Address Validation
Address Validation lets you define rules that check the customer’s shipping address before an order is placed. If the address matches your rule’s conditions, checkout is blocked and the customer sees your custom error message.
This is useful for stores that ship to restricted areas, need to prevent orders to PO boxes, or want to enforce address format requirements.
Settings (per rule)
Section titled “Settings (per rule)”| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Validation name | Internal label for this rule |
| Status | Active or Inactive |
| Conditions | Address field conditions that trigger the block |
| Condition logic | Block when any condition matches or all conditions match |
| Error message | Message shown to the customer when checkout is blocked |
Conditions are evaluated against the shipping address. The condition builder supports address fields (city, province, country, zip, address lines, company, first/last name) as well as customer attributes.
How to set up
Section titled “How to set up”- Go to Address Validations and click Create validation.
- Give the rule a name.
- Build your conditions: define which address values should trigger the block.
- Choose the condition logic (any or all must match).
- Enter the error message the customer will see.
- Toggle the rule active.
- Click Save.
Managing rules
Section titled “Managing rules”- The listing shows all rules with their active/inactive status.
- Toggle rules on/off without deleting them.
- Delete a rule to remove it permanently.
- Maximum of 25 validation rules per store across address and order validation combined.
- Works on checkout, thank-you page, and order status page.
Use cases
Section titled “Use cases”| Scenario | Conditions to set |
|---|---|
| Block PO Box deliveries | Address line 1 contains PO Box OR Address line 1 contains P.O. Box (use “Any” logic) |
| Restrict to specific countries only | Country is not your list of served countries |
| Block specific zip code ranges | Zip starts with restricted prefix |
| Require a company name for B2B shipping | Company is empty (block if no company entered) |
Best practices
Section titled “Best practices”- Write error messages that tell customers what to do next: “We don’t ship to PO Boxes. Please enter a home or business address.”
- Use “Any” logic when blocking as one match is enough to catch variations.
- Test both a matching address (should be blocked) and a valid address (should proceed) before going live.
- Name rules clearly (e.g. “Block PO Box”) so you can audit them without opening each one.
When to use this vs Order Validation
Section titled “When to use this vs Order Validation”| Address Validation | Order Validation |
|---|---|
| Blocks based on where the order ships: address fields (city, zip, country, address lines) | Blocks based on what is in the cart or who the customer is: cart total, product tags, customer tags |
| Use for shipping restrictions (regions, PO boxes, unsupported countries) | Use for cart-level rules (minimum order, restricted product combos, fraud signals) |