Details about ShipStation's integration with FedEx. Includes integration requirements, connection process, features, notes, and troubleshooting.
ShipStation supports FedEx international services for our Australia-based merchants. Our FedEx integration allows you to create labels with your FedEx account contract rates.
If you do not yet have an account, go to the FedEx open an account page to create one!
Connection Requirements:
An active account with FedEx.
Your FedEx account number.
Your FedEx account shipping address (located in your FedEx account admin details).
The email address and phone number associated with your FedEx account.
To ship internationally, you must also upload a signature and letterhead image file to ShipStation. See the Upload Letterhead and Signature section below for details.
International Requirements:
Commercial Invoices are automatically generated by FedEx and sent electronically (if supported by the destination country). You may be required to upload a header and signature image in ShipStation for some countries.
DDP is supported.
ShipStation will send your EORI and VAT numbers when creating your label.
To connect your FedEx account to ShipStation:
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Select the FedEx tile and click Connect.
Read through the FedEx End-User licence Agreement and click I Accept.
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Fill out your FedEx Account No and default Shipping Address.
If you do not know your FedEx Shipping Address:
Log in to your FedEx account and click on your profile name. Then go to
Administrative Tools > FedEx Accountsand click on your account number. The FedEx Shipping Address will be listed on this page. Enter an Account Nickname to help you identify the account in ShipStation.
Click Connect.
ShipStation's integration with FedEx supports these standard features:
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Common ShipStation Features
*PDF provided only for FedEx Ground Shipments that meet certain criteria. See Additional Features below. |
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ShipStation's integration with FedEx allows for these additional features when you use standard FedEx services:
In addition to the features listed above, the following can be enabled by ShipStation Support.
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
FedEx Retail Rates |
If this setting is enabled, the estimated rates you'll see when you Get Rates in ShipStation will reflect FedEx's retail rates. You'll still be charged based on your FedEx account, and the Carrier Fee for generated labels will reflect the estimated cost of the label based on your account. |
Bypass ETD |
If this setting is enabled, ShipStation will not attempt to submit customs information through ETD. You will be responsible for providing any necessary customs documents to FedEx. |
For services that support label messages, Label Message 1 will print in the REF (Reference) field, Label Message 2 will print in the INV (Invoice) field, and Label Message 3 will print in the PO (Purchase Order) field.
Example:
Label Messages will also print on the commercial invoice for international shipments. Label Message 1 will print in the Special Instructions field, and Label Message 3 will print in the Purchase Order No field.
Label Message 2 is not used for commercial invoices. Instead, ShipStation submits the Order Number as Invoice No.
Example:
To simplify the process of international shipping, FedEx uses Electronic Trade Documents (ETD). ETD submits international documentation (like customs forms) electronically and you no longer have to print and attach documents to the shipment. To use the FedEx ETD option in ShipStation, you must add your letterhead and signature images to your account.
Image Requirements
Both Letterhead and Signature images must be in either GIF or PNG format.
Dimensions for the Signature image are a maximum of 240 x 25 pixels (3.5 x 0.5 in).
Dimensions for the Letterhead are a maximum of700 x 50 pixels (7.5 x 1.6 in).
See the FedEx Instructional Help Guide for step by step instructions on how to create a signature image.
To upload:
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Click Settings on your FedEx account.
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Use the Select a File and Upload buttons to upload your signature and letterhead images.
Click Confirm.
You can now ship international parcels with FedEx and your international documentation will be sent electronically!
ShipStation does not support "Cash Only" FedEx account types. You must be on a billed account to connect FedEx with ShipStation.
The Ship Date for created labels must be within 10 days of the current date.
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If you include carrier insurance and the declared value exceeds $500, FedEx will require a Direct Signature for delivery regardless of the confirmation option selected in ShipStation.
This requirement will apply to each package valued at over $500 in a multi-package shipment, thus adding Direct Signature fees to those packages. If this multi-package shipment has only one master tracking number, check with FedEx billing support for details about the signature requirements/fees for each individual package.
The international setting Sign Customs As does not apply to FedEx shipments. Instead, customs forms will be signed using the Return Name from the Ship From Location.
When you get rates for FedEx on a Saturday, a Saturday-Pickup fee will be included in the estimated rate. This fee will only apply when the package is actually picked up on a Saturday.
Label Message 3: To use Label Message 3, you must also use Label message 1 and 2.
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The Drop Off Type you select in the FedEx carrier settings can affect estimated rates. We recommend that you choose the same Drop Off Type you and your FedEx representative set up to use with your account. The available options are as follows:
Regular Pickup: The shipper already has an every-day pickup scheduled with a courier.
Request Courier: The shipper will call FedEx to ask for a courier.
Drop Box: The shipper will drop the package in a FedEx dropbox.
Business Service Centre: The shipper will drop off the package at an authorized FedEx business service centre.
Station: The shipper will drop off the package at a FedEx Station.
Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
Issue |
How to troubleshoot or resolve |
|---|---|
The tracking number, barcode, and other information are absent from the label. |
This issue can happen if the address or label messages contain special or Unicode characters not supported by FedEx. In these cases, we submit the information to FedEx and FedEx creates a shipment as expected, but the label image itself is corrupted and multiple details are absent. To resolve the issue, you'll need to void the shipment, then correct the information as needed.
The most common cause of this issue is a line-break Unicode character in Address Line 1. This character is not visible in the ShipStation interface, but it's still sent to FedEx when you create the label. To fix the character, completely erase Address Line 1 and retype it manually. Once corrected, create a new shipping label. |
Negotiated rates do not appear in ShipStation |
If your FedEx account has negotiated rates enabled, you will first need to create a FedEx label through ShipStation's Rate Calculator. Once you have done so, ShipStation will then display your account's negotiated rates. If you do not need to use the label created via the Rate Calculator, simply void the label afterwards. If your negotiated rates still do not appear in ShipStation, remove and re-add your FedEx account in |
Error "Unable to register meter: Shipping address provided does not match our records" when getting rates or creating labels |
To create FedEx labels, ShipStation must register each Ship From Location in your account with FedEx. This registry creates a meter number that we store on our backend. If a Ship From Location does not have a meter number yet, ShipStation will attempt to register it when you get rates or create a shipment. This error message occurs when the address we're using to register does not match the FedEx account's Shipping Address. There are two ways you should try to resolve the error:
To ensure it worked, go back to the Orders tab and try to get a rate for the same order that returned the error. The error message should disappear and display a rate from FedEx. If you updated your Ship From Location, you can edit it again and set it back to your actual Ship From Address. We only need the address to match FedEx's Shipping Address when we register the Ship From Location for the meter number. |
Error "Unable to create FedEx shipment. Drop off type is not allowed" when creating return labels. |
This error usually occurs when your FedEx account is set to use a Drop Off Type that FedEx does support for return labels. To resolve this issue, you'll need to change the Drop Off Type selected for your FedEx account. Go to You can then create return labels as needed. After you create your return labels, we recommend you set the Drop Off Type back to whatever you normally use. |
Error "FedEx: Commodity # - Commodity is required" when creating international shipments. |
This error message occurs because customs information is absent from the shipment, or the customs declaration contains characters that FedEx cannot process. The # in the error will indicate which customs line is causing the error. To resolve this error, open the order details and ensure customs information exists for the shipment. If no customs declarations exist, add them to resolve the error. If the customs declarations are present, check for any special characters (like # $ or ’) and remove them. |
Error "Unable to create FedEx shipment. Incomplete commodity description #." when creating international shipments. |
This error means the customs description for an item did not meet FedEx's keyword criteria and must be more descriptive. Update the customs declaration to clarify what the international shipment includes. The # will point to which customs line is causing the error. See FedEx's page on Commodity Descriptions for more details. |