Shipping Restrictions
Table of Contents
Overview
UltraCart provides four independent layers of shipping restriction controls. Each operates at a different scope: the entire store, a specific shipping method, a sub-country geographic area, or an individual item. Understanding which layer to configure — and in what combination — is essential for correctly restricting where orders can be shipped.
Allowed Countries
Location: Home → Configuration → Allowed Countries
This is the broadest restriction layer. It defines the set of countries to which your store will accept orders at all. If a country is not selected in this list, customers with a shipping address in that country cannot complete checkout — UltraCart will not present any shipping methods or allow the order to proceed, regardless of what individual shipping methods are configured.
Scope: Store-wide. Applies to every shipping method and every checkout path.
Effect of removing a country: Any customer with an address in that country will be unable to place an order. No shipping method will be shown to them.
Shipping Method Restrictions
Location: Home → Configuration → Checkout → Shipping → Methods → [Shipping Method] → Restrictions
Each shipping method can have its own country restriction list. This controls which countries are eligible for that specific method. If a country is permitted globally (via Allowed Countries) but excluded from a specific method's restrictions, that method will not appear at checkout for orders shipping to that country. Other methods that do allow the country will still appear normally.
Scope: Per shipping method only. Does not affect other methods or the ability to place an order.
Effect of restricting a country on a method: The method disappears from the shipping method selector for that destination. The customer can still complete checkout if at least one other shipping method covers their country.
Important: If all shipping methods are restricted from a particular country, the customer will be unable to select a shipping method and cannot complete checkout — even if that country is listed in Allowed Countries.
Destination Restrictions
Location: Home → Configuration → Checkout → Shipping → Destination Restrictions
This layer provides sub-country geographic control. It is used to block or restrict shipping to specific regions within a country — states, provinces, territories, or postal code ranges. It does not operate at the country level.
Scope: Sub-country. Applies to states, provinces, or postal code patterns within an otherwise-allowed country.
Common use cases:
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Blocking shipment to PO Boxes (where a carrier cannot deliver)
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Restricting certain states for regulatory reasons (e.g., products that cannot legally ship to specific states)
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Excluding territories or non-contiguous regions from standard shipping rates
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Applying postal code-based exclusions for remote areas where a carrier has surcharges or delivery limitations
Item-Level Destination Restrictions
Location: Home → Catalog → Items → [Item] → Shipping → Restrictions
Individual items can carry their own destination restrictions independent of the store-level and shipping method settings above. When an item in the cart has a restriction that matches the shipping destination, that item cannot be shipped to that location — even if the destination is fully permitted at every other layer.
Scope: Per item. Only affects orders that contain the restricted item. Other items in the same cart are not affected by another item's restrictions.
Common use cases:
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Products with state-level legal restrictions (e.g., certain supplements, knives, or agricultural products that cannot be sold in specific states)
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Hazardous materials with carrier or regulatory shipping limitations
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Products under geographic exclusivity agreements that limit where they can be sold
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Items that require a specific license or age verification not available in certain regions
Note: Item-level restrictions operate independently of store-level Destination Restrictions. Both can coexist. If an item is restricted from a state, that restriction applies regardless of whether the store-level Destination Restrictions say anything about that state.
How the Four Layers Interact
The four restriction layers are evaluated in order from broadest to most specific:
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Allowed Countries is checked first. If the destination country is not on the allowed list, checkout is blocked immediately.
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Shipping Method Restrictions are evaluated next. Only methods that allow the destination country will appear at checkout.
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Destination Restrictions (store-level) are applied next. Even if a country is allowed and a shipping method covers it, a store-level destination restriction can block the specific state, province, or postal code.
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Item-Level Destination Restrictions are applied last. If any item in the cart has a restriction matching the shipping destination, that item cannot be shipped there — regardless of what the store-level settings allow.
A customer must pass all four layers to successfully place an order.
When to Use Each Setting
| Goal | Setting to Use |
|---|---|
| Prevent orders from shipping to a specific country entirely | Allowed Countries — remove the country |
| Prevent a specific shipping method from being available in a country | Shipping Method Restrictions — remove the country from that method |
| Block a specific carrier from delivering to PO Boxes | Destination Restrictions (store-level) — add a postal code pattern rule |
| Restrict all products from shipping to certain US states | Destination Restrictions (store-level) — add state-level rules |
| Restrict a single product from shipping to certain US states | Item-Level Destination Restrictions on that item |
| Offer expedited shipping only to certain countries | Shipping Method Restrictions on the expedited method |
| Limit your store to domestic orders only | Allowed Countries — select only your home country |
| Comply with geographic exclusivity or legal restrictions on a specific SKU | Item-Level Destination Restrictions on that item |
Troubleshooting
Shipping method not appearing at checkout for a valid destination
Symptoms: Customer reports no shipping options are shown even though the destination country is allowed.
Diagnosis:
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Confirm the destination country appears in Allowed Countries.
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Check each shipping method's Restrictions tab — verify the country is included in at least one method.
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Check Destination Restrictions for any sub-country rules that may be blocking the specific state or postal code.
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Verify the shipping method is active and assigned to the correct distribution center.
Customer unable to complete checkout despite correct Allowed Countries setting
Root cause: All shipping methods may be restricted from the destination country via per-method Restrictions, effectively blocking checkout even though the country is globally allowed.
Solution: Ensure at least one active shipping method includes the destination country in its Restrictions settings.
Item cannot be added to cart or shipped to a specific state despite correct store-level settings
Symptoms: A specific product is blocked at checkout for a state or region even though the store-level Destination Restrictions do not include that location.
Root cause: The item itself has a destination restriction configured at the item level that overrides the store-level settings.
Diagnosis: Open the item in the catalog editor and check its Shipping → Restrictions tab for any state or postal code rules.
Solution: Remove or adjust the item-level restriction if it was configured in error, or leave it in place if the restriction is intentional (e.g., regulatory compliance).
Orders placing successfully to a country you intended to block
Root cause: The country was removed from a specific shipping method's Restrictions but was not removed from Allowed Countries.
Solution: Remove the country from Allowed Countries to enforce a store-wide block.
Related Documentation
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Shipping Methods Configuration — Setting up and managing shipping methods
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Checkout Configuration Overview — Full checkout configuration reference