What Address Validation does
Address Validation helps customers correct shipping-address problems before fulfilment. It can run during checkout, immediately after purchase, and when a customer returns to the Order Status Page.
It combines two layers:
Layer | What it checks | Billing |
|---|---|---|
Instant validation rules | Conditions such as missing house numbers, unsupported characters, restricted regions, and other rules configured by the store | Free |
Address verifier | A supported address-data provider checks the submitted address and can return a confirmed address, a suggested correction, or a request for clarification | Paid according to the store's Address Validation arrangement |
Rules run without a paid provider call. When a verifier is enabled and the order meets its conditions, Order Editing sends the address for verification and maps the result into one consistent customer experience.
The provider used can vary by store, country, and rollout configuration. Customer-facing documentation should therefore rely on the result shown by Order Editing rather than a particular provider name.
Where it can run
Surface | When the customer sees it | Shopify plan |
|---|---|---|
Checkout | While entering a shipping address, before payment | Shopify Plus |
Thank You Page | Immediately after placing the order | Supported on non-Plus plans |
Order Status Page | When returning to review or edit the order | Supported on non-Plus plans |
Checkout validation uses a checkout extension and therefore requires Shopify Plus. Post-purchase validation can be used without Shopify Plus.
What customers see
The exact wording follows the store's configuration and language, but a verifier can produce four broad outcomes:
- Verified: the submitted address is accepted.
- Suggested correction: Order Editing shows a corrected address that the customer can review and accept.
- Clarification needed: the customer is asked to check a field, such as a street number, unit, locality, or postal code.
- Not verified: no reliable correction is available, so the customer is asked to review the address.
Customers can normally keep their original address. A separately configured validation rule can warn or block when a store needs stricter handling for a specific condition.
If a verifier is unavailable or times out, Order Editing records the result and allows the purchase or editing flow to continue rather than making a third-party service a single point of failure.
How this differs from autocomplete
Address autocomplete and address verification solve different problems.
- Autocomplete helps a customer enter an address faster by suggesting matching places.
- Verification checks the completed address and can identify corrections or missing delivery information.
- Validation rules enforce the store's own requirements, such as blocked regions or required address details.
A store can use autocomplete and Order Editing Address Validation together. Autocomplete improves entry; Order Editing applies the configured rules and verifier at the appropriate point in the journey.
Usage controls
Order Editing provides controls that help focus paid checks:
- choose the surfaces where verification runs;
- add conditions for markets, order values, or customer groups;
- run free instant rules before a paid verifier;
- limit repeated verifier calls during checkout;
- reuse a cached result when the same address is entered again in a supported session;
- set a monthly spending cap when using per-verification billing.
Billing arrangements
For standard self-serve billing, paid verification uses country-based pricing:
Destination | Price per paid verification |
|---|---|
United States | $0.01 USD |
Australia | $0.015 USD |
United Kingdom | $0.03 USD |
New Zealand | $0.03 USD |
Other listed countries and Rest of World | $0.05 USD |
The Address Validation card on Plan & billing is the current source for the store's available rates. The setup starts with a monthly spending cap. When that cap is reached, paid verification pauses; checkout and post-purchase editing continue.
Some eligible stores have a fixed monthly Address Validation arrangement instead of per-verification Shopify usage charges. Development stores can also have test access. The Address Validation dashboard shows the arrangement configured for the current store.
Set it up
Use Getting Started with Address Validation to choose surfaces, add rules and verifier conditions, configure billing, and test the customer experience.
