Details about ShipStation's integration with FedEx. Includes integration requirements, connection process, features, notes, and troubleshooting.
ShipStation supports FedEx domestic and international shipping for merchants based in Germany, allowing you to use your contract rates with FedEx when creating labels.
Schedule next-day pickups directly in ShipStation for your Fedex shipments. For international shipments, you can take advantage of the Delivered Duties Paid (DDP) and Electronic Trade Documentation (ETD) features! Review the Available Features section to learn about the variety of options the ShipStation integration with FedEx provides.
If you do not yet have an account, go to the FedEx open an account page to create one!
Connection Requirements:
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An active account with FedEx.
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Your FedEx account number.
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Your FedEx account shipping address (located in your FedEx account admin details).
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The email address and phone number associated with your FedEx account.
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To ship internationally, you must also upload a signature and letterhead image file to ShipStation. See the Upload Letterhead and Signature section below for details.
International Requirements:
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Commercial Invoices are automatically generated by FedEx and sent electronically (if supported by the destination country). You may be required to upload a header and signature image in ShipStation for some countries.
To connect your FedEx account to ShipStation:
ShipStation integration with FedEx supports these standard features:
The ShipStation integration with FedEx allows for these additional features when you use standard FedEx services:
In addition to the features listed above, the following can be enabled by ShipStation Support.
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
|
FedEx Retail Rates |
If this setting is enabled, the estimated rates you see when you Get Rates (in the rate calculator or the shipping sidebar) will display the FedEx retail rates. However, FedEx will still charge you based on your FedEx account negotiated rate and the Carrier Fee displayed in the Shipments grid will display the actual estimation from FedEx based on your account's negotiated rate. |
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Bypass ETD |
If this setting is enabled, ShipStation will not attempt to submit customs information through ETD. You will be responsible for providing any necessary customs documents to FedEx. |
You can schedule a pickup of your FedEx Ground or FedEx Express shipments within the ShipStation app. These instructions outline how to schedule and the requirements to ensure a timely pickup.
Requirements
To ensure that FedEx can accept the pickup request, the shipment must meet these requirements:
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Total package weight cannot exceed 150lbs.
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Maximum number of packages for a single pickup request is 99.
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Include the latest time your package can be picked up or your company’s close time.
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FedEx Ground Pickup can be scheduled for the next business day or any business day up to 2 weeks in advance.
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FedEx Express pickup can be scheduled for the current or next business day.
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If you need to schedule a pickup for both FedEx Express and FedEx Ground packages, you need to schedule a pickup for each of the services individually.
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You cannot edit a pickup request. To change a request, you must delete the original request and enter a new request.
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For FedEx Ground and FedEx Express pickups, you may request an alternate pickup address other than the shipping location attached to the FedEx account number. An additional surcharge will apply.
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If you already have a regularly scheduled pickup, it is not necessary to schedule a one-time pickup or to add another regularly scheduled pickup.
Scheduling a Pickup
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Select FedEx from the Schedule a Pickup drop-down menu.
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Fill out the required information on the Schedule a Pickup form.
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Click Schedule a Pickup to complete the request.
Surcharges do not display in ShipStation!
ShipStation will not display any additional fees that the FedEx pickup request may charge.
For services that support label messages, Label Message 1 will print in the REF (Reference) field, Label Message 2 will print in the INV (Invoice) field, and Label Message 3 will print in the PO (Purchase Order) field.
Example:
Label Messages will also print on the commercial invoice for international shipments. Label Message 1 will print in the Special Instructions field, and Label Message 3 will print in the Purchase Order No field.
Label Message 2 is not used for commercial invoices. Instead, ShipStation submits the Order Number as Invoice No.
Example:
To simplify the process of international shipping, FedEx uses Electronic Trade Documents (ETD). ETD submits international documentation (like customs forms) electronically and you no longer have to print and attach documents to the shipment. To use the FedEx ETD option inShipStation, you must add your letterhead and signature images to your account.
Image Requirements
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Both Letterhead and Signature images must be in either GIF or PNG format.
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Dimensions for the Signature image are a maximum of 240 x 25 pixels (3.5 x 0.5 in).
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Dimensions for the Letterhead are a maximum of700 x 50 pixels (7.5 x 1.6 in).
See the FedEx Instructional Help Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to create a signature image.
To upload:
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Click Settings on your FedEx account.
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Use the Select a File and Upload buttons to upload your signature and letterhead images.
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Click Confirm.
You can now ship international parcels with FedEx and your international documentation will be sent electronically!
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ShipStation does not support "Cash Only" FedEx account types. You must be on a billed account to connect FedEx with ShipStation.
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The Ship Date for created labels must be within 10 days of the current date.
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The international setting Sign Customs As does not apply to FedEx shipments. Instead, customs forms will be signed using the Return Name from the Ship From Location.
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The ShipStation address validation tool does not distinguish between Residential or Commercial addresses, so all addresses process as Commercial addresses. This may cause the estimated rates to be incorrect for some Residential FedEx shipments.
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When you get rates for FedEx on a Saturday, a Saturday-Pickup fee will be included in the estimated rate. This fee will only apply when the package is actually picked up on a Saturday.
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Label Message 3: To use Label Message 3, you must also use Label message 1 and 2.
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The ability to ship Dangerous Goods is unavailable within ShipStation. Please ship Dangerous Goods directly with FedEx.
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The Drop Off Type you select in the FedEx carrier settings can affect estimated rates. We recommend that you choose the same Drop Off Type you and your FedEx representative set up to use with your account. The available options are as follows:
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Regular Pickup: The shipper already has an every-day pickup scheduled with a courier.
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Request Courier: The shipper will call FedEx to ask for a courier.
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Drop Box: The shipper will drop the package in a FedEx dropbox.
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Business Service Centre: The shipper will drop off the package at an authorized FedEx business service centre.
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Station: The shipper will drop off the package at a FedEx Station.
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Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
|
Issue |
How to troubleshoot or resolve |
|---|---|
|
Error: Unable to register meter: Shipping address provided does not match our records |
What it means: To create FedEx labels or get rates from FedEx, ShipStation must register each Ship From Location in your account with FedEx. This registry creates a meter number that we store on our backend. If a Ship From Location does not have a meter number yet, ShipStation will attempt to register it when you get rates or create a shipment. This error message occurs when the address we're using to register does not match the FedEx account's Shipping Address. What to do:
To ensure it worked, go back to the Orders tab and try to get a rate for the same order that returned the error. The error message should disappear and display a rate from FedEx. If you updated your Ship From Location, you can edit it again and set it back to your actual Ship From Address. We only need the address to match FedEx's Shipping Address when we register the Ship From Location for the meter number. |
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Error: Unable to create FedEx shipment. Drop off type is not allowed |
What it means: This error occurs when creating return labels if your FedEx account is set to use a Drop Off Type that FedEx does not support for returns. To resolve this issue, you'll need to change the Drop Off Type selected for your FedEx account. What to do: Go to You can then create return labels as needed. After you create your return labels, we recommend you set the Drop Off Type back to whatever you normally use. |
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Error: FedEx: Commodity # - Commodity is required |
What it means: This error message occurs because customs information is absent from the international shipment, or the customs declaration contains characters that FedEx cannot process. The # in the error will indicate which customs line is causing the error. What to do: Open the order details and ensure customs information exists for the shipment. If no customs declarations exist, add them to resolve the error. If the customs declarations are present, check for any special characters (like # $ or ’) and remove them. |
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Error: Unable to create FedEx shipment. Incomplete commodity description #. |
What it means: The customs description for an item did not meet FedEx's keyword criteria and must be more descriptive. What to do: Update the customs declaration to clarify what the international shipment includes. The # will point to which customs line is causing the error. See FedEx's page on Commodity Descriptions for more details. |
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Some labels are blank for multi-package labels with some FedEx services when using the Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browsers. |
What to do: To resolve the blank label issue, preview and print the labels with an alternate browser. |
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The tracking number, barcode, and other information are absent from the label. |
This issue can happen if the address or label messages contain special or Unicode characters not supported by FedEx. In these cases, we submit the information to FedEx and FedEx creates a shipment as expected, but the label image itself is corrupted and multiple details are absent. What to do: You'll need to void the shipment, then correct the information as needed.
The most common cause of this issue is a line-break Unicode character in Address Line 1. This character is not visible in the ShipStation interface, but it's still sent to FedEx when you create the label. To fix the character, completely erase Address Line 1 and retype it manually. Once corrected, create a new shipping label. |
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Negotiated rates do not appear in ShipStation |
What to do: If your FedEx account has negotiated rates enabled, you will first need to create a FedEx label through ShipStation Rate Calculator. Once you have done so, ShipStation will then display your account's negotiated rates. If you do not need to use the label created via the Rate Calculator, simply void the label afterward. If your negotiated rates still do not appear in ShipStation, remove and re-add your FedEx account in |