USPS API Update September 2014

Posted by: Genevieve Thursday, September 4th, 2014

See update at end of post for additional information from Magento from September 24th or read their blog post.

USPS Logo

USPS Logo

If you use USPS live rates in Magento, you’ve likely received an email from USPS informing you of upcoming changes to their APIs. These changes will take effect on September 7th, 2014.

USPS has also noted that the end of support for their RateV3 API (in favor of the RateV4 API) will take place on September 28th, 2014 as scheduled. WebShopApps has reviewed these changes against Magento from Community Edition versions 1.4.1 to 1.9 with the following conclusions.

Magento CE 1.5.1 or Later

If you’re running a version of Magento Community Edition 1.5.1 or later, we can confirm that there will be little or no impact on your site (however, see below for a possible configuration changes if you’re using our Shipping Override, Shipping Insurance, or Dimensional Shipping extensions). You can read more about the changes included in this update below.

Versions lower than Magento CE 1.5.1

If you’re running Magento Community Edition below version 1.5.1 you will no longer receive USPS rates from September 28th onward since those versions of Magento used USPS RateV3 API which will be retired. WebShopApps has developed a free patch for sites running versions prior to 1.5.1 which will update the USPS API version to RateV4. Download the patch.

Once you’ve installed the patch, no further action will be required on your part and you will continue receiving USPS rates even after the September 28th update. This patch also includes changes required for full compatibility with the September 7th update. This patch is provided for free but does not come with support. If you require advice or assistance then we encourage you to purchase a support package.

Magento Enterprise Edition users

We recommend that any users of Magento EE contact Magento for information and updates on whether or not this API update will be expected to effect them.

USPS API Update Summary

The September 7th update to the API is relatively minor. You can learn more about these changes at USPS.com. The only significant changes are outlined below:

  • Update of country name for Montenegro and Tokelau (Western Samoa)
  • Method names updated for Media Mail (now Media Mail Parcel) and Library Mail (Library Mail Parcel)

USPS has not yet released full information on updates that are expected to take effect on September 28th except to confirm that it will end support the RateV3 API on that date.

Shipping Override, Shipping Insurance, or Dimensional Shipping Impact

If you are running our Shipping Override, or Shipping Insurance extensions and are offering either Media Mail or Library Mail, you may need to update your configuration to reflect the new shipping methods.

If you’re running our Dimensional Shipping extension it is not necessary to upgrade or update your configuration, you should see no impact with these API changes.

About WebShopApps

WebShopApps are Magento Platinum Industry Partners and the premier providers of shipping solutions for rate management in Magento. Contact us to discuss your needs.


Update September 24th: Magento has released a blog post containing the results of their review of the impact of the September 7th and September 28th USPS API changes. They have produced patches for Magento Enterprise Edition 1.11.x and above and Magento Community Editions above version 1.6. See their blog post for more details.

Please Note: Magento officially advises merchants running CE1.6 and below upgrade to latest Magento version.

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