Ship to Puerto Rico and US Territories

ShipStation Content Team

Updated September 13, 2024 17:27

USPS, UPS, DHL, and FedEx require packages going from the US to US territories (like Puerto Rico) to follow certain address formats to get rates or create shipping labels. In some cases, you'll need to fill out customs declarations, even though the carrier considers the shipment to be domestic.

Puerto Rican flag on pole in front of blue sky

Typically, USPS providers will require the country to be listed as the United States, while UPS and FedEx will require the country to be the territory name (which is often also in the State field). See the below sections for details by carrier.

USPS

USPS requires the two-character abbreviation for the state/region and United States for the country.

Use the state codes and country shown in the table below when shipping to each location. When shipping to any of the locations listed in this table, you will use a domestic service.

If shipping to ...	State/Region Code	Country
American Samoa	AS	United States
Guam	GU	United States
Marshall Islands	MH	United States
Micronesia	FM	United States
Northern Mariana Islands	MP	United States
Palau	PW	United States
Puerto Rico	PR	United States
US Virgin Islands	VI	United States

Here's an example of what a USPS shipment to Puerto Rico should look like:

Ship To fields: City, State, PostalCode, & Country fields for USPS shipment to Puerto Rico.

Specifics about shipping to a US Territory or Possession

For shipments exceeding $2,500 you will need Electronic Export Information.
Shipments to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not go through customs since they are domestic packages, and so will not require customs forms with the shipment.
Shipping from Puerto Rico and other US territories to the United States follows the same procedures outlined in this section for USPS shipments. The Ship From address country should be set to United States.
For USPS shipments going to Puerto Rico Highway Contract Routes: The correct address line information follows this format: HC 1 BOX 18. Please eliminate additional designations, such as the names of sectors.

FedEx SmartPost & UPS Mail Innovations

FedEx SmartPost and UPS Mail Innovations services are hybrid services with the USPS that have their own requirements when shipping to U.S. Territories.

For some territories, you must use the full territory name in the State/Region field. Some territories are considered international shipments, so please choose an international service in those cases.

Here's a table for your reference:

If shipping to ...	State/Region	Country	Additional Details
American Samoa	American Samoa	American Samoa	Choose an international service & declare customs
Guam	Guam	United States	Choose a domestic service & declare customs
Northern Mariana Islands	MP	Northern Mariana Islands	Choose an international service & declare customs
Palau	PW	Palau	Choose an international service & declare customs
Puerto Rico	PR	United States	Choose a domestic service & declare customs
US Virgin Islands	Virgin Islands	United States	Choose a domestic service & declare customs

Important

You must declare customs regardless of whether the service is considered international or domestic.
If the option to declare customs is not available in the order's details, change the country from United States to another country option. Then, refresh the browser window. The Customs Declarations section should now be available. Enter the appropriate customs information into the order. You may need to uncheck the auto-correct option during this process.

FedEx, UPS, & DHL

FedEx, UPS, and DHL (Express and Ecommerce) generally require the two-character abbreviation for the state/region and the full territory name for the country. FedEx SmartPost and UPS Mail Innovations services are the exceptions to this (please skip to the next section if using SmartPost or Mail Innovation services).

Use the state codes and country shown in the table below when shipping to each location. When shipping to any location listed in this table, you will use an international service. You must also print the customs declaration and include it with the shipment.

If shipping to ...	State/Region	Country
American Samoa	American Samoa	American Samoa
Guam	Guam	Guam
Marshall Islands	MH	Marshall Islands
Micronesia	FM	Micronesia
Northern Mariana Islands	MP	Northern Mariana Islands
Palau	PW	Palau
Puerto Rico	PR	Puerto Rico
US Virgin Islands	Virgin Islands	US Virgin Islands

Here's an example of what a FedEx/UPS/DHL shipment to Puerto Rico should look like:

Sample address for shipping to Puerto Rico. State/Region = P R PostalCode is 5 digit with 4 digit extension, Country = Puerto Rico

International-Only Services

UPS, FedEx, and DHL shipments going to or from Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories require international services. ShipStation will show these by default. However, the shipping rate will be the domestic rate.
You must declare customs for these shipments.
If the option to declare customs is not available, change the recipient country from the United States to another country option. Then, refresh the browser window. The Customs Declarations section should now be available. Enter the appropriate customs information into the order. You may need to uncheck the auto-correct option during this process.

List of US Territories and Their Abbreviations

US Territory	Abbreviation
American Samoa	AS
Guam	GU
Northern Mariana Islands	MP
Palau	PW
Puerto Rico	PR
U.S. Virgin Islands	VI
Marshall Islands	MH
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands*	UM

*Minor Outlying Islands are: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Navassa Island, Wake Island