Address field localization at checkout

When a customer enters a billing or shipping address at checkout, StoreConnect decides which address fields are required based on the country they select. This is why a shopper checking out to one country may be required to enter a State and Postal/Zip code, while a shopper checking out to another country is not.

This behavior is built into StoreConnect to match how addresses work in different parts of the world. It is not a store setting, and it cannot be turned on or off per store.

:::note The address localization rules apply to online checkout. Addresses entered at the point of sale (POS) or created through the API are not validated against them, so an address can be saved there with any field blank regardless of country. :::

Why some fields are optional

Not every country uses a State/Province or a Postal/Zip code as part of a standard address. StoreConnect follows international address conventions, so:

• Postal/Zip code is optional for countries that do not use postal codes (for example, Ireland, Hong Kong, and several island and African nations).
• State/Province is optional for countries that do not commonly include a state or region in their addresses (for example, the United Kingdom and Singapore).

When a field is optional, it is still shown on the checkout form — it is simply not required, so the customer can leave it blank and continue. The field is never hidden.

For countries that have no administrative subdivisions at all, the State/Province field still appears, but its dropdown has no options to choose. The customer leaves it as-is, and it is not required.

Only State/Province and Postal/Zip code are ever optional. Street address, city, and country are always required at checkout for every country — there is no country for which those fields can be left blank.

What the customer sees

The required fields update based on the selected country:

• Required fields must be completed before the customer can move past the customer information step.
• Optional fields (like a Postal/Zip code that the country does not use) can be left blank, and checkout will still proceed.
• All address fields stay visible on the form regardless of country — only whether they are required changes. When the customer changes the country, the required fields and the list of available states update automatically.

The same rules apply to both the billing and shipping address, and to guest checkout as well as logged-in customers.

Examples

The table below shows a few common examples. It is not the complete list — the rules cover well over one hundred countries.

:::note If a State/Province or Postal/Zip code field is not required for a particular country, this is intentional and matches the address format used in that country. The field still appears on the form — it is simply optional. This is not a configuration error, and there is no store setting to change which fields are required. :::

Make address entry easier for your customers using Google address autocomplete or AddressFinder integration integrations.