- Short answer
- From the order's Return action, choose Create a return label in Shopify — US domestic orders only, billed pay-on-scan.
- International, military (APO/FPO/DPO) or customs-form territory address
- Buy it from a carrier, a third-party service or an app, then choose Upload a return label.
- Unused return label
- Can't be voided; expires unused at no charge. On UPS, the link expires after 30 days.
- Order requirements
- At least one item must be fulfilled; labels are order-level — adjust the weight for a partial return.
- Charging the customer
- Not automatic — any deduction from the refund is done manually when you process it.
Where do you create a return label in Shopify?
You create it on the order, per Shopify's return-label guide:
- Click Return on a fulfilled order, or More actions > Return if the order still has unfulfilled items.
- Under Return shipping options, select Create a return label in Shopify, then Create return.
- Set Return to, Package and weight and Shipping service, then Create return label.
- Send it: Email customer, Copy link or Print label.
With self-serve returns, approving a customer's return request lets you send the label.
When are you charged for a Shopify return label?
Billing waits for the carrier:
Return labels use pay-on-scan billing, which means you aren't charged when you create the label. Instead, you're charged only after the carrier scans the package.
Labels are always billed to your Shopify account, and Shopify says you can't automatically charge the customer: if you want to deduct the cost from the refund, you must do it manually when you process the refund. Whether the customer should pay at all is a policy call — see who pays for the return trip.
A return label can't be voided, but it can expire — unused, at no charge. Shopify's UPS note adds that its link expires after 30 days, so save it. See how long each carrier's labels last.
When can't you create a return label in Shopify?
Return labels are available only for US domestic orders: your primary location and the customer's address must both be in the US, and military (APO/FPO/DPO), customs-form territory and international addresses are out.
For those, buy a label from a carrier, a third-party service or a Shopify App Store app, then attach it with Upload a return label when you create the return — a PDF, PNG, JPEG or URL.
Shopify says you can't print shipping labels in the Shopify admin without an order, and you create a return label from the order page. That order needs at least one fulfilled item.
Labels are order-level, not item-level: for a partial return, adjust the expected weight.
This article was written entirely by AI under human editorial direction. The editor sets the topic and structure, runs multi-stage validation on facts, links, and interactive elements, and verifies the output is useful from a business perspective. All claims are checked against official Shopify sources. Details may change — always confirm critical data at shopify.com.
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