# How to manage orders going to PO Boxes
URL: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/360000422175-how-to-manage-orders-going-to-po-boxes
Canonical: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/360000422175-how-to-manage-orders-going-to-po-boxes
Markdown: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/360000422175-how-to-manage-orders-going-to-po-boxes.md
Updated: 2026-05-07

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.starshipit.com/llms.txt).

> Learn how to manage orders going to po boxes.

Starshipit will check your orders for you to ensure you don't accidentally send the order with a carrier that doesn't support a PO box. You can also create rules to handle PO boxes in a way that suits you.

Some couriers do not deliver to PO Boxes and so you may need to have orders with a PO Box address to go with a different courier. The only couriers that support PO Boxes are Australia Post eParcel, MyPost Business, Startrack and the Plain Label couriers. If you use any couriers not in the supported list above, you may need to update the pickup address to a residential one.

## How it works

Starshipit has implemented a logic that automatically checks the building, street, suburb and city field for the below values:

* *parcel locker;parcel-locker;po box;p.o.b.;pob;p.o. box;po-box;p.o.-box;po-box;p.o box;pobox;p-o-box;p-o box;post office box;p.o. box;po box;p/o;g.p.o box;gpo box;g.p.o. box;g-p-o box;g-p-o-box;locked-bag;locked bag; parcel collect*

If this is detected and you print with an unsupported carrier, you will be presented with an error.

## Rules

If you would like to further customise PO box logic you have a few options:

### PO Box & Parcel Locker Orders Rules Condition

There is a condition that will check to see if the PO box or parcel locker has been included in any of the address fields for you. You can then choose whichever action you would like to apply in this scenario.

1. Go to **Settings** > **Rules**.
2. Click **Add new rule**.
3. Select **PO Box & Parcel Locker Orders** as the condition.
4. Set equals to **True** or **False** depending on what you require.
5. Add your action to take e.g. Assign courier or do not import order (more info on this in [section 2](#h_01HTDYHF22EH379DMJPE1Z200Y)).

### Street, Suburb/City Rules Condition

If the above-mentioned keywords don't suit you, you can also create a custom rule by using the street rule condition

1. Go to **Settings** > **Rules**.
2. Click **Add new rule**.
3. Select **Destination Street** as the condition.
4. In the condition value field enter each possible combination for PO Boxes. You can find some common values below which are already separated by semi-colons (each value should be delimited by a semi-colon).
5. Add your action to take e.g. Assign courier or do not import order (more info on this in section 2).

Example Rule Conditions

Click one of the options below to view example rule conditions.

**PO Box and Parcel Locker**
parcel;parcel locker;parcel-locker;locker;po box;p.o.b.;pob;p.o. box;po-box;p.o.-box;po-box;p.o box;pobox;p-o-box;p-o box;post office box;p.o. box;po box;p/o;
**GPO Box and Locked bag**
g.p.o box;gpo box;g.p.o. box;g-p-o box;g-p-o-box;locked-bag;locked bag;bag;
**Combination of the above**
parcel;parcel locker;parcel-locker;locker;po box;p.o.b.;pob;p.o. box;po-box;p.o.-box;po-box;p.o box;pobox;p-o-box;p-o box;post office box;p.o. box;po box;p/o;g.p.o box;gpo box;g.p.o. box;g-p-o box;g-p-o-box;locked-bag;locked bag;bag
:::note
Rules are not case-sensitive. You can enter "PO Box" or "po box" in your rule condition, and both values would work.
:::

## 2. Common use cases

Common use cases of a rule checking for PO Boxes are detailed below:

* Assigning the orders to a different courier service (e.g. Australia Post).
* Preventing the order from importing into Starshipit.

### Assigning to another courier

![Assigning to another courier](/uploads/articles/notifications-branded-tracking-rules-child-accounts/business-rules/how-to-manage-orders-going-to-po-boxes/assigning-to-another-courier.png)

:::note
To determine what each service code represents, go to **Settings** > **Couriers** and then click **Settings** next to the courier you want to check the services for.
:::

### Preventing the order from importing into Starshipit

![Preventing order import](/uploads/articles/notifications-branded-tracking-rules-child-accounts/business-rules/how-to-manage-orders-going-to-po-boxes/preventing-order-import.png)