Knowledge Base

Summary: This is what UPS needs when a domestic label is billed to someone other than your own UPS account: who pays, what that payer needs, and the exact billing errors UPS returns when the choice is wrong. For the addresses on the shipment, see "UPS domestic shipments: required address fields and length limits."

You reach these settings whenever a UPS label is not simply Prepaid on your own account: billing the receiver, billing a third party, consignee billing, or paying by credit card. Some of these are set on the shipment and some come from your profile or a business rule.

The one rule that causes most of these errors

A UPS shipment can have exactly one payer. UPS lets you pick from:

• Bill Shipper - your own UPS account, or a credit card.
• Bill Receiver - the receiver's own UPS account.
• Bill Third Party - somebody else's UPS account.
• Consignee billed - billed to the consignee. Allowed only inside the United States or Puerto Rico.

Send more than one, or send one UPS does not recognize, and UPS turns the shipment down. This is usually a business rule quietly adding a second one, not something typed twice on the screen.

What each payer needs

Duties, taxes, and COD

• Transportation is the charge on a normal domestic package. Duties and taxes cannot be billed separately on a shipment that stays inside one country, or between the United States and Puerto Rico.
• If you collect money on delivery (COD), UPS needs to know what the driver may accept. Cashier's check or money order is the usual choice, and cash is not accepted. The amount UPS will collect runs from 0.01 up to 50,000.00 US dollars.

The errors you may see, and how to fix them

UPS shows the exact wording below. Fix the setting it names and try again.

• Missing or invalid shipment payment method - No payer reached UPS at all. Set the billing terms on the shipment.
• A single billing option is required per shipment - More than one payer was sent. Check any business rule that sets or edits billing terms; it is usually adding a second one.
• Invalid Bill-To type - UPS did not recognize the payer that was sent. Set the billing terms again from the list on the screen.
• PaymentInformation/Prepaid/BillShipper/AccountNumber must be the same shipper number as Shipper/ShipperNumber - The account being billed is not the account you are shipping under. An admin fixes the UPS account in the profile.
• Missing bill receiver account number - You chose Bill Consignee by Account and no receiver account reached UPS. Enter the receiver's UPS account with its country and ZIP, and check no business rule is clearing it.
• Third party or freight collect shippers postal code is missing or invalid. - The third-party ZIP is blank, wrong, or does not match the pickup ZIP on that account. Get the correct ZIP from whoever owns that account.
• Consignee billing is only supported in US or Pureto Rico - Consignee billing was used outside the United States or Puerto Rico. Use third-party or receiver billing instead. (UPS spells "Puerto" wrong in this message; that is UPS's own wording.)
• Either credit card or account number information is needed but not both. - Both a card and an account number were sent. Remove one.

What you should see

After you fix the setting the message names and process again, the label prints and the charge lands on the account or card you chose.

If something goes wrong

The billing terms change on their own during rating. A business rule is doing it. See the related article on prepaid shipments flipping to Bill Consignee.

You cannot find the account number field on the screen. It is hidden on purpose for some billing terms. See the related article.

The account and ZIP are right and UPS still turns it down. Email support@shipstore.com with your company name, the shipment number, and the exact UPS wording.

Related articles

• UPS domestic shipments: required address fields and length limits
• UPS domestic shipments: ship-from (your origin) address fields
• Prepaid shipment flips to Bill Consignee (invalid account number)
• Why the Account # field is hidden for Prepaid or Bill Consignee
• UPS collect to Canada rejected: switch Bill Consignee to Third Party

UPS billing methods: what each one does and when you cannot use it

UPS accepts one payer per shipment charge. These are the choices, what each one bills, and the cases UPS turns down. The wording in quotes is UPS's own, and the number in front of it is the UPS error code. Both are worth pasting into search when you are stuck.

Prepaid (bill your own account)

What it bills: your own UPS account, the one the shipment ships under.
What it needs: a UPS account number, up to 6 characters. Nothing else.
When you cannot use it: when the account being billed is not the account you are shipping under. UPS returns 120415 "PaymentInformation/Prepaid/BillShipper/AccountNumber must be the same shipper number as Shipper/ShipperNumber". An admin fixes the UPS account on the profile.

Prepaid by credit card

What it bills: a credit card instead of a UPS account.
What it needs: card type, card number, expiry date, and security code. The card's billing country has to be valid for that card, and so does the Ship From country.
When you cannot use it: when a card and an account number are both sent. UPS returns "Either credit card or account number information is needed but not both." Remove one.

Bill Receiver (bill the receiver's own account)

What it bills: the receiver's UPS account.
What it needs: the receiver's UPS account number, up to 6 characters, plus the country and ZIP that go with that account.
When you cannot use it: when no receiver account reaches UPS, UPS returns "Missing bill receiver account number". Check that no business rule is clearing the field. UPS may also refuse receiver billing on shipments to Canada; see the related article on switching Bill Consignee to Third Party.

Bill Third Party (bill somebody else's account)

What it bills: a third party's UPS account, for example the customer who asked you to ship on their account.
What it needs: the third party's UPS account number, their country, and a valid ZIP. The ZIP has to match the pickup ZIP on that third-party account.
When you cannot use it: when the ZIP is blank, wrong, or does not match that account's pickup ZIP. UPS returns 120437 "Third party or freight collect shippers postal code is missing or invalid." Get the correct ZIP from whoever owns the account.

Consignee billed

What it bills: the consignee.
What it needs: nothing extra beyond selecting it.
When you cannot use it: anywhere outside the United States or Puerto Rico. UPS returns 120125 "Consignee billing is only supported in US or Pureto Rico". Use third-party or receiver billing instead. (UPS misspells "Puerto" in its own message.)

Rules that apply no matter which one you pick

• One payer per charge. Send two and UPS returns 120416 "A single billing option is required per shipment". This is nearly always a business rule quietly adding a second payer, not something typed twice.
• The payer has to be one UPS recognises. An unrecognised choice returns 120444 "Invalid Bill-To type".
• Some payer is required. If none reaches UPS at all, you get 120400 "Missing or invalid shipment payment method".
• Duties and taxes cannot be billed separately on a shipment that stays inside one country, or that moves between the United States and Puerto Rico.
• Service restrictions come first. Some UPS services do not accept third-party or consignee billing at all, whatever you set here. See the related article on UPS Ground Saver.