Automation Rule Criteria and Actions

Updated October 19, 2026 17:00

You can think of Automation Rules like IF/THEN statements: IF an order meets the criteria, THEN ShipStation will take the requested action.

Below you will find a reference for all the available criteria, and actions for ShipStation Automation Rules.

Available Automation Rule Criteria

Criteria	Description
Address Verified	The address verification system processed the address and returned a Verified, Warning, or Error status. Caution There is not currently a way to select multiple values for this criterion in a single line. If you want automation to apply when an address is verified as a Warning or an Error, you must have two automation rules - one for each value.
Address Line 1	The first line of the address.
Address Line 2	The second line of the address.
Amount Paid	The amount paid by the customer.
Assigned User	The specific user assigned to this order.
Brand	The Company Name associated with the order from your client. Caution For 3PL accounts only.
Buyer ID	Customer identifier imported from the marketplace - typically the username or email address.
Customer	The name of the customer (formerly Buyer Name).
Carrier	Carrier and/or Postage Provider.
City	Ship To City.
Custom Field 1	Refers to the Custom Fields within an order. Data can equal, contain, start with, end with, or be blank.
Custom Field 2
Custom Field 3
Country	Ship To country. Caution When you create a rule to apply to domestic shipments the criteria field for the rule will automatically adjust to `International Order = False`.
Date Paid	The date the payment was made.
Deliver by Date	Deliver By Date helps a merchant decide which service or carrier to use to ensure the delivery time is met.
Gift Order	Is the This is a gift option checked in the order?
International Order	Any order with a Ship To country located outside of your account's home country is considered International.
Internal Notes	Data can equal, contain, start with, end with, or be blank.
Item Name	The name of the order item. Caution Automation Rules using item specific criteria will not apply to orders that have more than one line item in the order. Because of this, we recommend that you add tags to your product records and use the product tag as automation criteria. See the FAQ article, How do I create Automation Rules for Multi-product Orders? for more details.
Item SKU	The SKU of the order item. Caution Automation Rules using item specific criteria will not apply to orders that have more than one line item in the order. Because of this, we recommend that you add tags to your product records and use the product tag as automation criteria. See the FAQ article, How do I create Automation Rules for Multi-product Orders? for more details.
# of Line Items	The number of unique line items in the order - not to be confused with Total Quantity.
Marketplace	The marketplace the order imports from.
Notes to the Buyer	Refers to the Notes fields within an order. Data can equal, contain, start with, end with, or be blank.
Notes from Buyer
Order Date	The date the order was placed.
Order #	The Order Number as displayed in ShipStation.
Order Import Time	The time an order initially imports into ShipStation.
Order Source	The original source of the order when importing orders from a Shopping Cart, Inventory Solution, etc.
Order Subtotal	The cost of the order prior to calculating customer’s shipping charge and taxes. Caution Automation Rules using Order Subtotal as criteria will not apply to Shopify orders that import into the On Hold status.
Order Tags	Tags that have been added to the order. Caution If you select multiple tags as the value in a single criteria line, then the rule will apply when any of the selected tags are on the order. If you only want the rule to apply if all tags are present, each tag should have its own criteria line.
Order Total	The cost of the order, including shipping fees and taxes. Caution Automation Rules using Order Total as criteria will not apply to Shopify orders that import into the On Hold status.
Order Weight	Total order weight. Caution Automation Rules using Order Weight as criteria will not apply to Shopify orders that import into the On Hold status.
Package	The package type selected for the order.
Payment Method	How the order paid for: Credit card, C.O.D., etc. Caution This criterion is only available in ShipStation Legacy.
Postal Code	Ship To postal code.
Recipient Company	Ship To company name.
Recipient Name	Ship To recipient name.
Requested Service (Mapped)	The carrier/service/package the requested service has been mapped to in ShipStation.
Requested Service (Marketplace Value)	The carrier/service/package that the customer selected for the order during checkout.
Residential / Commercial	Address has been verified as residential or commercial.
Shipping Account	Which Shipping Account is defined - My Account, Third Party, or Recipient?
Shipping Paid	The shipping cost paid by the customer.
Ship By Date	The already-defined Ship By Date from the marketplace.
Ship from Location	The defined Ship From Location.
State	Ship To state.
Store	The store where the order imported from.
Tax Paid	The tax amount paid by the customer.
Total Quantity	Total number of items in order. Caution Automation Rules using Total Quantity as criteria will not apply to Shopify orders that import into the On Hold status.
USPS Zone	USPS Zone based on Ship From and Recipient postal codes.
Warehouse Location	The Warehouse Location outlined in the product defaults for the order item. Caution Automation Rules using item specific criteria will not apply to orders that have more than one line item in the order. Because of this, we recommend that you add tags to your product records and use the product tag as automation criteria. See the FAQ article, How do I create Automation Rules for Multi-product Orders? for more details.

Available Automation Rule Actions

Action	Description
Add Note to the Buyer…	Adds text to the Notes to Buyer field in the order.
Add a Tag...	Adds the specified tag(s) to the order
Add an Internal Note…	Adds notes to the Internal field in the order. Caution If your store sends Internal Note, Custom Field #1, Custom Field #2, or Custom Field #3 to ShipStation, an action that sets the same note field will override the note imported from the store. However, if the store refreshes and includes the same order information, ShipStation will update the order to match the store. In this situation, it's best to update these notes directly in the store and let it flow into ShipStation via a store refresh.
Adjust the Order Weight…	Adds a specific amount to the order weight based on what you select in the rule setup. Caution This rule can only be applied to an order once. It will not run when automation rules are manually reprocessed.
Assign to a user…	Assigns the order to a designated user in the ShipStation account.
Bill Int’l Duties to Payor of Shipping Charges	Marks the duties of the order to be billed to the shipper instead of the recipient. Check with your carrier to find out how they will bill those charges.
Block Amazon Logistics	Enables the Block Amazon Logistics shipping option for the shipment. This action will only be present if FBA is connected to the ShipStation account.
Charge Shipping to 3rd Party…	Designates a third-party account as the payor of shipping charges. This option requires the shipping service to have already been applied to the order.
Charge Shipping to My Account…	Designates your pre-selected shipping account as the payor of the shipping charges. Caution Only use this action if you have multiple accounts connected to ShipStation for a single carrier, like two FedEx accounts. When used, this action will allow you to set which account should be used to create the label. If a shipping service is already selected for the order but does not match the services provided by the carrier account set by this action, ShipStation will clear the order's shipping service. If you only have a single account connected for each carrier, this action is not necessary.
Collect Payment on Delivery (C.O.D.)...	Applies the Cash On Delivery (C.O.D.) option to the order (not supported by all carriers).
Create an Alert…	Creates an order alert with customized information.
Do Not Notify Marketplace of Shipment	Prevents ShipStation from sending the Marketplace Notification.
Do Not Prepay Postage (Endicia Only)	Automatically selects Do Not Prepay Postage from Other Shipping Options for the matched order.
Don’t Import the Order	Removes the order from ShipStation and prevents future imports of the same order from that selling channel connection. Warning If this action applies to an order, the order will be set to an inactive status in our database and removed from view and all reporting in ShipStation. Once this action applies to an order it cannot be undone. It locks the order out of ShipStation completely. Even if you delete the rule, re-importing the store's orders or using the Reprocess Automation Rules button will have no effect.
Enable Saturday Delivery (UPS / FedEx)	Automatically selects Saturday Delivery from Other Shipping Options for the matched order.
Enable Shipper Release (UPS only)	Automatically selects Driver may release package without signature in Other Shipping Options for the matched order.
Hold Until…	Places matching orders on hold until a specific date.
Hold Indefinitely	Places matching orders on hold indefinitely.
Hold the Order for…	Places matching order on hold for a specific number of days.
Include a Return Label with the Outbound Label	Generates a return label when the outbound label is created.
Insure the Package…	Automatically assigns a specific insurance provider to the matched order.
Mark Shipment(s) as “Non-Machinable”	Automatically marks the matched order as Non-Machinable This action typically results in a surcharge.
Prepay Duties and Taxes	Currently available only for US to Canada shipments using USPS First Class International service. Automatically assigns one of the following two options to the shipment: Recipient Pays on Delivery The recipient will be responsible for paying any duties or taxes on the shipment before receiving it. Prepay Duties and Taxes $6.95 You will pay $6.95 in addition to the label fee. Your customer will not be responsible for any duties or taxes before receiving their shipment.
Request Confirmation…	Assigns a specific confirmation type to the order.
Send an email…	Sends an email to designated email addresses when the rule runs. Caution This rule can only be applied to an order once. It will not run when automation rules are manually reprocessed. This action sends the email immediately when the order imports. If you want to adjust the shipping confirmation email ShipStation sends at the time of label creation, use the Use email template for Shipment Notification… action instead. When setting this action, you can either send the email to a specific email address or use the customer or store's email address. This action sends the email immediately when the order imports. If you want to adjust the shipping confirmation email ShipStation sends at the time of label creation, use the Use email template for Shipment Notification… action instead. Subscription Plan Requirement This feature is not available on all subscription plans. To access this feature, you may need to upgrade your plan. To learn which features are included with your plan, visit Learn About ShipStation Subscription Plans. To upgrade your plan, go to `Settings > Account > Payment & Subscription`.
Send Orders to the Picking Queue	Sets matching orders to the Ready to Pick status.
Set Carrier/Service/Package…	Assigns a Carrier/Service/Package to the matched order.
Set Custom Field 1…	Adds a note to Custom Field 1. Caution If your store sends Internal Note, Custom Field #1, Custom Field #2, or Custom Field #3 to ShipStation, an action that sets the same note field will override the note imported from the store. However, if the store refreshes and includes the same order information, ShipStation will update the order to match the store. In this situation, it's best to update these notes directly in the store and let it flow into ShipStation via a store refresh.
Set Custom Field 2…	Adds a note to Custom Field 2. Caution If your store sends Internal Note, Custom Field #1, Custom Field #2, or Custom Field #3 to ShipStation, an action that sets the same note field will override the note imported from the store. However, if the store refreshes and includes the same order information, ShipStation will update the order to match the store. In this situation, it's best to update these notes directly in the store and let it flow into ShipStation via a store refresh.
Set Custom Field 3…	Adds a note to Custom Field 3. Caution If your store sends Internal Note, Custom Field #1, Custom Field #2, or Custom Field #3 to ShipStation, an action that sets the same note field will override the note imported from the store. However, if the store refreshes and includes the same order information, ShipStation will update the order to match the store. In this situation, it's best to update these notes directly in the store and let it flow into ShipStation via a store refresh.
Set Customs Content Type…	Assigns the content type of your order’s customs declarations.
Set Declaration Statement (FedEx only)	Sets declaration statement that will be used on customs documents for FedEx international shipment.
Set Fulfillment Provider…	Selects the fulfillment provider and offers the option to automatically send the order to that provider. Caution This action will set the fulfillment provider for the order. This action also gives the option for ShipStation to automatically send a fulfillment request to the provider upon import of the order. The portion of the action that sets the fulfillment provider will apply again if you reprocess automation rules, but the action that automatically sends the request will not. If you encounter an error when sending the automatic fulfillment request, ShipStation will retain the order in the Awaiting Shipment status. You will then need to use the manual Send Fulfillment action to request fulfillment again.
Set International Non-Delivery…	Selects the action that should be taken when an international shipment cannot be delivered.
Set Importer of Record	Adds the requested importer of record from your international settings.
Set Notifications (Royal Mail / Parcelforce)	Enables the SMS and Email notification feature available with Royal Mail and Parcelforce shipments. Not currently available for other carriers. For this action to apply to a shipment, Royal Mail or Parcelforce must already be set as the carrier. This may require additional automation that will set the shipment's carrier before a rule with this action applies.
Set Movement Indicator (Windsor Framework)	Sets the Windsor Framework movement indicator on the order.
Set Package Dimensions…	Sets the length, width, and height of your order.
Set Rate Shopper	Select a Rate Shopper Service and Package Caution You must have at least one rate shopper service created in your Shipping Settings.
Set Service Level (Royal Mail)	Sets the Royal Mail service level.
Set Ship By Date	Sets the Ship By Date in your Order.
Set Ship From Location…	Sets the Ship From Location in your order.
Set Tax Identifiers	Adds a Tax ID number from your International Settings to your customs declaration.
Set the Dry Ice Weight (UPS / FedEx)	Sets the Dry Ice Weight in the order. Does not alter the order's weight.
Set the Order as Containing Alcohol (FedEx)	Automatically selects This order includes alcohol in Other Shipping Options for the matched order.
Set the Order as Containing Dry Ice (UPS / FedEx)	Selects that the order includes dry ice, but does not set the weight.
Set the Total Order Weight…	Defines the total weight of the order (different from Adjust Order Weight).
Show Postage Paid on the Label	Displays the price of the postage on the label for the matched order.
Stop Processing Rules for the Order	Stops any automation rules that follow this rule from running on that order.
Update Ship Date	Updates the ship date for the order.
Use Blank Box	Enables the Use Blank Box option for an FBA shipment. This action will only be present if FBA is connected to the ShipStation account.
Use a specific Packing Slip…	Assigns a selected packing slip to the matched order.
Use email template for Delivery Notification…	Assigns a selected email delivery template to the matched order.
Use email template for Shipment Notification…	Assigns a selected email shipment confirmation template to the matched order.

Available Automation Rule Criteria

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Available Automation Rule Actions

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