Shopify Shipping new policy within US to US territories

[annarosa]

Aquí tienes la traducción al inglés para tu post en la comunidad de Shopify:

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I am from Puerto Rico, and I want to know if anyone has had issues purchasing shipping labels on Shopify. Today, when I tried to buy labels for my orders, Shopify showed me the following message for shipments within Puerto Rico:

"Customs information is required to ship products internationally. Edit customs information."

As if shipments to Puerto Rico were international. This has never happened to me before—my shipments have always been considered domestic.

Additionally, I contacted Shopify support, and this is what they told me—something I haven't seen anywhere in the Shopify Help Center nor have I received any notification about this change:

"I totally understand that one, however, this is actually a new policy within the U.S. to U.S. territories. The recent requirement for HS codes when shipping to U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and Guam, is a new policy that affects domestic shipments. This means that even though these locations are part of the U.S., they now require customs information similar to international shipments. This change is part of Shopify's updates to comply with shipping regulations. As a result, you will need to include HS codes for your products when purchasing shipping labels for these destinations."

Has anyone experienced this or knows more about it? I have multiple stores, and the same thing is happening on all of them. However, I tested an order by adding the HS code and manufacturer information, and it allowed me to purchase the label at the same price as before, not at an international rate.

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Espero que esto te ayude a obtener respuestas en la comunidad de Shopify. ¡Déjame saber si necesitas ajustes! 😊

[AlexandraGz]

I had the same issue today and got a similar reply from Shopify support. I can’t even buy labels for orders that are shipping from one city to another here in Puerto Rico. 

These are the replies I received from Shopify support:

“As of 07/02/2025, domestic shipping label purchases within the US shipping to US territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam, require the same customs information as international shipments.”

“If you want to print a Shopify/USPS shipping label specifically for Puerto Rico, you need to ensure that the necessary information is added in your settings. Alternatively, for all shipping labels going to Puerto Rico, you may need to create those labels outside of Shopify to bypass any limitations with the current integration.”

“Our Developers are aware of this but have not provided a fix beside adding the customs information as asked or printing a label outside of Shopify for the Puerto Rico.”

[annarosa]

Hi, thanks for the answer. Hi, I was also thinking that since Shopify is from Canada, it might have something to do with the tariff situations that President Trump is imposing on Canada, Mexico, and China.

[Frances3]

That is probably it, a way to retaliate. At least for now with the HS code it ships. Hopefully it stays that way

[Frances3]

Hello Annarosa, 

Same thing happened to me just now and I solved it just as you did, wrote the HS code for my product and it allowed me to purchase the label. I have to say it was a very frustrating experience, not knowing what to do. I received no advanced warning or notification. At first I thought it was a mistake since just yesterday I fulfilled a few orders with no problems whatsoever. So I contacted their chat and received the same message as you did. But they had no idea how to allow me to continue with my orders and insisted I needed to fill a customs and HS code starting July 2, 2025. (but today is Feb 12, 2025!) They also wrote, "not only that, USPS international services have a limit of three line items for customs forms. If you ahve more that three different products or variants in an order, only three products will be in the form, although total weight will be accurate." What? all this to ship to TAMPA!  they also states "merchants are required to add customs information to their products, which includes a 6 digit HS code and detailed description of each item in the shipment". Why is this needed anyway? Is this a USPS requirement now? or just shopify being annoying? I am very upset. Finally, as I wrote before, I added the HS code and was able to fulfill. Really....why is this necessary? 

[NickH1]

Still unresolved. Cannot ship from Cont US to Guam regardless of HS code.

[MarianasMunch]

Hafa Adai from the CNMI here. We are having the same issue with our shop. We added the HS code but still cannot purchase a label. Shopify has no answers and does not know why this is happening. I have multiple tickets on this issue as going to a third party and purchasing labels is highly inconvenient. What the heck is going on?