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Hide Shipping Quotes for PO Boxes

Set up rules to hide shipping options for orders using PO Box addresses

Table of Contents

Overview

Many carriers, including UPS and FedEx, won't deliver to PO Boxes. We recommend creating a shipping rule in your ShipperHQ account to hide shipping estimates for customers using a PO Box as their delivery address. For more details on UPS's shipping address requirements, please see here. The steps below will guide you through creating a hide rule to prevent shipping quotes for PO Boxes. It's also recommended to configure USPS in your account so that shipping can still be quoted when a PO Box is used for the destination address. Learn more about adding USPS to your ShipperHQ account here. 😊

Setup

  1. On the Shipping Rules page, click the +New button
    Click New to create a new shipping rule.
  2. On the rule type menu, select Hide Methods
    Location to select Hide Methods as the action for the shipping rule.
  3. Select each shipping method to be hidden by this rule. If you have many carriers and shipping methods, it's often easier to select all and then deselect any USPS methods you'd still like to offer for PO Box addresses
    Example showing how to select shipping methods to which the rule will apply.
  4. When prompted to enter the conditions for this rule, select Shipping Zones
    Location to select Shipping Zones as the condition for the rule.
  5. On the next screen, select the Shipping Zone “US PO Box” under the Shipping Zones Include field
    Example showing how to configure shipping zones for the rule.
  6. After selecting the shipping zone and proceeding, a summary of the shipping rule will display. Be sure to add a title for the new rule so it can be identified easily in the shipping rules list and when testing
    Example showing summary of the shipping rule.
  7. Click Finish to save the new rule. This applies the rule immediately.
  8. Once the rule is created, we recommend using the “Test your Rates” feature to confirm the setup. With this Shipping Rule, all selected shipping methods will hide if the customer enters a PO Box in the US as their address. ✅

Magento: Setup Error Message

For Magento platforms, when a rule is set to "Hide Shipping Methods," you can also set an error message to display when the rule is active:

  • Check the “Show Error Message when this Rule Applies” box under the Advanced Tab
    Setting up error message under Advanced panel of the shipping rule.
  • Enter the error message you want to display.

Exceptions

  1. FedEx limits deliveries for PO Boxes to FedEx Ground Economy. Please review our FedEx carrier installation guide to use FedEx Ground Economy with your ShipperHQ Account.
  2. If you'd like to offer USPS shipping for PO Boxes only, configure this directly with USPS. Navigate to USPS and scroll to the Carrier Service Area section, then select US PO Box
    Configuring USPS for PO Boxes only.

This setup means USPS rates will only be used when a customer enters a PO Box as their delivery address. 😊