Geo Restriction
Block or allow checkout based on shipping country and province/state. Create geo restriction rules to control which regions can complete orders at your store.
Available on all Shopify plans. Geo Restriction uses Shopify Functions — no Shopify Plus required.
What it does
Geo Restriction lets you create rules that block or allow checkout based on the buyer's shipping address:
Block specific countries/regions — prevent checkout for orders shipping to restricted locations
Allow only specific countries/regions — only permit checkout for orders shipping to approved locations
Province/state-level control — restrict specific provinces or states within a country (e.g., block Alaska and Hawaii only)
Additional conditions — combine geo rules with product, subtotal, or customer tag conditions for precise targeting
Each rule shows a custom error message at a position you choose — either as a banner at the top of the page or inline next to a specific field.
Step 1: Go to Checkout Validations
In the app sidebar, click Checkout Validations. You'll see the list of all validation rules.
List page overview
Search
Find rules by name
Status filter
Filter by Active, Inactive, or Test mode
Table
Shows rule name, type, status, countries summary, and actions
Actions
Activate/Deactivate, Edit, Delete for each rule
Bulk actions
Select multiple rules to activate, deactivate, or delete
Step 2: Create a new rule
Click Create validation (top right), then select Geo Restriction. The editor opens with four sections: Name & Status, Geo Restriction Rule, Additional Conditions, and Error Message & Position.
Step 3: Set name and status
Rule name
A descriptive name for your reference (e.g., "Block Alaska & Hawaii")
Status
Active — rule applies at checkout. Test mode — only triggers when checkout email is [email protected]. Inactive — rule is saved but not applied.
Tip: Start with Test mode to verify the rule works correctly before activating it for all customers.
Step 4: Configure the geo restriction rule
This section defines which locations are blocked or allowed at checkout.
Restriction mode
Choose how the rule applies:
Block specific countries/regions
Orders shipping to selected locations are blocked at checkout
Allow only specific countries/regions
Only orders shipping to selected locations are allowed through checkout
Block mode is best when you want to restrict a few specific regions. Allow mode is best when you only ship to a limited number of countries.
Select countries
Use the searchable dropdown to find and select countries. Each option shows a flag emoji and country name (e.g., "US United States"). Selected countries appear as tags below the search input — click the X on any tag to remove it.
Select provinces/states (optional)
After selecting a country that has provinces or states, a collapsible section appears below the country tags:
Collapsed by default — helper text reads: "All provinces/states are blocked" (or "allowed")
Expand to see a checkbox list of provinces/states with search
Select specific provinces to restrict only those areas within the country
Leave all unchecked to apply the rule to the entire country
Province/state selection is optional. If you don't select any specific provinces, the rule applies to the entire country.
Step 5: Add additional conditions (optional)
By default, the rule applies to all checkouts that match the geo restriction. You can optionally add extra conditions to narrow the scope.
This section is collapsed by default. Click to expand and switch from "No condition" to "Set conditions".
Available condition types
Included product
Rule only applies when the cart contains this product
Block US only when cart has "Oversized Item"
Excluded product
Rule does NOT apply when the cart contains this product
Don't block US when cart has "Digital Download"
Subtotal value
Rule only applies when the order subtotal meets the threshold
Block international orders over $1,000
Customer tag
Rule only applies when the customer has (or doesn't have) a specific tag
Allow international checkout for customers tagged "wholesale"
All conditions use AND logic — the geo condition AND every additional condition must be true for the rule to trigger. For example: "Block US" AND "Subtotal > $1,000" means both must be satisfied.
Step 6: Configure error message and position
This section controls what buyers see when the rule triggers.
Error message
Enter the message buyers will see at checkout. The default message is: "Sorry, we cannot ship to your region."
Keep it clear and helpful — explain what went wrong and what the buyer can do (e.g., "We currently don't ship to this region. Please use a different shipping address.").
Maximum 150 characters recommended. A character counter is shown below the field.
Error position
Choose where the error message appears on the checkout page:
Top of the checkout page
Red banner at the top of the page — most visible
First name
Inline error below the First name field
Last name
Inline error below the Last name field
Company
Inline error below the Company field
Address line 1
Inline error below Address line 1
Address line 2
Inline error below Address line 2
City
Inline error below the City field
Email or phone number
Inline error below the Email/Phone field
Delivery phone
Inline error below the Delivery phone field
ZIP / Postal code
Inline error below the ZIP code field
Country
Inline error below the Country dropdown
Province / State
Inline error below the Province/State dropdown
For geo restriction rules, "Country" or "Top of the checkout page" are recommended positions — they clearly indicate the issue is related to the shipping location.
Step 7: Preview and save
The right sidebar shows a live preview of how your error message will appear based on the selected position. The preview updates in real time as you change the error message or position.
Full checkout preview
Click "Preview" (below the preview thumbnail) to open a full-screen modal showing the complete checkout layout with your error message rendered at the correct position.
When everything looks good:
Set the Status to your preferred option
Click Save in the top bar
The rule takes effect at checkout immediately.
Test your rule with Test Mode
Before activating a rule for all customers, test it first:
Set the rule Status to Test mode and save
Go to your store and add products to the cart
Proceed to checkout
Enter [email protected] as the checkout email
Enter a shipping address in a country/region targeted by your rule
Verify the error message appears at the correct position
Change the shipping address to an allowed region and verify the error disappears
Once verified, change the status to Active
Test mode only works with the email [email protected]. The shipping address must also match the geo restriction rule (and any additional conditions) for the error to appear.
Manage existing rules
Toggle status
Use the Pause / Start action on any rule to quickly toggle its status without opening the editor.
Edit a rule
Click the edit icon (pencil) in the Actions column, or click the rule name to open the editor.
Delete rules
Single rule: Click the delete icon (trash) in the Actions column
Bulk delete: Select multiple rules with checkboxes → click Delete rules
Other bulk actions: Activate rules, Deactivate rules.
Deletion is permanent. The rule cannot be recovered.
Tips
Start with Test mode — verify the rule works correctly before activating for all customers
Use "Country" or "Top of the checkout page" for error position — these clearly communicate that the issue is location-related
Be specific with provinces — if you only need to block Alaska and Hawaii, select those states instead of blocking all of the US
Use Allow mode for limited shipping — if you only ship to 3-5 countries, "Allow only" is simpler than blocking every other country
Combine with additional conditions — use product or subtotal conditions to create targeted rules (e.g., block oversized items to remote areas)
Keep messages actionable — tell buyers what to do, not just what went wrong (e.g., "We don't ship to this region. Please use a different shipping address." instead of "Region blocked.")
Keep rule names descriptive — "Block Alaska & Hawaii for oversized" is better than "Geo Rule #1"
Check the limits — Shopify allows up to 25 active validation rules at once (shared with other validation types like Custom Rules)
FAQs
General
Q: Do I need Shopify Plus for Geo Restriction? A: No. Geo Restriction uses Shopify Functions, which are available on all Shopify plans.
Q: How many rules can I have? A: You can have up to 25 active validation rules at once (shared across all validation types including Custom Rules, Order Limits, etc.).
Q: Do rules take effect immediately after saving? A: Yes. Once a rule is set to Active and saved, it applies to all new checkouts immediately.
Q: What's the difference between Block mode and Allow mode? A: Block mode prevents checkout for selected countries/regions — all other locations are allowed. Allow mode only permits checkout for selected countries/regions — all other locations are blocked.
Countries and provinces
Q: What happens if I select a country but don't select any provinces? A: The rule applies to the entire country — all provinces and states within that country are affected.
Q: Can I mix countries with and without province selections? A: Yes. For example, you can block all of Canada while only blocking Alaska and Hawaii in the United States.
Q: Does the rule check the shipping address or the billing address? A: The rule checks the shipping address only. Billing address is not evaluated.
Q: What happens if the buyer hasn't entered a shipping address yet? A: The rule does not trigger. It only evaluates when a shipping country is provided.
Q: Does the rule trigger for digital products with no shipping? A: No. If the order has no shipping (digital products only), the rule does not trigger because there are no delivery groups to evaluate.
Conditions and behavior
Q: Can I use additional conditions with geo restriction? A: Yes. You can add product, subtotal, or customer tag conditions. All conditions use AND logic — the geo match AND every additional condition must be true.
Q: What happens if multiple geo restriction rules match at the same time? A: All matching rules display their error messages. Buyers must resolve all errors (by changing their shipping address) before completing checkout.
Q: Does the error block checkout or just show a warning? A: The error blocks checkout — buyers cannot complete their purchase until they change their shipping address to an allowed region.
Q: Can I use different languages in the error message? A: Yes. Enter the message in any language you prefer — it will display exactly as typed.
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