Product and Order Field Limits

Product and Order Field Limits

Quick Summary: Check character limits and input formats for products, order references, and recipient details.

Find your field below before entering data manually, filling an upload template, or building an API request. Order ID, OrderID, and API Customer Reference refer to the same order reference.

Important: Saving an order does not confirm that its data meets the selected courier's label requirements. Courier, service, and destination rules can be stricter.

Product fields

Your account decides which SKU and barcode rules apply. The current product form or upload error reports rejected values from those rules.

Field Character limit Format and requirements
SKU (standard rules) 20 Required. Letters A–Z, a–z, digits 0–9, dot ., and hyphen -. Spaces and underscores are not accepted. Use a unique SKU within your account.
SKU (legacy rules) 20 Letters, digits, dot ., underscore _, parentheses ( ), slash /, backslash \, plus +, hyphen -, and whitespace. Applies only to accounts using legacy rules.
Description 255 Required. The public API requires at least 10 characters and two words for new or changed descriptions.
Customs Description 255 Required when creating a regular product in the form or public API. New or changed API descriptions also need 10 characters and two words. Bulk upload can omit this value, but shipment processing may still need customs data.
Chinese Customs Description / Local Customs Description 255 Optional. Local-language text is supported.
UPC/EAN/MPN (standard checks) 20 Optional. Use letters and digits. Product uploads require UPC for Base Item rows.
UPC/EAN/MPN (legacy checks) 14 Optional. Use letters and digits. Applies only to accounts using legacy checks.
NMFC 255 Optional product classification text.
URL 512 Optional. Enter a valid product-page URL.

Note: Barcode checks vary by creation and update path. An accepted barcode does not establish that its format meets customs or courier requirements. Duplicate checks also depend on your account and entry method. For carton rows in product uploads, carton EAN/UPC must contain one to 18 digits .

Carton SKU creation uses the account's standard or legacy SKU rules. Inventory item validation also caps Carton SKU at 50 characters .

Existing SKUs can differ from current creation rules. The product form does not let you edit an existing SKU, so create a new product for a different identifier. Some other product fields can also remain read-only while Edit is available.

For HS codes, MID codes, and CPSC filing formats, see Customs Clearance Data and Products. Destination rules can add requirements.

Order references and notes

Field Character limit Format and requirements
Order ID / OrderID / Customer Reference 255 Required by public API create requests and before approval. A Cross-docking Child Order also requires it at save. Use a distinct reference for each new order; duplicate checks depend on order details and order type.
Customer Reference (API Create Label) 35 This shorter limit applies to the Create Label endpoint. Do not assume that an ordinary order reference will fit a label-creation request.
PO# / PO Number 255 Optional purchase order reference.
Remarks No general character limit is specified Optional notes. Keep them concise because labels or shipping documents may limit notes.

In an order upload, repeat OrderID only for rows that belong to the same order and destination. Use a different reference for a different order or destination. See Create an Order.

You can change order details only while the relevant Edit action is available. Recipient fields do not need unique values; the same recipient can receive multiple orders.

Recipient and address fields

These limits apply to the shipping address saved with an order. Some form inputs accept more characters before the save request reports an error.

Field Character limit Format and requirements
Full Name / Contact Name 255 Required. Enter the recipient's name in the format the courier accepts.
Address Line 1 / Address 1 255 Required. Enter a complete street address.
Address Lines 2 and 3 255 each Optional.
City 255 Required by the public order API and before approval. Upload templates can require it earlier.
State / Province 255 May be required by the destination or courier. Use the appropriate state/province code when requested.
Postal Code / Zip Code 255 Required by the public order API. Approval also requires it when the destination uses postal codes. Use the destination's postal format.
Company 255 Optional.
Contact Number / Phone 7–21 when supplied Use digits, spaces, +, -, ., (, ), /, and an optional lowercase ext marker. Count punctuation and spaces in the length. Approval or the courier may require a phone number.
Email ID / Email 256 in the order form Enter a valid email address. Requiredness depends on the upload template or courier; the general public API makes it optional.
Country / Country Code Select a country; uploads/API use a two-letter code Use an ISO country code in upload/API data, such as US, GB, or HK.

Form-backed saves and ordinary order uploads check recipient names, address lines, city, and state. They accept letters from different languages, numbers, punctuation, and supported symbols. Invisible control characters are removed, and nonbreaking or ideographic spaces become normal spaces. The placeholder sequences ??? and ___ are rejected. Correct the field when a symbol is unsupported.

Upload, API, and service differences

  • Uploads: use a fresh template for the order type and courier. Required columns can differ. Keep values within the general limits even when validation reports no length error.
  • General order API: some reference and address fields have no separate length check before storage. The stored order reference and standard recipient fields still accept up to 255 characters. The API checks a supplied phone against the 7–21-character format above. Blank or null phone values can save, but later approval or label generation can fail.
  • Product API: the minimum description checks above apply to new or changed API descriptions. Manual product entry and product upload do not apply them.
  • FIC order form: address lines are limited to 35 characters each; the US contact-number input is limited to 10 characters.
  • US Cross-docking Child Order: the State/Province input is limited to two characters.
  • Address API formats: the general order API shipping address skips the cleanup described above. Use the schema for the endpoint you call.

Courier requirements

Courier rules apply in addition to the limits above. They can depend on the service and destination and impose shorter address, postal-code, name, phone, or customs fields.

If an order saves but label creation fails, read the courier error and correct the named field. See Order Troubleshooting for examples.

Troubleshooting

Issue Cause Solution
SKU rejected during creation Too many characters or a character outside your account's SKU rules Check the standard/legacy SKU limits above and the validation message. Ask your Account Manager which rules apply if needed.
API product description rejected New description is too short or contains only one word Supply a clear description that meets the API minimum length and word count above.
Order ID rejected during approval Order ID is blank Enter an Order ID and approve the order again.
Phone rejected during save or approval The value is outside the allowed length or uses unsupported characters Correct the named phone field using the format above.
Order accepted but label rejected Courier rules are stricter than the general field limits Correct the field named in the courier error, then retry label generation.

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