Editing Restrictions
Editing Restrictions let you enforce rules that prevent customers from editing specific orders, products, or product options. While your editing deadline controls when editing stops, restrictions control what can be edited.
Use restrictions to lock down made-to-order items, hide certain product options during edits, block orders from specific sales channels, or prevent editing on products with certain SKUs or tags.
You'll find this at Settings > Editing Restrictions.
ℹ️ Note: Restrictions apply on top of your existing settings. An order must pass the editing deadline, fulfillment conditions, Order Editing Rules, and restriction checks before editing is available.
How Restrictions Work
When a customer opens the editing interface, Order Editing checks all active restrictions against the order. There are two levels of restriction:
- Order-level restrictions block editing on the entire order. If an order matches a sales channel restriction, fulfillment location restriction, or restricted order tag, the customer cannot edit anything on that order.
- Product-level restrictions block editing on specific line items while leaving other items editable. If a product matches a restricted product tag, attribute, SKU, or variant title, only that item is locked. The customer can still edit other items in the same order.
The Editing Restrictions page has 10 configurable sections, organized from order-level restrictions at the top to product-level restrictions and advanced settings at the bottom.
Order-Level Restrictions
These restrictions block editing on the entire order. If any of these match, the customer cannot edit the order at all.
Sales Channel Restrictions
Prevent customers from editing orders placed through specific sales channels. This is useful when certain channels require special handling or have different return policies.
How to configure: Use the Search sales channels field to find and select channels (e.g. TikTok, Shopify Inbox, POS). Orders placed through any selected channel will be blocked from editing.
💡 Example: A brand selling on TikTok Shop blocks editing for TikTok orders because those orders follow a separate fulfillment and returns process managed by TikTok.
Fulfillment Location Restrictions
Block order editing for specific fulfillment locations. This is useful for restricting pickup orders or orders from certain warehouses that have special processing requirements.
How to configure: Use the Search shop locations field to find and select locations. Orders assigned to any selected location will be blocked from editing.
💡 Example: A merchant with a 3PL warehouse that starts processing immediately adds that location here so orders routed there can't be edited after placement.
Restricted Order Tags
Completely block order editing for orders with specific tags. This is the broadest restriction, as it locks the entire order from any modifications.
How to configure: Enter comma-separated tags in the Order Tags field (e.g. OrderEditing:Disable, fraud:high). Orders with any of these tags cannot be modified by customers.
Use this for high-risk orders, special promotions, or orders requiring manual review. Tags can be applied manually in Shopify admin or automatically via Shopify Flow.
💡 Example: A Shopify Flow tags orders as fraud:high when the fraud risk score exceeds a threshold. Adding that tag here automatically blocks editing on flagged orders while they're reviewed.
Product-Level Restrictions
These restrictions block editing on specific line items. The restricted product is visible in the order but the customer cannot modify it. Other products in the same order remain editable.
Restricted Product Tags
Prevent individual line items from being edited based on Shopify product tags. Products with these tags will be locked from modifications while allowing other items in the order to be changed.
How to configure: Enter comma-separated product tags in the Product Tags field (e.g. Digital, Preorder). Any product with a matching tag will be locked.
💡 Example: A store tags custom embroidery products as made-to-order and digital download products as Digital. Adding both tags here prevents customers from modifying those items after purchase, since they can't be restocked or reversed.
Restricted Product Attributes
Prevent line items from being edited based on product attributes (metafield-style keys). Products with these attributes will be locked from modifications while allowing other items in the order to be changed.
How to configure: Enter comma-separated product attributes in the Product Attributes field (e.g. __size, __color, __texture, __checkout_upsell).
💡 Example: A checkout upsell app adds a __checkout_upsell attribute to items added at checkout. Adding this attribute here locks those upsell items from being edited, preventing customers from gaming the upsell by removing the original product and keeping only the discounted add-on.
Restricted Product Options
Hide specific product option types from customers during editing. This doesn't lock the entire product. It hides a particular option (like "Size") so customers can't change it, while other options remain editable.
How to configure: Enter comma-separated option names in the Product Options field (e.g. Size, Color, Texture). These option types will be hidden during editing across all products.
💡 Example: Entering "Size" prevents customers from changing the size of any product during editing, while still allowing them to change other options like color. Useful when size changes trigger different inventory allocations or packaging requirements.
Restricted Product Options by Value
Block specific option values from being selected during editing. Unlike Restricted Product Options (which hides the entire option type), this hides individual values within an option.
How to configure: Enter comma-separated option values in the Product Options field (e.g. Red, Blue, Green). These specific values will be hidden across all products during editing.
💡 Example: Entering "Red" hides the red color option across all products. This is useful for managing inventory when a specific color is out of stock or for seasonal restrictions where certain options shouldn't be available.
Hidden Product Variants by Title
Hide product variants from customers during edits based on text in their titles. Matching is partial by default, meaning any variant whose title contains your search term will be hidden.
How to configure: Enter comma-separated search terms in the Product Variants field (e.g. Pre-order, Limited Edition, Staff). Any variant whose title contains one of these terms will be hidden.
Toggle Use exact match instead of partial match if you want variant titles to match your search terms exactly rather than just containing them. When disabled (default), "Limited Edition" will hide variants like "Limited Edition - Blue" and "Limited Edition - Red". When enabled, it will only hide a variant titled exactly "Limited Edition".
💡 Example: A store has "Staff" variants available at a discount for employees. Adding "Staff" here hides those variants during editing so regular customers can't switch to the staff pricing tier.
Restricted Product SKUs
Block editing for products with specific SKUs. This prevents customers from modifying particular products, ideal for controlling access to exclusive items or products with special handling requirements.
How to configure: Enter comma-separated SKUs in the Product SKUs field (e.g. SKU1, SKU2, SKU3). SKU matches must be exact.
💡 Example: A limited-edition collaboration product has SKU COLLAB-2024-001. Adding it here locks that specific variant from being edited, while other variants of the same product remain editable.
Advanced
Disallow Free Items to Be Edited
When enabled, this toggle prevents customers from editing line items that have been discounted to zero cost. This protects promotional items, free gifts, and heavily discounted products from being modified or removed.
Toggle this on in the Advanced section at the bottom of the Editing Restrictions page.
ℹ️ Note: This setting only protects the free item itself. It does not re-evaluate whether the customer still qualifies for the free gift if they remove paid items. To fully protect gift-with-purchase offers, see the FAQ below.
Special Tags
Order Editing recognizes two special tags that control editing behavior without needing to configure them on the Editing Restrictions page.
The editing-disabled Product Tag
Add the editing-disabled tag to any product in Shopify to lock it from editing. Customers will not be able to add, remove, swap, or change the quantity of that item. The product remains visible in the order but can't be interacted with. The tag applies to all variants of the product.
- In Shopify Admin > Products, open the product you want to lock.
- Add the tag editing-disabled in the Tags field and save.
- The product is now locked. No configuration needed in the OE app.
The editing-disabled tag blocks product-level edits (add, remove, swap, quantity) but customers can still cancel the order unless you separately disable the Cancellation module. The tag must be set at the product level, not the variant level.
The orderediting:partial Tag
Add the tag orderediting:partial to an order to restrict it to non-transactional edits only. This allows address changes, cancellations, and contact updates, but blocks all product-level changes (adds, removes, swaps, quantity changes).
This is different from the Disallow customer edits Flow action, which removes the editing widget entirely. The partial tag keeps the widget visible but limits what the customer can do.
Scenario | How to Apply |
Multi-currency / non-base currency orders | Use Shopify Flow: trigger on Order created, condition checks shipping country, action adds the tag. |
Orders with duty lines (Global-E, Swap) | Shopify blocks total-changing edits on duty orders automatically. The partial tag ensures the UX is clean. |
Bundle orders you cannot safely edit | Apply via Flow when bundle SKUs are detected. Allows address changes but prevents component swaps. |
Quick Reference
Restriction | Scope | Effect |
Sales Channel Restrictions | Entire order | Blocks all editing for orders from selected channels |
Fulfillment Location Restrictions | Entire order | Blocks all editing for orders at selected locations |
Restricted Order Tags | Entire order | Blocks all editing for orders with matching tags |
Restricted Product Tags | Line item | Locks products with matching tags |
Restricted Product Attributes | Line item | Locks products with matching attributes |
Restricted Product Options | Option type | Hides entire option types (e.g. "Size") during editing |
Restricted Product Options by Value | Option value | Hides specific option values (e.g. "Red") during editing |
Hidden Product Variants by Title | Variant | Hides variants matching search terms |
Restricted Product SKUs | Line item | Locks products with matching SKUs |
Disallow Free Items | Line item | Locks items discounted to $0 |
FAQ
What Can Customers Edit on Subscription Orders?
Customers can add a new non-subscription product as a one-time purchase, change their shipping address, cancel the order (if enabled), and apply a discount code. They cannot remove, swap, or change the quantity of a subscription line item. Subscription items are governed by the contract between the customer, your store, and the subscription app (Recharge, Skio, etc.). Any upsell items added via Order Editing are one-time charges only and will not appear in future recurring orders.
What Can Be Edited on Multi-Currency and Duty Orders?
Orders with duty lines (Global-E, Flavorcloud, Swap) cannot have their totals changed. This is a Shopify platform limitation. Address changes (same country only), contact updates, cancellation, and tax invoice downloads still work. For multi-currency orders, Shopify applies FX rates rather than contextual market prices when adding items, so use the orderediting:partial tag via Flow for affected markets.
How Do I Prevent Gift-With-Purchase Abuse?
The "Disallow free items to be edited" setting only protects the free gift itself. It does not re-evaluate whether the customer still qualifies when they remove paid items. To fully protect gift-with-purchase offers: (1) Tag GWP orders at creation via Shopify Flow. (2) Add that tag under Restricted Order Tags or apply the orderediting:partial tag. (3) Add a second Flow to auto-cancel if the order total drops to zero or only the GWP value remains.
What's the Difference Between Restrictions, Rules, and the Disallow Flow Action?
Editing Restrictions (this page) control what can be edited based on product attributes, tags, SKUs, and order properties. Order Editing Rules control when and how editing behaves based on conditions like shipping method, location, or order value. The Disallow customer edits Flow action completely removes the editing widget. Use restrictions for product-level control, rules for order-level behavior, and the Flow action for total suppression.
How Do I Test My Restrictions?
Tag a test product with your restriction tag (e.g. "Digital"), place a test order containing that product, and open the editing interface. The restricted product should be locked. If the order also contains unrestricted products, verify those remain editable. For order-level restrictions like Order Tags, the entire editing interface should be blocked.
Are Tag Matches Case-Sensitive?
Yes. Tags must match exactly, including spelling and casing. "MadeToOrder" and "made-to-order" are different tags. Double-check your formatting in both Shopify and the Editing Restrictions settings.
✅ Restrictions work alongside your other settings. An order must pass the deadline, fulfillment conditions, Order Editing Rules, and restriction checks before editing is available. They add precision, not complexity.
