Tracking email notifications

Shippo can automatically email your recipients when their package ships. This feature is tied to Orders, not to label creation alone. A label purchased through the API does not send a tracking email unless it is linked to an order. To send tracking emails from the API, create an order, then pass that order’s object_id in the order field when you purchase the label. Shippo sends the email to the email on the shipment’s address_to.

Prerequisites

Turn on tracking email notifications in the Shippo web app:

Log in to the Shippo web app.
Go to Settings > Tracking.
Turn on the notification types you want to send, such as Shipped and Delivered.

NoteIf notifications are turned off in your settings, Shippo does not send any emails, even when your API requests are correct.

How it works

Tracking emails are sent when an order is fulfilled. Purchasing a label through the API does not fulfill an order by itself.

You create an order.
You purchase a label (transaction) with the recipient’s email address in the shipment’s address_to, and set the order field to the order’s object_id.
Shippo marks the order as shipped and emails the address in the shipment’s address_to.

Step 1: Create an order

Send a POST request to the /orders/ endpoint.

cURL

curl https://api.goshippo.com/orders/ \
  -H "Authorization: ShippoToken <API_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to_address": {
      "name": "Jane Doe",
      "street1": "217 Clayton St.",
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "state": "CA",
      "zip": "94117",
      "country": "US",
      "email": "jane.doe@example.com",
      "phone": "+1 555 341 9393"
    },
    "placed_at": "2026-07-01T01:28:12Z",
    "order_number": "ORDER-1001",
    "order_status": "PAID",
    "weight": "1",
    "weight_unit": "lb"
  }'

Save the order’s object_id from the response. You need it in step 3.

{
  "object_id": "4f2bc588e4e5446cb3f9fdb7cd5e190b",
  "order_number": "ORDER-1001",
  "order_status": "PAID",
  ...
}

For more on the Orders endpoint, see Creating an order.

Step 2: Create a shipment to get rates

Create a shipment to retrieve available rates. For address_to, you can pass the full address or the object_id of the order’s to_address. Include the recipient’s email in address_to. This is the address that receives the notification.

You can skip this step if you purchase the label in a single call. See option B in step 3.

cURL

curl https://api.goshippo.com/shipments/ \
  -H "Authorization: ShippoToken <API_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "address_from": {
      "name": "Acme Store",
      "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "state": "CA",
      "zip": "94117",
      "country": "US",
      "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
      "email": "support@example.com"
    },
    "address_to": {
      "name": "Jane Doe",
      "street1": "217 Clayton St.",
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "state": "CA",
      "zip": "94117",
      "country": "US",
      "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
      "email": "jane.doe@example.com"
    },
    "parcels": [
      {
        "length": "10",
        "width": "8",
        "height": "4",
        "distance_unit": "in",
        "weight": "1",
        "mass_unit": "lb"
      }
    ],
    "async": false
  }'

Choose a rate from the response to use in the next step. For more on rates, see First shipment.

Step 3: Purchase a label linked to the order

When you create the transaction, set the order field to the object_id of the order from step 1. This links the label to the order and triggers the tracking email. Option A: Purchase a rate from step 2

cURL

curl https://api.goshippo.com/transactions/ \
  -H "Authorization: ShippoToken <API_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "rate": "<RATE_OBJECT_ID>",
    "label_file_type": "PDF",
    "async": false,
    "order": "<ORDER_OBJECT_ID>"
  }'

Option B: Purchase a label in a single call

cURL

curl https://api.goshippo.com/transactions/ \
  -H "Authorization: ShippoToken <API_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "shipment": {
      "address_from": {
        "name": "Acme Store",
        "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
        "city": "San Francisco",
        "state": "CA",
        "zip": "94117",
        "country": "US",
        "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
        "email": "support@example.com"
      },
      "address_to": {
        "name": "Jane Doe",
        "street1": "217 Clayton St.",
        "city": "San Francisco",
        "state": "CA",
        "zip": "94117",
        "country": "US",
        "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
        "email": "jane.doe@example.com"
      },
      "parcels": [
        {
          "length": "10",
          "width": "8",
          "height": "4",
          "distance_unit": "in",
          "weight": "1",
          "mass_unit": "lb"
        }
      ]
    },
    "carrier_account": "<CARRIER_ACCOUNT_OBJECT_ID>",
    "servicelevel_token": "<SERVICELEVEL_TOKEN>",
    "order": "<ORDER_OBJECT_ID>"
  }'

For more on single-call purchases, see Single call label creation. After the transaction is created, Shippo:

Marks the linked order as SHIPPED.
Emails the address in the shipment’s address_to.

Summary

Step	Action	Endpoint
1	Create an order	`POST /orders/`
2	Create a shipment with the recipient’s email in `address_to` to get rates (optional for single-call purchases)	`POST /shipments/`
3	Purchase a label with the order’s `object_id` in the `order` field	`POST /transactions/`

Troubleshooting

If recipients are not receiving tracking emails, check the following:

The transaction has no order field. Without a linked order, there is nothing to fulfill and no email is sent. Labels created through /transactions/ or /shipments/ alone do not send tracking emails.
The shipment’s address_to has no email. Shippo sends the email to this address. If it is missing, no email is sent.
Notifications are turned off. Check Settings > Tracking in the Shippo web app.

Overview

Get started

AI & agents

Guides

Concepts

Prerequisites

How it works

Step 1: Create an order

Step 2: Create a shipment to get rates

Step 3: Purchase a label linked to the order

Summary

Troubleshooting

​Prerequisites

​How it works

​Step 1: Create an order

​Step 2: Create a shipment to get rates

​Step 3: Purchase a label linked to the order

​Summary

​Troubleshooting

​Related resources

Prerequisites

How it works

Step 1: Create an order

Step 2: Create a shipment to get rates

Step 3: Purchase a label linked to the order

Summary

Troubleshooting

Related resources