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Reference

Shipping Checkout Options

Last Updated: July 02, 2026

Overview​

The Shipping Checkout Options page provides granular control over how shipping-related elements behave during customer checkout. Settings here govern address validation, delivery preferences, shipping estimate display, fulfillment routing, and optional premium address verification.

UltraCart offers two distinct levels of address validation, both configured from this page:

  • Built-in city/state/zip validation: included with all accounts. Uses Geocodio to confirm that the city, state, and zip code combination entered by the customer is valid. This check runs silently in the background and does not prompt the customer to modify their address. Controlled by the "Disable U.S.P.S. Address Standardization" setting under Shipping Address Behavior.

  • Full address standardization via Smarty Streets: an optional, merchant-configured integration. Verifies the complete shipping address, including street number and unit information, and can prompt the customer to accept a corrected version (for example, an updated zip+4 or a corrected suite/apartment designation). Requires a Smarty Streets account and API credentials. See the Smarty Streets Address Verification section below, and the separate Smarty Streets Integration Guide for full setup details.

Location: Main Menu > Configuration > Checkout > Shipping > Checkout Options

Configuration Categories​

CategoryDescriptionPrimary Function
Customer Delivery PreferencesManages options that let the customer control delivery timing and instructions.Enables customer-selected ship and delivery dates and special delivery notes.

| Setting | Description |

SettingDescription
Default Shipping to Residential AddressWhen customers are given the option to specify a residential or business shipping address, enabling this sets the default to Residential. Customers can still change it to Business if applicable.
Force Shipping to Residential AddressRemoves the Business Address option from checkout entirely. Useful for merchants who prefer not to ship to business addresses due to potential carrier surcharges.
Use this carrier to determine residential address flagWhen selected, UltraCart queries the specified carrier (e.g., FedEx) to determine whether an address is residential, rather than relying on what the customer selects during checkout.
Loose P.O. Box restriction checkBy default, UltraCart's P.O. Box check looks for "P" at the beginning of the address and "box" anywhere within it. Enabling this loose check treats an address as not a P.O. Box if it contains "box" but also has an entry in Address Line 2. This helps prevent issues with carriers like UPS and FedEx, which do not deliver to true P.O. Boxes.
Disable U.S.P.S. Address StandardizationControls UltraCart's built-in city/state/zip validation. When unchecked (the default), UltraCart uses Geocodio to verify that the city, state, and zip code entered by the customer form a valid combination. This validation runs silently. It does not prompt the customer to modify their address and does not process the street address. Check this box only if you want to disable this background validation entirely. For full address standardization that prompts the customer to accept a corrected address, see Smarty Streets Address Verification.

Shipping Estimates & Method Visibility​

SettingDescription
Only show the lowest cost shipping methodOffers the customer a single shipping method at checkout: the cheapest one available for their cart and address. Use it when you want every order to ship the least expensive way without asking the customer to choose. See How the lowest cost method is chosen below.

How the lowest cost method is chosen​

  • Coupons count. UltraCart compares each method's price after shipping coupons are applied. If a coupon makes a normally more expensive method free, that free method is the one the customer sees.
  • Ties. When two methods cost the same, UltraCart keeps the one that would have been listed first: the earliest estimated delivery, then ground or home delivery.
  • Delivery dates. If the customer picks a delivery date, they see the cheapest method that can still arrive by that date.
  • Where it applies. The single method is shown everywhere a customer sees shipping estimates, including the multi-page and single-page checkouts, StoreFronts and the checkout API, and the PayPal Express shipping options.
  • Where it does not apply. Orders with locked shipping (for example, an accepted quote) keep their locked method. Back End Order Entry (BEOE) still lists every method, so your staff can choose any of them.
  • Carrier sorting. With only one method shown, Display Estimates by Carrier and then Cost has no visible effect while this setting is on.

| Setting | Description |

| Setting | Description |

SettingDescription
Enable Smarty Streets address verificationActivates the integration. All other settings in this section require this to be checked.
Auth IDYour Smarty Streets Auth ID. Type a new value to replace the masked stored credential.
Auth TokenYour Smarty Streets Auth Token. Type a new value to replace the masked stored credential.
Verify the shipping address at checkoutWhen enabled, UltraCart submits the customer's shipping address to Smarty Streets for verification during checkout.
Offer the corrected address as a suggestionWhen a discrepancy is found, the customer is shown the Smarty Streets-corrected address and given the option to accept it. If unchecked, verification runs silently without customer interaction.
When the customer will not provide a verified addressControls what happens if the customer declines a corrected address or their address cannot be verified. Options include allowing the order to proceed or blocking it until a valid address is provided.
Enable address autocompleteEnables server-side address autocomplete as the customer types in the shipping address fields. No embedded client-side API key is required, because all requests are proxied through UltraCart's servers.
Monthly autocomplete request limitSets a cap on the number of autocomplete requests sent to Smarty Streets per month. Enter 0 for unlimited. Useful for controlling API costs.
Monthly verification request limitSets a cap on the number of address verification requests sent to Smarty Streets per month. Enter 0 for unlimited.
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