Cart and checkout

How do I refuse checkout for buyers shipping to certain countries?

Turn on Block checkout on a rule that names countries, and turn SignalLane on in Settings › Checkout › Checkout rules. Shopify then refuses checkout to those shipping countries, on every plan.

Last reviewed October 6, 20263 min read

Every rule that names at least one country has a Block checkout card. Tick Refuse checkout for buyers shipping to these countries, write the message the buyer reads, and save. Then turn SignalLane on in Shopify, under Settings › Checkout › Checkout rules. Shopify checks the rule at checkout, on every plan.

Set it up

  1. Open the rule and make sure Visitor countries lists the countries you do not want to ship to.
  2. On the Block checkout card, tick Refuse checkout for buyers shipping to these countries.
  3. Write the Message shown when checkout is refused, or leave it empty (see below), and press Save.
  4. In your Shopify admin, open Settings › Checkout › Checkout rules and add SignalLane.

The card is on every rule with a country, whatever its mode or destination, Notice and Any other website included.

What Shopify checks

Shopify refuses to continue when the order's shipping country matches the rule's countries. Before an address is entered, it uses the checkout's country. States/provinces, languages, pages and referring sites on the rule are not checked, and the block keeps working if the linked store the rule points to is unlinked.

To refuse a state/province, use the Blocked states/provinces section of your checkout rules instead.

This rule is checked before your own checkout rules, and a buyer only ever sees one message.

The message

The buyer reads your Message shown when checkout is refused. Left empty, they read the rule's checkout message when the rule suggests the other store, else its banner message, else "This store doesn't sell to your country." in their language. The field's placeholder always shows what they will read.

  • {store} becomes the destination's name. A Notice rule has no destination, so its message cannot use it.
  • {count}, {country} and {state} cannot be used here: Words that fill in.
  • Write a version per language with the Language selector. The buyer's checkout language picks your translation, then your default, then SignalLane's own sentence.

What it is, and what it is not

This stops the checkout, not the visitor: they can change their address or shop on another store. It is a courtesy block, not a fraud control. To point those buyers somewhere they can buy, also turn on Suggest the other store on the same rule.

A blocking notice on the storefront is not a substitute: it never shows on the cart or the checkout. Pages SignalLane never runs on.

Questions and answers

Can I refuse a state/province?
Not with Block checkout, which looks at the shipping country only. The Checkout rules page has a Blocked states/provinces section for that; see What checkout rules can I set up?
How do I know it is working?
Place a test order with an address in one of the rule's countries. SignalLane cannot see whether you turned it on in Shopify's settings, so the editor always shows that step.

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Related articles

  • Cart and checkoutWhat checkout rules can I set up?

    Block addresses, postal codes, emails, phones, cities, states/provinces, PO boxes and tagged customers; set minimums and quantity limits. Shopify checks them once you add SignalLane in Settings › Checkout › Checkout rules.

  • Visitor rulesHow do visitor countries and states/provinces work?

    Leave Visitor countries empty to match anywhere, add countries to narrow the rule, and use Except countries to leave some out. States/provinces are best effort.

  • Cart and checkoutHow do I suggest my other store in the cart and at checkout?

    Turn on the Suggest the other store card on a rule that sends visitors to a linked store or one of your market domains. The cart suggestion needs SignalLane's Growth plan or above; the checkout message also needs Shopify Plus.

  • Getting startedWhich pages does SignalLane never run on?

    No rule redirects or shows a banner on the cart, checkout, account and order pages, or Shopify's password and challenge pages. Only the cart suggestion and the store closed page show on the cart.