor
1 0 0

I’m having the same issue I tried to add multiple PO Boxes and the only address that works is my home address.

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @shoot1stjb.

Thank you for joining the thread. 

Since I don't have enough information to assist with checking your PO Box address, it looks like we’ll need to access your account in order to resolve this issue. While we’re not able to provide account-specific support via the Shopify Community at this time, we’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit the Shopify Help Center and log in to your account to create a support request.

Did you get a chance to try the solutions mentioned in my previous post?

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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LibraUnique
Tourist
3 0 1

Hi,

I don't know if this might help, but hat I did is I went into my settings and clicked on shipping and delivery. what I then proceeded to do was go down to packing slip template and hit edit. Go down to number 178 and enter P.O BOX(insert P.o box number). The go to number 179 and enter your city, state, zip code, and USA. I hope this helps, please let me know.

AmyNJeff
Visitor
1 0 2

I am having the same issue. I changed the store location to our PO box but when I did research it said that we had to have our actual address for the shipping or it will not process rates. and that was true because when I had the PO box it would not create rates. and now the shipping labels are showing our home address not our PO but the shipping slip has our po.  Please help. we really dont want our home address as the return address on our shipping labels. 

johnny_n
Tourist
4 0 0

Exact same issue here as mentioned above by @AmyNJeff 

johnny_n
Tourist
4 0 0

Actually @Bethlynne5 's answer above is the solution.  This worked!

loveeybly
Tourist
5 0 3

Hello, hopefully you reply...

I also hope you figure out.

You mentioned you update your address on the general settings with your po box. I was wondering if you wrote your address as Po box ## .. or did you write the PO box location address?? Hope makes sense

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @ProGaiters & @loveeybly.

Thank you both for joining the thread! Just to clarify, the address in the General Settings (Settings > General) is for billing purposes and isn't visible to your customers. The return address on the shipping labels uses the 'Ship from' address, located under the Shipping Settings (Settings > Shipping). However, in order to change this address, you'll need to add your PO Box address in your Locations Settings (Settings > Locations). After that, you'll be able to change the 'Ship from' address in the Shipping Settings. It's also important to note, if you have multiple locations - You may need to adjust your inventories for each location. 

As for the P.O. Box format, you can use the PO Box number (eg. PO Box ######).

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions or if you've run into any roadblocks, don't hesitate to let me know!

 

 

 

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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tsjones8
Tourist
3 0 1

Hello,

I am also having this issue with my PO box address not verifying. I have edited the format exactly as you instructed and tried other formats as well, but it will not accept it as the “ship from” address on my shipping labels. 

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @tsjones8.

Thank you for joining the thread! So that I can take a closer look, can you share how the address is formatted in your Locations settings?

Since this is a public thread and to protect your sensitive information, feel free to replace any numbers in your address with the number symbol (#).

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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tsjones8
Tourist
3 0 1

Thank you for your response, I have tried a couple of different variations so I will attach a photo of each. Look forward to getting this resolvedD42E4A10-D8A1-4B05-8EB0-AE87F9CF224F.jpeg

tsjones8
Tourist
3 0 1

C2BE22F8-BF98-49DA-BB23-49BF98CDA10E.jpeg

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @tsjones8.

Thank you for sharing the screenshots. As shown in figure 4 of Canada Post's Addressing Guidelines, you can omit the street address - Simply put "PO Box ####", City, State, Postal/ZIP code.

PO Box 2239
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35403-7372

 

Let me know if this helps with verifying your address!

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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LindyM
Tourist
4 0 1

Hi Elias,  I also have the same problem.  I included the PO Box ##### in the "address bar", I then placed the PO Box #### in the "apartment, suite bar".  But nothing is working.  I am located in Australia so not sure if that makes a difference.

Elias
Shopify Staff
2771 274 483

Hey, @LindyM.

Thank you for joining the thread! It shouldn't make a difference with Australian addresses. Can you check if the address can be verified by leaving the "Apartment, suite, etc" field empty? 

Example Format:

PO Box 2239
City, State/Province, Postal/Zip Code

If the issue persists, simply get back to me here and I'd be happy to take a closer look. 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Elias | Social Care @ Shopify 
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