Pitney Bowes¶

Overview¶

Pitney Bowes provides delivery and return shipping through PB Expedited Services and PB Standard Services. Pitney Bowes recommends integration with both to provide merchants the full range of shipping options. You can use the same Create Shipment request for both services. Before integrating, please read the API Overview and Getting Started pages. When integrating, use the API Operations listed on this page. Always read the Considerations section on an API operation’s documentation page for any conditions or limitations specific to that operation. Refer to this page for general information on Services (Mail Classes), Special Services, Parcel Types, and Label Sizes.

PB Expedited Services¶

PB Expedited provides domestic and international shipping through USPS^®. PB Expedited offers both delivery and return labels. On qualifying shipments, PB Expedited offers PB Delivery Guarantee. By default, all developer and merchant accounts have access to ship with PB Expedited.

PB Standard Services¶

PB Standard provides postpaid shipping. Labels incur no charges at the time of print. PB Standard offers both delivery and return labels. When printing delivery labels, shippers must containerize their parcels. To ship with PB Standard, a merchant must first onboard.

API Operations¶

The following operations are used with PB Expedited and PB Standard. For PB Standard requests that originate in the Asia-Pacific Region, Pitney Bowes also provides APAC Services to localize operations. See APAC Services.

Operation	Method	Endpoint
Get Carrier Rules	GET	/v1/information/rules/rating-services?carrier={carrier}&originCountryCode={XX}&destinationCountryCode={YY}
Get Carrier Countries	GET	/v1/countries?carrier={carrier}&originCountryCode={two-character-ISO-code}
Find Carrier Facilities	POST	/v1/carrier-facility
Validate an Address	POST	/v1/addresses/verify
Suggest Addresses	POST	/v1/addresses/verify-suggest
Rate a Service	POST	/v1/rates
Create a PB Delivery Shipment	POST	/v1/shipments
Create a PB Expedited Returns Label	POST	/v1/shipments
Create a PB Standard Returns Label	POST	/v1/shipments
Reprint a Label	GET	/v1/shipments/{shipmentId}?carrier={carrier}
Retry a Label	GET	/v1/shipments?originalTransactionId={transaction_id}&carrier={carrier}
Void a Label	DELETE	/v1/shipments/{shipmentId}?carrier={carrier}&cancelInitiator=SHIPPER
Create a USPS SCAN Form	POST	/v1/manifests
Create a PB Standard Closeout	POST	/v1/manifests
Create a Container Label	POST	/v1/container-manifest
Get Tracking Information	GET	/v1/tracking/{trackingNumber}?packageIdentifierType=TrackingNumber
Get Transaction Reports	GET	/v4/ledger/developers/{developerId}/transactions/reports
Get Archived Reports	GET	/v4/ledger/developers/{developerId}/transactions/archived
Accounts APIs	——	See the Accounts APIs table on the Merchant Accounts page.

Services¶

Pitney Bowes provides Delivery Services, Returns Services, and International Services.

Delivery Services¶

The following table does not show whether a special service is compatible with a given combination of service and parcel type. If your shipment uses PB Expedited, you can check compatibility using the Rules API or Domestic Mail Manual. Note that some domestic services might include a customs form, as described in this FAQ.

Delivery Mail Class	ID	PB Expedited	PB Standard	Parcel Types 1
Bound Printed Matter	BPM		✓	PKG
First-Class Mail	FCM	✓	✓	Expedited: FLAT, IRRPKG, LETTER, NMLETTER, PKG Standard: PKG
Library Mail	LIB	✓		LGENV, PKG
Media Mail	MEDIA	✓		LGENV, PKG
Parcel Select	PRCLSEL		✓	PKG
Parcel Select Ground	PRCLSEL	✓		PKG
Parcel Select Lightweight	PSLW		✓	PKG
Priority Mail	PM	✓	✓	Expedited: FRB, FRE, LGENV, LFRB, LGLFRENV, MLFRB, PKG, PFRENV, RBA, RBB, SOFTPACK, SFRB Standard: PKG
Priority Mail Express	EM	✓		FRE, LGENV, LGLFRENV, PKG, PFRENV
Retail Ground (formerly Standard Post)	STDPOST	✓		PKG

1: Use the Rules API to determine compatible special services.

Returns Services¶

The following table does not show whether a special service is compatible with a given combination of service and parcel type. If your shipment uses PB Expedited, you can check compatibility using the Rules API or Domestic Mail Manual.

Returns Mail Class

ID

PB Expedited

PB Standard

Parcel Types 2

First-Class Package Return Service

FCM

✓

PKG

Parcel Select Return Service

PRCLSEL

✓

PKG

Priority Mail Return Service

PM

✓

PKG, FRE, LGLFRENV, PFRENV

2: Use the Rules API to determine compatible special services.

International Services¶

The returned label includes the customs form. The following table shows supported services and parcel types but does not show whether a special service is compatible with a given combination of service and parcel type. To check compatibility, use the Rules API or Domestic Mail Manual.

International Mail Class	ID	Parcel Types 3
First-Class Mail International	FCMI	LGENV, LTR, NMLTR
First-Class Package International Service (supports E-DELCON)	FCPIS	PKG
Priority Mail Express International	EMI	FRE, LGENV, LGLFRENV, PFRENV, PKG
Priority Mail International	PMI	DVDBOX, FRB, FRE, LFRB, LGENV, LGLFRENV, PFRENV, PKG, SFRB, VIDEOBOX

3: Use the Rules API to determine compatible special services.

Special Services¶

This section describes the following:

PB Expedited Special Services
PB Standard Special Services

PB Expedited Special Services¶

PB Expedited supports the following special services. Before using a special service, you must use the Rules API to determine:

Compatibility with the chosen combination of service and parcel type.
Compatibility with any other selected special services.
The input parameters for the special service. For help determining input parameters, see this FAQ.
Whether the combination of service and parcel type requires a trackable special service. If it does, you can add a no-charge special service, such as DelCon.

Important

The table below does not show whether a special service is compatible with a given parcel type or with another special service. To check compatibility, use the Rules API.
Use of a special service might be subject to other restrictions not shown in the table.
Do not include a special service unless you intend to apply it.

Note

If you use the FCM service, no special service is required.

Special Service	ID	Services 4
Adult Signature Required	ADSIG	EM, FCM, PM, PRCLSEL
Adult Signature with Restricted Delivery	ADSIGRD	EM, FCM, PM, PRCLSEL
Certified Mail	Cert	FCM, PM
Certified Mail with Adult Signature	CERTAD	FCM, PM
Certified Mail with Adult Signature and Restricted Delivery	CERTADRD	FCM, PM
Certified Mail with Restricted Delivery	CertRD	FCM, PM
Collect On Delivery (COD)	COD	EM, FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Collect On Delivery with Restricted Delivery	CODRD	EM, FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Delivery Confirmation	DelCon	FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Electronic Return Receipt	ERR	FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Hazardous Materials	hazmat	EM, FCM, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Holiday Delivery.	holiday	EM
Insured Mail	Ins	EM, EMI, FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PMI, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Insured Mail with Restricted Delivery	InsRD	EM, FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Live Animal	liveanimal	EM, FCM, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Live Animal - Day Old Poultry	liveanimal-poultry	EM, FCM, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Registered Mail	Reg	FCM, PM
Registered Mail with COD	RegCOD	FCM, PM
Registered Mail with Insurance	RegIns	FCM, PM
Registered Mail with Insurance and Restricted Delivery	RegInsRD	FCM, PM
Registered Mail with Restricted Delivery	RegRD	FCM, PM
Return Receipt	RR	EM, FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Special Handling - Fragile	SH	EM, FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Signature Confirmation	Sig	EM, FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Signature with Restricted Delivery	SigRD	FCM, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Sunday Delivery	sunday	EM
Sunday holiday Delivery	sunday-holiday	EM

4: Use the Rules API to determine which parcel types and other special services are compatible with the chosen combination of service and special service.

PB Standard Special Services¶

The following special services are supported for PB Standard shipments created through the PB Ecommerce APIs. Do not include a special service unless you intend to apply it.

Special Service

ID

Input Parameters

Delivery Confirmation

DelCon

Input parameters are not required for DelCon. To use DelCon, add the following to the rates.specialServices array:

{ "specialServiceId": "DelCon" }

Signature Confirmation

Sig

Input parameters are not required for Sig. To use Sig, add the following to the rates.specialServices array:

{ "specialServiceId": "Sig" }

Subscribe to Notifications

NOTIFICATIONS

To set input parameters, see PB Standard Notifications.

Note: To use this service, the merchant must be configured for notifications, as described in PB Standard Notifications.

Parcel Types¶

Pitney Bowes supports the parcel types described in the following tables:

PB Expedited Letters and Flats
PB Expedited Packages
PB Standard Packages

PB Expedited Letters and Flats¶

Parcel Type	ID	Services that use the Parcel Type 5
Large Envelope/Flat	Use one of the following IDs, depending on the mail class: LGENV: Use for mail classes other than First-Class. FLAT: Use only with First-Class Mail. FLAT requires the DOC_6X4 label size. FLAT does not support special services. The generated label has an IMb. See this FAQ on printing an IMb label.	The services (mail classes) are specific to the ID: LGENV supports EM, EMI, FCMI, LIB, MEDIA, PM, and PMI FLAT supports FCM
Flat Rate Envelope	FRE	EM, EMI, PM, PMI
Letter	LETTER Use only with First-Class Mail and a label size of either DOC_6X4 or DOC_9X4. LETTER does not support special services. The generated label has an IMb. See this FAQ on printing an IMb label.	FCM
Legal Flat Rate Envelope	LGLFRENV	EM, EMI, PM, PMI
Letter	LTR Use only with First-Class Mail International (FCMI).	FCMI
Nonmachinable Letter	NMLETTER Use only with First-Class Mail. For steps to ship non-machinable letters, see this FAQ.	FCM
Nonmachinable Letter	NMLTR Use only with First-Class Mail International (FCMI). For steps to ship non-machinable letters, see this FAQ.	FCMI
Padded Flat Rate Envelope	PFRENV	EM, EMI, PM, PMI
Soft Pack Envelope	SOFTPACK See How are rates calculated for USPS soft packs?	PM

5: Use the Rules API to determine whether the service’s special services are compatible with the parcel type.

PB Expedited Packages¶

Parcel Type	ID	Services that use the Parcel Type 6
DVD Flat Rate Box	DVDBOX	PMI
Medium Flat Rate Box 1, Medium Flat Rate Box 2	FRB	PM, PMI
Irregular Parcel For steps to ship irregular parcels, please see this FAQ.	IRRPKG	FCM
Large Flat Rate Box	LFRB	PM, PMI
Military Large Flat Rate Box	MLFRB	PM
Package	PKG	EM, EMI, FCM, FCPIS, LIB, MEDIA, PM, PMI, PRCLSEL, STDPOST
Regional Box A	RBA	PM
Regional Box B	RBB	PM
Small Flat Rate Box	SFRB	PM, PMI
Large Video Flat Rate Box	VIDEOBOX	PMI

6: Use the Rules API to determine whether the service’s special services are compatible with the parcel type.

PB Standard Packages¶

PB Standard uses the Package (PKG) parcel type.

Parcel Type

ID

Services Supporting the Parcel Type

Package

PKG

BPM, PRCLSEL, PSLW, FCM, PM

Labels¶

Note

Please read the Label Considerations before printing a label.

Label Considerations¶

The value for the label size uses an upper-case X. Do not use a lower-case x.
Labels retrieved through URLs are available for 24 hours after creation.
For APAC Services, this table does not apply. See APAC Label Settings.
For ZPL2 labels, if your printer does not support Unicode, see this topic.
For FCM / FLAT shipments, set the label size to DOC_6X4.
For FCM / LETTER shipments, set the label size to DOC_6X4 or DOC_9X4.
For international shipments, set the label size to DOC_4X6 or DOC_8X11. The returned label includes the customs form. The form serves as both shipping label and customs declaration.
To print Doc Tabs, see this FAQ.
Advise shippers on correct label placement.

Label Sizes Per Carrier¶

Pitney Bowes supports the following label sizes. For the label options for each carrier, see these tables: Expedited Label Options, Standard Delivery Label Options, and Standard Returns Label Options.

Label size	PB Expedited	PB Standard Delivery	PB Standard Returns
DOC_4X4		✓
DOC_4X5		✓
DOC_4X6	✓	✓	✓
DOC_4X8	✓
DOC_6X4	✓		✓
DOC_8X11	✓		✓
DOC_9X4	✓

Expedited Label Options¶

PB Expedited labels use the following options.

Label Size

File Format

Content Type

Resolution
* indicates default if multiple options exist

DOC_4X6

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

URL

BASE64

not applicable

DPI_203, DPI_300*

DPI_203*, DPI_300 (domestic labels only)

DOC_4X8

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

URL

BASE64

not applicable

DOC_6X4

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

URL

BASE64

not applicable

DPI_203

DOC_8X11

PDF

PNG

URL

BASE64

not applicable

DPI_300

DOC_9X4

PDF

PNG

URL

BASE64

not applicable

DPI_203

Standard Delivery Label Options¶

PB Standard Delivery labels use the following options.

Label Size

File Format

Content Type

Resolution
* indicates default if multiple options exist

DOC_4X4

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

URL

BASE64

DPI_203

DPI_203*, DPI_300

DOC_4X5

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

TIF

URL

BASE64

DPI_203

DPI_203*, DPI_300

DPI_203, DPI_300, DPI_600*

DOC_4X6

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

URL

BASE64

DPI_203

DPI_203*, DPI_300

No setting

GIF (used for QR codes only)

BASE64

No setting

Standard Returns Label Options¶

PB Standard Returns labels use the following options:

Label Size

File Format

Content Type

Resolution
* indicates default if multiple options exist

DOC_4X6

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

URL

BASE64

DPI_300

DPI_300*, DPI_203

DOC_6X4

PDF

PNG

ZPL2

URL

BASE64

DPI_300

DPI_300*, DPI_203

DOC_8X11

PDF

URL

DPI_300

Surcharges¶

For PB Expedited, the following USPS surcharges can apply. If a surcharge applies, it is returned in the rates.surcharges array.

API Code	Surcharge
irregular	The parcel is an Irregular Parcel.
nonmachinable	The parcel is a Nonmachinable Letter.
oversize	The parcel is subject to oversize pricing.

Onboard with PB Standard¶

To onboard a merchant to use PB Standard:

Contact your Pitney Bowes representative to register the merchant at one or more PB Standard facilities. Pitney Bowes will provide the merchant with a set of PB Standard IDs for use when shipping with PB Standard.
Email a request to ClientSupportTechServices@pb.com asking Pitney Bowes to enable the merchant to use PB Standard. In the request, include the merchant’s Shipper ID and PB Standard IDs.

PB Standard IDs¶

Pitney Bowes provides a merchant with the following IDs during onboarding. Pitney Bowes also provides test values for the IDs for use when testing on Sandbox. The test values to use for an operation are listed on the operation’s documentation page. Note that different operations might use different test values. For example the Rates API uses different test values for the IDs than does the Create Shipments API. Always use the test values listed on the operation’s documentation page.

ID

Description

CLIENT_ID

The unique ID assigned to the merchant for use with PB Standard.

CLIENT_FACILITY_ID

The merchant’s facility. A merchant can have multiple client facility IDs.

CARRIER_FACILITY_ID

The PB Standard facility assigned to the merchant. A merchant can be assigned multiple PB Standard facilities.

Pitney Bowes¶

Overview¶

PB Expedited Services¶

PB Standard Services¶

API Operations¶

Services¶

Delivery Services¶

Returns Services¶

International Services¶

Special Services¶

PB Expedited Special Services¶

PB Standard Special Services¶

Parcel Types¶

PB Expedited Letters and Flats¶

PB Expedited Packages¶

PB Standard Packages¶

Labels¶

Label Considerations¶

Label Sizes Per Carrier¶

Expedited Label Options¶

Standard Delivery Label Options¶

Standard Returns Label Options¶

Surcharges¶

Onboard with PB Standard¶

PB Standard IDs¶

See Also¶