When setting up a postal code–restricted rate in the Better Shipping app for Canadian addresses, you can choose to include or exclude certain postal codes. This is an optional feature, if you do not turn on postal code restrictions, your shipping rate will appear for any customer within the selected Shopify shipping zone in your Shopify Admin > Settings > Shipping > GeneralProfile > ManageRates settings.
If you do want to restrict who sees the shipping rate, using the postal code restrictions will give you fine-grained control. You can specify exact postal codes (e.g., K1A0B1, M5V1E3
) or match any postal codes that start with certain letters/letter-digit combos (e.g., M5V
, or just M
for a broader region).
Including Postal Codes
Using the “include postal codes” field ensures only the customers inside the listed postal codes (or that match the “starts with” entries) see the shipping rate.
-
Exact match example
K1A0B1, M5V1E3
Only these two specific postal codes will see the rate. -
Starts with example
M
Any postal codes that start withM
(e.g.,M1X 1A1
,M5V 1E3
, etc.) will see the rate. All other codes won’t.
Excluding Postal Codes
Using the “exclude postal codes” field ensures customers outside these postal codes can see the rate, and those who are in the excluded postal codes won’t see it.
-
Exact match example
M5V1E3, M5V2Z1
Anyone in those two exact postal codes will be blocked. All others in your shipping zone will see the rate. -
Starts with example
T
Anyone in Alberta (postal codes that start withT
) will be excluded. All other provinces/territories in your shipping zone will see the rate.
Combining Includes and Excludes
You can also mix both fields. The Better Shipping app will check the “include” field first. Then it will filter out anything that appears in the “exclude” field.
For example:
- Include:
M, K
- Exclude:
K1A
In this scenario:
- Anyone with a postal code starting with M will be included.
- Anyone with a postal code starting with K will be included except those whose code starts specifically with
K1A
. - All other customers (postal codes not starting with M or K) won’t see the rate.
How Canadian Postal Codes Work
Canadian postal codes generally follow the format A1A 1A1
, where:
- A = letter
- 1 = digit
The first letter corresponds to a broad geographic region (province or territory). If you want to block or allow an entire province or territory, you can simply use its first letter(s).
Note: Some provinces/territories share the same initial letter. Quebec, Ontario, and the territories in particular have multiple letter divisions. If you need more fine-grained targeting (for instance, you only ship to part of Ontario), you can use more characters (e.g.,
K2
orM5V
) for a narrower region.
Province/Territory “Starts With” Letters
Below is a quick reference for the letters associated with each province/territory. You can copy and paste these into your “includes” or “excludes” fields depending on which regions you’d like to cover.
-
NL, Newfoundland and Labrador
Starts with:A
-
NS, Nova Scotia
Starts with:B
-
PE, Prince Edward Island
Starts with:C
-
NB, New Brunswick
Starts with:E
-
QC, Quebec
Starts with:G, H, J
(You can choose one or all three, depending on your target area in Quebec.) -
ON, Ontario
Starts with:K, L, M, N, P
(Toronto isM
, Ottawa is largelyK
, etc.) -
MB, Manitoba
Starts with:R
-
SK, Saskatchewan
Starts with:S
-
AB, Alberta
Starts with:T
-
BC, British Columbia
Starts with:V
-
NU, Nunavut / NT, Northwest Territories
Starts with:X
(Used by both Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.) -
YT, Yukon
Starts with:Y
Tips
- Exact matches vs. starts with: If you need to allow (or block) only very specific neighborhoods or single addresses, try exact matches like
M5V1E3
. If you want an entire city or region, try “starts with,” for exampleM5V
. - Formatting: Enter postal codes separated by commas:
K1A0B1, M5V1E3
. Or for starts with, simply separate by commas:M, N, P
. - Combining: You can combine exact matches and starts-with matches in the same field. For instance, if you want all of Toronto plus a few neighborhoods in Ottawa, add
M
and the specific K1 codes you need.
Example: Restrict to Only Ontario
To show a rate only for Ontario postal codes:
- Turn on the postal code restriction.
- In the Include field, copy in
K, L, M, N, P
. - Save.
No other Canadian addresses will see this shipping rate—only those with postal codes that start with K, L, M, N, or P.
That’s it! You now have a quick reference for handling Canada postal code restrictions in the Better Shipping app. If you have any questions or need a more granular breakdown, feel free to reach out to our support team for assistance.