WooCommerce: Disallow Shipping to PO BOX Address

Today we take a look at the WooCommerce Checkout page and our goal is to disallow placing an order to customers that enter a PO BOX address. I don’t remember where I got this snippet from, but either way I’m glad to share it again!

WooCommerce: Disallow PO BOX Shipping and Display Error

PHP Snippet: Disallow Shipping to PO BOX @ WooCommerce Checkout

/**
 * @snippet       Disallow Shipping to PO BOX
 * @how-to        Get CustomizeWoo.com FREE
 * @author        Rodolfo Melogli
 * @testedwith    WooCommerce 5
 * @community     https://businessbloomer.com/club/
 */
 
add_action( 'woocommerce_after_checkout_validation', 'bbloomer_disallow_pobox_shipping' );
 
function bbloomer_disallow_pobox_shipping( $posted ) {
   $address = ( isset( $posted['shipping_address_1'] ) ) ? $posted['shipping_address_1'] : $posted['billing_address_1'];
   $address2 = ( isset( $posted['shipping_address_2'] ) ) ? $posted['shipping_address_2'] : $posted['billing_address_2'];
   $postcode = ( isset( $posted['shipping_postcode'] ) ) ? $posted['shipping_postcode'] : $posted['billing_postcode'];
   $replace = array( " ", ".", "," );
   $address = strtolower( str_replace( $replace, '', $address ) );
   $address2 = strtolower( str_replace( $replace, '', $address2 ) );
   $postcode = strtolower( str_replace( $replace, '', $postcode ) );
   if ( strstr( $address, 'pobox' ) || strstr( $address2, 'pobox' ) || strstr( $postcode, 'pobox' ) ) {
      wc_add_notice( 'Sorry, we do not ship to PO BOX addresses.', 'error' );
   }
}

Where to add custom code?

You should place custom PHP in functions.php and custom CSS in style.css of your child theme: where to place WooCommerce customization?

This code still works, unless you report otherwise. To exclude conflicts, temporarily switch to the Storefront theme, disable all plugins except WooCommerce, and test the snippet again: WooCommerce troubleshooting 101

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Rodolfo Melogli

Business Bloomer Founder

Author, WooCommerce expert and WordCamp speaker, Rodolfo has worked as an independent WooCommerce freelancer since 2011. His goal is to help entrepreneurs and developers overcome their WooCommerce nightmares. Rodolfo loves travelling, chasing tennis & soccer balls and, of course, wood fired oven pizza. Follow @rmelogli

26 thoughts on “WooCommerce: Disallow Shipping to PO BOX Address”

Keith
July 14, 2023

This is not working for me, unfortunately, as it is still allowing me to enter a PO Box for the address.

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  July 21, 2023
  
  Thanks for your comment Keith. Do you use a custom checkout template maybe?
  
  Reply
Josh
July 3, 2023

Hello,

Can this be modified to add a filter for tagged products, so that only restricted products are disallowed from using the po box?

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  July 4, 2023
  
  Hey Josh, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, this is definitely possible, but I’m afraid it’s custom work. If you’d like to get a quote, feel free to contact me here. Thanks a lot for your understanding!
  
  Reply
Buny
May 26, 2021

It didnt work on the Post Code/ZIP fields. the order went thru even with PO BOX

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  June 3, 2021
  
  You’re right, try this revised version
  
  Reply
David Moore
April 9, 2020

Works for me! Thank you so much

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  April 9, 2020
  
  Cool
  
  Reply
Cat Russell
November 27, 2019

Hi Rodolfo – this code is exactly what I have been searching for. Thank you.

Just a question – how could I check for either “P O Box” or “Private Bag” in each of the 2 address lines – we have 2 kinds of boxes in this country and I cannot courier to either. Just wondered how to check for multiple strings on the same line.

Thanks, Cat

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  November 27, 2019
  
  Hi Cat, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, this is definitely possible, but I’m afraid it’s custom work. If you’d like to get a quote, feel free to contact me here. Thanks a lot for your understanding!
  
  Reply
Danny Longhurst
September 5, 2019

Hi
Works great any idea about preventing shipping to units ( appartments )

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  September 6, 2019
  
  Thanks!
  
  Reply
David
June 10, 2019

Does this cover entering in PO BOX in the postal code,

Thanks

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  June 20, 2019
  
  Yep!
  
  Reply
Leon Wagner
December 29, 2018

Doesn’t work for Amazon Payments.

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  January 10, 2019
  
  Hey Leon, thanks for your comment! Not sure how Amazon Payments work, sorry. Do they take you to Amazon servers?
  
  Reply
Miroslav
April 25, 2017

Hey Rodolfo,

thanks for the code (again!). I found a similar one on the official WooCommerce website, but it didn’t really work for PayPal payments. But yours did! Thanks!

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  April 28, 2017
  
  Ah, awesome Miroslav, thanks for your nice comment!
  
  Reply
2. Sasha Loobkoff
  September 5, 2017
  
  that was my EXACT experience…. Thank you Rodolfo!!!!
  
  Reply
  1. Rodolfo Melogli
    September 6, 2017
    
    🙂
    
    Reply
Nicholas
January 7, 2017

Hi Rodolfo,

I’m new to wordpress and found your post through a Google search. Where exactly are you pasting the snipet? Is there a specific file?

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  January 12, 2017
  
  Hey Nicholas, yes you can place this in your child theme’s functions.php file – if you need more guidance, please take a look at this video tutorial: https://businessbloomer.com/woocommerce-customization-hangout/. Hope this helps!
  
  Reply
Emma
January 5, 2017

I have copied and pasted your code exactly and it doesn’t seem to be working for me – any insight would be appreciated. It just continues on to the payment stage.

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  January 5, 2017
  
  Hey Emma, thanks so much for your comment! This should work with the default 1-page checkout – are you using a multi-step checkout plugin instead?
  
  Reply
Sarah
September 19, 2016

This is fabulous, and super helpful!

Reply
1. Rodolfo Melogli
  September 19, 2016
  
  Cheers Sarah 🙂
  
  Reply

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