Fulfillment staff can't purchase UPS labels, only USPS (using Shopify Shipping)

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment
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Topic summary

Store owners are unable to grant fulfillment staff access to purchase UPS shipping labels through Shopify Shipping, despite having the correct permissions enabled (“Fulfill and Ship” and “Buy Shipping Labels”). Staff can only process USPS labels (or Canada Post/Purolator in Canada), while admin accounts can access UPS without issues.

Suggested troubleshooting steps:

  • Navigate to Settings → Shipping and delivery → Carrier accounts
  • Verify UPS is activated under Shopify Shipping (not just USPS)
  • Test label generation as admin to confirm it’s not a store-level setup issue
  • Permissions appear correct; no additional UPS-specific toggles exist

Current status: The original poster has not resolved the issue and moved on to other priorities. A second user confirmed experiencing the identical problem, indicating this may be a broader platform limitation rather than a simple permission setting.

Summarized with AI on October 24. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello! My two fulfillment center staff members are currently unable to purchase/print anything other than a USPS shipping label using Shopify Shipping rates. I’m trying to figure out how to give them permissions to purchase/print UPS shipping labels using Shopify Shipping rates (I don’t have an account/negotiated rates with UPS).

Attached is a video of my fulfillment guy showing the issue he encountered. They don’t have this problem when trying to purchase/print a USPS label. In the Users and Permissions settings, I have already checked “Fulfill and Ship” and “Buy Shipping Labels” for both of them.

2

Hello Suzanne, have you found a solution to this?

I am experiencing the same issue. I am using Shopify Shipping rates and my fulfillment account has the “Fullfill and Ship” and “Buy Shipping Labels” permission. But when they go to process an order using UPS they are blocked by not having authorization and can only process using Purolator or Canada Post. When I sign into my admin account I can process orders using UPS without issue.

I have been trying to find UPS related permissions to resolve this issue but have been unsuccessful.

3

Hi Tara - unfortunately, no. I have so many other things going on that I couldn’t afford to spend any more time trying to figure this out. If you learn of a solution or workaround, please let me know. Thanks!

4

Hey @SuzanneFontaine,

This one usually comes down to Shopify Shipping account setup rather than staff permissions. If UPS isn’t appearing as an option when your team goes to buy a label, it means your store isn’t yet connected to Shopify’s own UPS account (or your own negotiated one, if you had one). A couple of things to check:

  • Go to Settings → Shipping and delivery → Carrier accounts and make sure UPS is activated under Shopify Shipping. If only USPS is toggled, then that’s why your staff can’t see UPS.

  • If UPS is active, try running a test fulfillment yourself under your admin account. If you can’t generate UPS rates either, the issue isn’t with staff permissions—it’s with the store setup.

  • Permissions-wise, you’re right: “Fulfill and Ship” + “Buy Shipping Labels” is all they need. There’s no hidden toggle for “UPS only”

Hope this helps a bit! If it does, feel free to mark it as a solution so others can find it too :slightly_smiling_face: