BUG - state required for countries that don't have states

[RobC]

Pretty obvious bug

[CaraAdmin]

Hello RobC!

Thank you for your post. I looked into this for you and didn't think it would be a bug. If the state field is a requirement for a shipment, it would be the carrier, not ShipStation, that requires this. I can understand how confusing it can be if the country doesn't have a state. I would contact support@shipstation.com and give them the list of countries you have issues with. 

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

[RobC]

Hi Cara,

Thanks for the response. I did email shipstation support but they don't seem to understand the issue.

It's not a carrier specific problem. Shipstation itself requires a state be entered for all shipments. You can't get past the address entry screen without entering a state regardless of whether or not you have a carrier selected.  USPS and UPS do not require states for countries that do not have them.

[CaraAdmin]

Hello RobC!

Thank you for the reply! I reached out to support and got someone who will contact you to get this figured out. If this is not a bug, then we will be able to log it as a feature request!

Thank you and happy shipping!

-Cara

[cy]

It's a common bug we encounter frequently. For instance, Singapore is a country that doesn't have states.

[RobC]

Yeah many countries don't.  Are your orders imported via the API from another system?  I don't use Shopify myself, but I see that Shopify's shopping cart doesn't even have a state field for countries that do not have states, so I'm curious how those orders would be imported into Shipstation & what happens when you do an edit in Shopify before shipping.  I believe an order can be created via the API without the state field, but it seems that an UPDATE via the API fails without a state.  So in our case, our orders are created correctly but when we make an API call from our order processing system to set the package weight, dimensions, etc it fails without a state.  

The response I received from shipstation support today was that this isn't a bug and that it's a carrier requirement, which doesn't make any sense at all. It simply is not a carrier requirement.  FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc do not require you to enter address information that doesn't exist 🙂

[RobC]

Hi Cy,

I'm going in circles trying to explain this issue to Shipstation support.  They keep telling me that all countries use state/province/or the equivalent in their shipping addresses. They've referred me to an ISO website to look up prefectures, zones, counties, etc for counties that simply do not use this information in their shipping addresses.

Are you using an ecommerce platform like shopify?

I've checked websites using 4 different ecommerce platforms, including Shopify and Big Commerce and none of them actually collect state/province for countries that do not use them (Singapore, Israel, Luxembourg and others).

The odd thing is that the Shipstation API will allow for creation of the order without this information, so it doesn't reject orders coming from shopify/etc but if you try to edit the address it will prevent you from doing so without entering a state. Likewise, if you update the order via the API (which our order processing system does to set the dimensions and weight), the API call will fail without this information.  It does not allow a null value or a space.  Our workaround is entering a period for the state field.

It's just maddening the number of times I've gone back and forth with support to explain why this makes no sense. 

[CaraAdmin]

Hello, @RobC!

Thank you for your post! Based on insights from our developers and support team, the required fields we receive come directly from the selected carrier. As a workaround, for countries that don’t have a city, you can simply enter "0" in that empty field if no state is required. 

If you run into any issues please feel free to reach out to support@shipstation.com.

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

[RobC]

Let’s say for the sake of argument that USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Israel Post, the International Postal Union, and major shopping cart platforms are wrong and your developers and support team are correct.

You DO allow for creation and shipment in these countries without a state, but an edit from the shipstation.com UI requires it and an API update FAILS without state.

How does this make any sense?

I wish you guys would log this as a bug.  I'm sure not all of your customers have control of external systems that interface with your API to perform updates on an order prior to shipment.

[jakewolf]

Has there been any update to this? Currently trying to create a manual order for Sweden and am facing the exact same problem. 

[gafana]

I found on another forum post that if you just put a 0 for the state, it works fine.  I was having the same problem with some shipping labels I was just trying to print going to the Philippines and putting a 0 for the state did the trick.

[HM1]

It is a bug.  I have been told for 3 years it will be fixed.    

[stephen10]

Yup, trying to ship to Croatia now and it wants a state??? No such thing there. 

I'm also not able to print with GlobalPost Plus with some strange validation error... I'm suspecting that it might have to do with this field, since everything else is normal.   I can print a label for the next expensive option, but that's $10 more and bites into my profit.   

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @stephen10!

Thank you for your post in the community! We understand how frustrating this issue can be. One suggestion from our Development team, which I mentioned in an earlier comment, is to try entering a "0" in that state field to see if it allows you to proceed with printing your shipping label.

Let me know if this works for you. If not, I am happy to contact support to try further troubleshooting. 

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

[SockDreamsRobyn]

Oof - I've been trying to report this issue to Shipstation also and have had no luck with getting the "required state" field on international shipments recognized as a bug or an issue. 

IMO - adding "0" in that field to get past the state field isn't an acceptable solution and widens the margin for delivery issues by international couriers. 

[RobC]

You can enter a period instead of a zero. If you're making address changes in another system that synchronizes with Shipstation and have access to the API you'll want to do that there too.  The odd thing is, you can create an order without entering a bogus state via the API, but if you try to do an update via the API it will fail.

[jobrien]

I am having the same problem now! Multiple times we have struggled with addresses for international orders. The address verification is terrible and the required "state" field is a nightmare for these! So far we have struggled with Saudi Arabia, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Portugal. We need a fix ShipStation!!

[pathcoffee]

I am having the same issue with Israel. Adding a zero returns "0 is not a valid state for the specified shipment." How am I supposed to create a manual order to send something to and from Israel? Your system should be smart enough to know what countries do and do not have states. You are in the shipping business; this seems like just the basics. Need a solution asap. 

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @pathcoffee!

Thank you for your post! We truly appreciate you bringing this to our attention. If the "workaround” option isn’t working for the state field, our support team at support@shipstation.com is the best next step.

They’ll be happy to walk you through detailed troubleshooting, help identify the cause of the issue, and escalate as needed, providing solutions tailored to your specific setup. If you’re able to include screenshots, sample orders, or any error messages you’re seeing, it can help them dive in even faster and get you back on track.

Thanks again for reaching out—we’re always here to support you!

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @pathcoffee!

I wanted to follow up because I saw that you also reached out to our support team, and I thought it would be helpful to share the clarification in the Community for anyone else who may encounter the same question.

It appears that you were attempting to create a shipment from Israel. ShipStation currently supports accounts based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Germany.

To clarify: You can ship to Israel, but shipments from Israel are not currently supported.

However, the workaround process you mentioned is still valid. As a reminder, for countries that don’t require a city or don’t have a state field, you can enter "0" in the empty city field if no state is required.

If you have any additional questions, we’re always happy to help!

Happy Shipping!

-Cara