Shipping carriers have different address format requirements when shipping to United States territories and possessions. Some carriers may also require customs paperwork. You’ll be prompted to complete it when necessary (see Customs Declarations in Shippo).
USPS
The USPS requires the recipient address to list the United States in the Country field and the two-letter abbreviation for the territory or possession in the State field (see below). This will allow you to see domestic shipping service levels with the USPS.
Shipments to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not go through customs since it is a domestic packages, and so a customs declaration is not needed.
To opt out of customs:
- Click into the order.
- Open the Customs options dropdown.
- Navigate to Advanced options and click Edit.
- Scroll to the bottom of the sidebar and check the box next to This shipment qualifies to be exempt from customs.
Shipping from Puerto Rico and other US territories to the United States follows the same procedures outlined here for USPS shipments.
DHL Express, UPS, and FedEx
Please use the territory or possession abbreviation in the Country field to generate rates with these carriers.
A customs declaration will be required.
Abbreviations for U.S. Territories and Possessions
AS: American Samoa (includes Manua Island, Swain’s Island, and Tutila Island)
GU: Guam
MP: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (includes Rota Island, Saipan Island, and Tinian Island)
US: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
VI: U.S. Virgin Islands (includes St. Croix Island, St. John Island, and St. Thomas Island)
If you are shipping to Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc., and are not seeing rates with the carrier you wish to use, please check the formatting of your Recipient Address in your order.
Many buyers will enter their shipping address with Puerto Rico, for example, listed in the country field when they check out in your shopping cart. Then, the order syncs over to your Shippo Orders Page with Puerto Rico in the country field. You must return the country to the United States and the state field to PR.
To modify an address while creating a label, please click on the Edit Recipient link in the Recipient box at the bottom of the Order Details screen. After making the updates, be sure to click the Save button.