FedEx Shipping Knowledge Patch
Use this skill when implementing or maintaining FedEx shipping API integrations involving tracking, rating, pickup, shipment creation, customs, labels, trade documents, or migration from FedEx Web Services.
Reference index
| Reference | Topics |
|---|---|
| tracking-and-visibility.md | Account tracking webhooks, Basic Integrated Visibility limits and fields, date-only timestamps |
| rating-and-pickup.md | Hold at Location filtering, One Rate selection, pickup charges, surcharge details, inbound rating rules |
| shipment-services-and-validation.md | Notifications, Authenticated Delivery, party validation, C.O.D., email returns, EU domestic services |
| customs-and-regulatory.md | Commodity regulation, European simplified shipping, Ireland postal codes, Canadian export reporting |
| labels-and-documents.md | Thermal labels, German weight icons, encoded trade-document images |
| migration.md | FedEx Web Services maintenance status and API migration |
Start with retirements and required changes
Migrate away from FedEx Web Services
FedEx Web Services entered maintenance-only support on July 1, 2026 and is approaching retirement. Migrate integrations to FedEx APIs instead of expecting further FedEx Web Services development.
Do not offer U.S.-destination C.O.D.
Since July 31, 2023, C.O.D. and E.C.O.D. are unavailable for FedEx Express and Ground shipments destined for the U.S.
This retirement does not affect:
- Intra-Canada shipments.
- FedEx Ground U.S.-to-Canada shipments.
- Other supported regions.
Require the announced Ireland postal code
Merchant address data for Ireland must account for the announced Eircode postal-code requirement. Do not treat the postal code as optional.
Report Canadian exports at the threshold
The Canadian-export announcement requires electronic reporting for goods valued at CAD 2,000 or more. Customs workflows must not silently omit the declaration at that threshold.
Tracking quick reference
Choose push or pull tracking deliberately
The Tracking Account Number Webhook API pushes near-real-time events for every shipment associated with a subscribed account, including inbound, outbound, and third-party-billed shipments. A subscription can send either:
- The full tracking history.
- Only the current event.
It can also push estimated delivery date or time-window changes.
Basic Integrated Visibility, formerly the Track API, is pull-based and is limited to 100,000 calls per day.
Read Basic Integrated Visibility fields precisely
| Field | Supported value or location |
|---|---|
scanEvents.eventType |
AE for early; AO for on-time |
deliveryOptionEligibilityDetails.option |
DISPUTE_DELIVERY, RETURN_TO_SHIPPER, or SUPPLEMENT_ADDRESS |
| Estimated window start | estimatedDeliveryTimeWindow.window.begins |
| Estimated window end | estimatedDeliveryTimeWindow.window.ends |
Treat date-only events as UTC midnight
Advanced Integrated Visibility events without a time component use
00:00:00+00:00. Interpret that value as UTC midnight, not local time.
Rating and pickup quick reference
Pre-validate Hold at Location acceptance
Locations Search can use weight and dimensions alone. It also accepts these optional inputs when finding a Hold at Location site:
- Total Customs Value.
- Declared Value.
- Package Type.
- Package Count.
- Special Handling.
- Duties and Taxes payor data.
Incomplete pre-validation can select a site that refuses the package or can cause a Ship API error.
Select One Rate results
Set optional rateDisplayOption to one of:
LOWER_RATE.SELECTED_RATES_INCLUDING_F1R.SELECTED_RATES_EXCLUDING_F1R.
LOWER_RATE compares One Rate with standard rates. It is also the fallback
when the input is omitted or invalid. With LOWER_RATE, omitting dimensions
returns only the customer-supplied-packaging rate.
Include pickup rates when creating a shipment
Request pickup charges with:
processingOptions=INCLUDE_PICKUPRATES
For future-day quotes, also set:
pickupDetail.requestType=FUTURE_DAY.requestedShipment.pickupDetail.readyPickupDateTime.requestedShipment.pickupDetail.latestPickupDateTime.
Single on-call pickup rates are charged per stop in the U.S. and Canada, excluding Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Regular automated pickup charges are weekly and based on selected pickup days.
Shipment quick reference
Request Authenticated Delivery
For eligible U.S. and Canadian shipments, put
FEDEX_AUTHENTICATED_DELIVERY in
shipmentSpecialServices.specialServiceType.
Validate shipper contacts
Under shipper/contacts, at least one of personName or companyName must
be present. Leaving both blank returns an error.
The Ship request's soldTo object identifies the purchaser when the
purchaser differs from the recipient or importer of record.
Cancel an email return shipment
The Cancel Shipment endpoint requires the following flag to identify and cancel an email return shipment:
{ "emailreturnshipment": true }
Customs quick reference
Attach commodity-level regulatory data
Ship accepts a regulatoryDetails array alongside customs declarations for
per-commodity compliance data such as CPSC certification. The related
Regulatory API can supply that data.
Use simplified commodity shipping where applicable
For goods already in free circulation between European countries, Simplified Commodity Shipping permits a commodity description instead of full commodity details in the ship request.
Labels and documents quick reference
Use current thermal-label capabilities
Ship supports 300 DPI thermal output without a label-format change. It also
accepts these labelStockType values:
STOCK_4X85_TRAILING_DOC_TAB.STOCK_4X105_TRAILING_DOC_TAB.
Upload encoded trade-document images
The Trade Documents Upload API provides an Upload Encoded Image endpoint for submitting encoded images.
Apply the detailed guidance
Open the reference file that matches the integration task. Preserve the stated eligibility, geography, service, account, and request conditions when applying any item.