Address Field Validations

Validating the Checkout Page Address Fields

The address information submitted on the Checkout Page is important to ensure the order is shipped to the right destination. Validations are also performed on the field level.

Address Fields

The address form includes the following fields. Some fields are mandatory.

For more information about each field, open the sections below. See also Address Field Formats and Error Handling.

Field	Mandatory (Y/N)	Input
First Name	Yes	Maximum length is 40 Characters. Validation can be customized by the merchant per country. When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked, and a notification is displayed.

Field	Mandatory	Validation Rule	Allowed Characters	Other Rules	Validation Error
Last Name	Yes	Letters, hyphens (-), apostrophes (’), spaces. Latin special characters allowed (e.g., é, ñ, ü). No emoji.	A-Z, a-z, Unicode letters, Latin special characters, hyphen (-), apostrophe (’), space ( )	Min 1 character, max 40 characters. No numbers, symbols, or emoji.	"Last Name can only contain letters, hyphens, apostrophes, and spaces. Emoji and numbers are not allowed."

Field	Mandatory	Validations
Email	Yes	For registered users, pre-filled and locked if email already provided. The following information defines what a valid email address is, based on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_address Valid email addresses must comply with the following: Uppercase and lowercase Latin letters (A–Z, a–z) (ASCII: 65–90, 97–122) Digits 0 to 9 (ASCII: 48–57) These special characters: # - _ ~ ! $ & ' + \| {} = “ / @ Character. (dot, period, full stop), ASCII 46, provided that it is not the first or last character, and provided that it does not appear consecutively (e.g. [email protected] is not allowed). Special Characters for non-English languages (accents). Validation can be customized by the merchant per country.

Field

Mandatory

Validations

Yes

For registered users, pre-filled and locked if email already provided.

The following information defines what a valid email address is, based on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_address

Valid email addresses must comply with the following:

Uppercase and lowercase Latin letters (A–Z,
a–z) (ASCII: 65–90, 97–122)
Digits 0 to 9 (ASCII: 48–57)
These special characters:
# - _ ~ ! $ & ' + | {} = “ / @
Character. (dot, period, full stop), ASCII 46, provided that it is not the first or last character, and provided that it does not appear consecutively (e.g. [email protected] is not allowed).
Special Characters for non-English languages (accents).

Validation can be customized by the merchant per country.

Field	Mandatory	Input	Validation Rules
Country	Yes	Changing the default country requires that the customer fills out a delivery address that is different from the billing address. Country-specific address formatting and restricted country lists for some merchants. Validation can be customized by the merchant per country.	Custom validation rules per country - when available.

Field

Mandatory

Input

Validation Rules

Country

Yes

Changing the default country requires that the customer fills out a delivery address that is different from the billing address.

Country-specific address formatting and restricted country lists for some merchants.

Validation can be customized by the merchant per country.

Custom validation rules per country - when available.

Field	Mandatory (Y/N)	Input
Address Line1	Yes	Maximum length is 35 characters.. Validation can be customized by the merchant per country. When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed. Allows letters, numbers, and specific special characters.

Field	Mandatory (Y/N)	Input
Address Line 2	Yes	Maximum length is 35 characters. Validation can be customized by the merchant per country. Additional characters are not accepted. When Unsupported characters are identified the field is marked and notification displays. Allows letters, numbers, and specific special characters.

Field	Mandatory	Validation Rule	Allowed Characters	Other Rules	Validation Errors
City/Suburb	Yes	Letters, hyphens, apostrophes, spaces only. Latin special characters allowed. No emoji.	A-Z, a-z, Unicode letters, Latin special characters, hyphen (-), apostrophe (’), space ( )	Minimum length is 1 character, maximum length is 35 characters. No numbers, symbols, or emoji.	"City name can only contain letters, hyphens, apostrophes, and spaces. Emoji and numbers are not allowed."

Field	Mandatory	Input
County/Province/State	Mandatory where applicable	A dropdown menu that includes counties, states, or provinces.

Field	Mandatory (Y/N)	Input
Zip/Postcode	Yes	Maximum length is 10 Characters Validation can be customized by the merchant per country. When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed. Can be configured per country whether this field is mandatory or not

Field	Mandatory	Input	Validation Rules
Phone	Yes	Following characters are allowed: Numbers, “+”, “-“, “/”, “(“ and “)” Country Code field contains country prefix code. When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed.	Validations are applied as follows: Standard E.164 formatting rules. Country Address Validations – Custom validation rules per country (if available) Default validations The following validation rules can be applied through configuration when the country prefix drop-down field / free-text phone number feature is applied: Valid number with country prefix - Accepted Number without country prefix - Auto-apply country code Non-numeric characters - Rejected with error Too short for country - Rejected with error Exceeds max digits for country - Rejected with error Valid number but with leading zeroes - Autocorrected

Field

Mandatory

Input

Validation Rules

Phone

Yes

Following characters are allowed: Numbers, “+”, “-“, “/”, “(“ and “)”
Country Code field contains country prefix code.
When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed.

Validations are applied as follows:

Standard E.164 formatting rules.
Country Address Validations – Custom validation rules per country (if available)
Default validations

The following validation rules can be applied through configuration when the country prefix drop-down field / free-text phone number feature is applied:

Valid number with country prefix - Accepted
Number without country prefix - Auto-apply country code
Non-numeric characters - Rejected with error
Too short for country - Rejected with error
Exceeds max digits for country - Rejected with error
Valid number but with leading zeroes - Autocorrected

Address Field Formats and Error Handling

The address form contains address fields with the following formats and error notifications.

Field	Format	Error notifications
Address Line1	Maximum length is 35 characters. If the shipping method is one of the following: Express ExpressCourierWithoutSameDay Standard A PO Box won’t be accepted as an address without a delivery address. When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed. Allows letters, numbers, and specific special characters. Additional format validation may be configured per country.	When the 36th character is attempted a notification is displayed: You’ve reached the maximum limit for Address Line 1 field. Please use Address Line 2 if you need more space” The following notification displays: Title: PO box address is not allowed on this shipping method Content: Dear Customer, The courier service you have selected requires a signature upon delivery. We are therefore unable to accept orders to a PO box address. To continue, please provide an alternative shipping address
Address Line 2	Maximum length is 35 characters. Additional characters are not accepted. If the shipping method is one of the following: Express ExpressCourierWithoutSameDay Standard A PO Box won’t be accepted as an address without a delivery address. When Unsupported characters are identified the field is marked and notification displays. Allows letters, numbers, and specific special characters. Additional format validation may be configured per country.	The following notification displays when a PO Box is added as an address to the shipping methods mentioned: Title: PO box address is not allowed on this shipping method Content: Dear Customer, The courier service you have selected requires a signature upon delivery. We are therefore unable to accept orders to a PO box address. To continue, please provide an alternative shipping address
City/Suburb	Maximum length is 35 characters. Offers dropdown suggestions and dynamic city-region pairing for select countries. Allows letters and hyphens.When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed. Additional format validation may be configured per country.	When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked in red and the checkout can not be completed until it is fixed.
Country	Changing the default country requires that the customer fills out a delivery address that is different from the billing address. Country-specific address formatting and restricted country lists for some merchants.
County/Province/State	A dropdown menu for some regions that includes counties, states, or provinces. For more details please see the Counties, States, and Provinces section.
Email	For registered users, pre-filled and locked if email already provided. The following information defines what a valid email address is, based on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_address Valid email addresses must comply with the following: Uppercase and lowercase Latin letters (A–Z, a–z) (ASCII: 65–90, 97–122) Digits 0 to 9 (ASCII: 48–57) These special characters: # - _ ~ ! $ & ' + \| {} = “ / @ Character. (dot, period, full stop), ASCII 46, provided that it is not the first or last character, and provided that it does not appear consecutively (e.g. [email protected] is not allowed). Special Characters for non-English languages (accents).	When an incorrect character is submitted, the field is marked in red, and an “X” is displayed on the right side. On mouseover, an “Email not Valid” tooltip is displayed
First Name	Maximum length is 40 Characters Cannot contain special characters or numbers. When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked, and a notification is displayed. For more information about Special Characters, please see the Supported Characters section.	When unsupported characters are identified the field is marked in red and the checkout can not be completed until it is fixed.
Last Name	Maximum length is 40 Characters Cannot contain special characters or numbers. When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed. For more information about Special Characters, please see the Supported Characters section.	When unsupported characters are identified the field is marked in red and the checkout can not be completed until it is fixed.
Phone	Following characters are allowed: Numbers, “+”, “-“, “/”, “(“ and “)” Maximum length is 15 characters When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed. Drop-down menu of country prefixes can be enabled for applicable countries. Additional format validation may be configured per country. For more details please see the Phone Field Validations per Country section
Zip/Postcode	Maximum length is 10 Characters When unsupported characters are identified, the field is marked and a notification is displayed. There is a configuration per country whether this field is mandatory or not Additional format validation may be configured per country. For more details please see the Zip/Postcode Field Validations per Country section	When no input is available, a mouseover displays a tooltip: "Billing Zip/Postcode is required" When unsupported characters are identified the field is marked in red and the checkout can not be completed until it is fixed.

Phone Field Validations per Country

In addition to other field validations, a phone field format validation is configured for specific countries.

Specific validations can be set per Merchant.

Country	Field	Validation	Additional Info
Bahrain	Phone number	+973 prefix and 8 digits
	Phone number with Prefix	8 digits	When international prefix is enabled
France	Phone Number	The number provide must include a "06" or "07" prefix	Required by Chronopost
Kuwait	Phone number	+965 prefix and 8 digits
	Phone number with Prefix	8 digits	When international prefix is enabled
Oman	Phone number	+968 prefix and up to 8 digits
	Phone number with Prefix	8 digits	When international prefix is enabled
Qatar	Phone number	+974 prefix and up to 8 digits
	Phone number with Prefix	8 digits	When international prefix is enabled
Saudi Arabia	Phone number	+966 prefix and up to 10 digits
	Phone number with Prefix	9 digits	When international prefix is enabled
Switzerland	Phone number	Starts with +41, 9 digits.
United Arab Emirates	Phone number	+971 prefix and up to 9 digits
	Phone number with Prefix	9 digits	When international prefix is enabled

Phone Validation Flow in Checkout

Why We Introduced This Change

Shoppers often enter phone numbers in inconsistent ways—missing country codes, typing leading zeros, or using invalid formats. This leads to:

Failed deliveries or shipping delays.
Checkout errors that block order completion.

To solve this, we’ve launched a new phone validation flow (for merchants who use the dropdown phone field). It ensures all shopper phone numbers are collected, validated, and stored in a consistent, global format.

What’s New for Merchants

Structured validation: Phone numbers are automatically checked and formatted to international E.164 standards on the server side.
Real-time feedback: Shoppers still receive clear guidance while typing, but validation that previously failed on the client side now succeeds after being corrected on the backend.
Data accuracy: Stored numbers are always valid, deliverable, and standardized.
Configuration: You can enable validation globally or per-country.

Shopper Experience in Checkout

Before (old flow):

Shopper types 09876543211 → checkout rejects the number immediately on the client side.

Now (new flow):

Shopper types 09876543211 (UK) → shopper sees no blocking error; system auto-removes the leading zero on the server side and saves as +449876543211.
Shopper types invalid characters (98765abc321) → shopper receives a clear error message with guidance to fix the input.

Configuration and Enablement

This feature applies only if you use the dropdown phone field in checkout. If you’d like to enable this feature, contact your Global-e representative.

Setting	Behavior
IsPhoneNumbersNewFlow = false	Current validation logic remains.
IsPhoneNumbersNewFlow = true	New validation applies to all countries.
IsPhoneNumbersNewFlow = per-country	New validation applies only in selected markets.
UseCustomPhoneNumberValidation = true	Merchant-specific rules override global validation.

Examples of Allowed Inputs

The following table shows examples of allowed inputs:

Shopper Input	Selected Country	Saved Output	Accepted?
9876543211	USA	+19876543211	Yes
02081234567	UK	+442081234567	Yes
20812 34567	UK	+442081234567	Yes
08034567890	Japan	+818034567890	Yes

The following figure shows the error message that occurs when you leave a mandatory field blank or enter an invalid number.

The following figure shows how correct information looks.

Shopper Error Messages

If a shopper enters an invalid number, the following error message is displayed.

“Invalid phone number format. Expected phone country: {Country Name}. Please adjust your number accordingly.”

Benefits for Merchants

📦 Fewer failed shipments due to invalid numbers.
💬 Clear shopper guidance reduces support tickets.
📊 Clean, standardized phone data across your orders.
🚀 Proven impact on conversion rates by removing friction.

Timeline and Rollout

Q2 2025: Library implementation & QA.
Q3 2025: Available on demand.
Q1 2026: General availability for all merchants using dropdown phone input with new validation.

Note

We strongly encourage merchants still using free-text phone fields to migrate to dropdown phone fields to benefit from this improvement.

Roadmap – Planned for End of November

We are enhancing validation to provide country-specific error handling:

Localized error messages: Shoppers will see validation errors tailored to the selected country.
Clear guidance & examples: Each message will include examples in the correct local format for clarity.
Customization per Merchant × Country: Merchants will have the flexibility to customize error messages per country.

New UI Experience:

Easy country search by name or code.
Restricts input to digits only for cleaner validation.

Zip/Postcode Field Validations per Country

In addition to the general field validations, a zip field format validation is configured for specific countries.

Specific validations can be set per Merchant.

Country	Field	Validation	Additional Info
Albania	Post Code	4 digits
Algeria	Post Code	5 digits
Andorra	Post Code	2 Capital letters and 3 digits (AB123)
Angola	Post Code		Field Optional
Antigua and Barbuda	Post Code		Field Optional
Argentina	Post Code	4 digits
Armenia	Post Code	4 digits
Aruba	Post Code		Field Optional
Austria	Post Code	4 digits
Australia	Post Code	4 digits
Azerbaijan	Post Code	4 digits
Bahamas	Post Code		Field Optional
Bahrain	Post Code		Field Disabled. Sending "00000"
Belarus	Post Code	6 digits
Belize	Post Code		Field Optional
Belgium	Post Code	4 digits
Benin	Post Code		Field Optional
Bolivia	Post Code		Field Optional
Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba	Post Code		Field Optional
Botswana	Post Code		Field Optional
Bouvet Island	Post Code		Field Optional
Bulgaria	Post Code	4 digits
Burkina Faso	Post Code		Field Optional
Burundi	Post Code		Field Optional
Central African Republic	Post Code		Field Optional
Cambodia	Post Code	6 digits
Cameroon	Post Code		Field Optional
Canada	Post Code	5 or 6 digits	In one of the following formats: A1A 1A1 or A1A 1A
Chad	Post Code		Field Optional
Chile	Post Code	7 digits
China	Post Code	6 digits
Colombia	Post Code	6 digits
Comoros	Post Code		Field Optional
Congo	Post Code		Field Optional
Congo, Democratic Republic	Post Code		Field Required
Cook Islands	Post Code		Field Optional
Costa Rica	Post Code	5 digits
Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Post Code		Field Optional
Croatia	Post Code	5 digits
Curacao	Post Code		Field Optional
Cyprus	Postal Code	4 digits
Czech Republic	Post Code	5 digits
Denmark	Post Code	4 digits
Djibouti	Post Code		Field Optional
Dominica	Post Code		Field Optional
East Timor	Post Code		Field Optional
Ecuador	Post Code	6 digits
Egypt	Post Code	5 digits
Equatorial Guinea	Post Code		Field Optional
Eritrea	Post Code		Field Optional
Estonia	Post Code	5 digits
Fiji	Post Code		Field Optional
Finland	Post Code	5 digits
France	Post Code	5 digits
French Southern Territories	Post Code		Field Optional
Gabon	Post Code		Field Optional
Gambia	Post Code		Field Optional
Germany	Post Code	5 digits
Ghana	Post Code		Field Required
Greece	Post Code	5 digits	In the format XXX XX or XXXXX
Grenada	Post Code		Field Optional
Guatemala	Post Code	5 digits
Guinea	Post Code		Field Required
Guyana	Post Code		Field Optional
Hong Kong	Post Code		Field Disabled
Hungary	Post Code	4 digits
Iceland	Post Code	3 digits
India	Post Code	6 digits
Indonesia	Post Code	5, 6 digits
Ireland	Post Code	7 digits or 7 characters (Eircode)
Israel	Post Code	7 digits
Italy	Post Code	5 digits
Jamaica	Post Code		Field Optional
Japan	Post Code	7 digits (XXXXXXX or (XXX-XXXX)
Kazakhstan	Post Code	6 digits
Kiribati	Post Code		Field Optional
Korea (North)	Post Code		Field Optional
Kuwait	Post Code	5 digits
Liberia	Post Code		Field Optional
Libya	Post Code		Field Optional
Luxembourg	Post Code	4 digits
Macau	Post Code		Field Disabled. Sending "999087"
Malawi	Post Code		Field Optional
Malaysia	Post Code	5 digits	Field Optional
Mali	Post Code		Field Optional
Mauritania	Post Code		Field Optional
Mauritius	Post Code		Field Required
Mexico	Post Code	5 digits
Moldova	Post Code	4 digits
Monaco	Post Code		Field Disabled. Sending "98000"
Mongolia	Post Code	5 digits
Montenegro	Post Code	5 digits
Montserrat	Post Code		Field Required
Morrocco	Post Code	5 digits
Namibia	Post Code		Field Required
Nauru	Post Code		Field Required
Nigeria	Post Code	6 digits
New Zealand	Post Code	4 digits
Netherlands	Post Code	4 digits and 2 letters (1235 AB)
Netherlands Antilles	Post Code		Field Optional
Niue	Post Code		Field Required
Northern Macedonia	Post Code	4 digits
Norway	Post Code	4 digits
Oman	Post Code	3 digits
Panama	Post Code		Field Required
Philippines	Postal Code	4 digits
Poland	Post Code	5 digits (XX-XXX)
Portugal	Post Code	7 digits (XXX-XXXX)
Qatar	Post Code		Field Disabled. Sending "00000"
Reunion	Post Code	5 digits
Romania	Post Code	6 digits
Russia	Post Code	6 digits
Rwanda	Post Code		Field Required
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Post Code		Field Required
Saint Lucia	Post Code		Field Required
Sao Tome and Principe	Post Code		Field Optional
Saudi Arabia	Post Code		Field Disabled. Sending "00000"
Senegal	Post Code	5 digits
Serbia	Post Code	5 digits
Seychelles	Post Code		Field Optional
Sierra Leone	Post Code		Field Optional
Singapore	Post Code	6 digits
Sint Maarten	Post Code		Field Optional
Slovenia	Post Code	4 digits
Solomon Islands	Post Code		Field Optional
Somalia	Post Code		Field Optional
South Africa	Post Code	4 digits
South Korea	Post Code	5 digits no dash
South Cudan	Post Code		Field Optional
Spain	Post Code	5 digits
Sri Lanka	Post Code	4 digits
Suriname	Post Code		Field Optional
Syria	Post Code		Field Optional
Sweden	Post Code	5 digits
Tanzania	Post Code		Field Required
Thailand	Post Code	5 digit
Togo	Post Code		Field Optional
Tokelau	Post Code		Field Optional
Tonga	Post Code		Field Optional
Trinidad and Tobago	Post Code		Field Optional
Tunisia	Post Code	4, 5 digits
Turkey	Post Code	5 digits
Tuvalu	Post Code		Field Optional
Uganda	Post Code		Field Required
Ukraine	Post Code	5 digits
United Arab Emirates	Post Code		Field Disabled. Sending "00000"
United Kingdom	Post Code	Length is 5 to 8 characters. Format begins with 1-2 uppercase letters followed by 1-2 digits, optionally a single letter, a space (optional), then ends with 1 digit and 2 uppercase letters. Supports valid formats like SW1A 1AA, W1A 0AX, etc
United States	Post Code	5 or 9 (XXXXX-XXXX) digits	In the format XXXXX or XXXXX-XXXX
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Post Code		Field Optional
Uzbekistan	Post Code	6 digits (XXX XXX or XXXXXX)	In the format XXXXXX or XXX XXX
Vanuatu	Post Code		Field Optional
Venezuela	Post Code	4 digits
Yemen	Post Code		Field Optional
Zimbabwe	Post Code		Field Optional

Documentation Portal

Address Field Validations

Validating the Checkout Page Address Fields

Address Fields

Address Field Formats and Error Handling

Phone Field Validations per Country

Phone Validation Flow in Checkout

Why We Introduced This Change

What’s New for Merchants

Shopper Experience in Checkout

Configuration and Enablement

Examples of Allowed Inputs

Shopper Error Messages

Benefits for Merchants

Timeline and Rollout

Note

Roadmap – Planned for End of November

Zip/Postcode Field Validations per Country

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