How to ship to the US with Japan Post (DDP) using Zonos

Getting Started

A Ship&co account is required to use Ship&co's shipping label services. If you do not yet have a Ship&co account, please first create one here. A 30-day free trial is available to start.

Overview

Ship to the US via Japan Post again — fully compliant with the new US duty rules.

Ship&co integrates with Zonos to enable DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipments via Japan Post International to the United States. Zonos handles duty calculation, collection, and remittance to US Customs on your behalf. Please refer to the Zonos offical page for billing and payments for the duties and postal clearance fees.

This integration supports Japan → US shipments only.

Why Zonos is Required

As of August 2025, a U.S. executive order suspended the duty-free exemption (de minimis) for international postal items. As a result, postal items bound for the U.S. now require advance payment of duties (DDP) based on the declared value of the contents before the package leaves Japan.

• Documents, letters, and gifts between individuals under USD 100: Advance payment of duties is not required.
• Other contents under USD 100, and all categories from USD 100 to USD 800: Advance payment of duties is required. The label will display "DDP" and a Declaration ID. Even when the calculated duty amount is zero, processing through Zonos is required to obtain a Declaration ID, and a postal customs clearance fee applies.
• Over USD 800: Advance payment of duties is not required.

Postal shipments to the US are charged Section 122 tariff rates (a flat 10% surcharge as of February 24, 2026). MFN (standard duty) rates do not yet apply to postal customs clearance.

At present, using Zonos is mandatory to ship to the U.S. via Japan Post with DDP. In addition to creating shipping labels manually using the Zonos Prepay app, the Ship&co–Zonos integration is now available. 

For instructions on using the Zonos integration with Ship&co, please see below.
 

Step 1 — Create a Zonos Verified Account for Japan Post and Obtain an Account key

1. Go to account.zonos.com and sign up for a Verified Account. (Here is the Zonos official page to refer to)
2. Under Account → Billing, add a credit card — this is required to activate your account key
3. Under Account → General, enter your Japan Post shipper identifier (your ゆうびんビズカード number) — this is required to use Zonos services for JapanPost shipments.
4. Once both steps are complete, your "Account key" is visible under Account → Integrations → Account key (The "API key" also shown on the screen is not required for this process.)

Step 2 — Add Zonos to Ship&co

1. In Ship&co, go to the Carriers page
2. Click the Zonos icon in the "Add a new Carrier" section
3. Enter your Zonos Verified Account Key in the Account Key field
4. Save — you can also select which JapanPost services you want to use from the Zonos carrier settings

Only one Zonos account can be added per Ship&co account.

Step 3 — Create a Shipping Label

When creating a shipping label for an order from Japan to the US, select Zonos as the carrier to create a Japan Post DDP shipment.

• DDP / Duty Paid must be enabled — shipments without DDP is blocked
• Only single-parcel shipments are supported
• Shipping rates will show as N/A next to Zonos services — Zonos API does not provide rate estimates. Shipping costs are paid directly to Japan Post and follow the same rates as Japan Post Interntational. If you have a Japan Post International carrier enabled in Ship&co, you can refer to the rates shown next to Japan Post services as a guide.

Available Shipping Services

• Air: EMS (goods), Air Packet, Letters/Others, Letters/Others (Registered), Postal Parcel, Printed Matter, Printed Matter (Registered), Small Packet
• Surface: Letters/Others, Postal Parcel, Printed Matter, Small Packet
   

Labels, Customs Documents and Fulfillment

• Shipping labels are issued in PDF format. The format is the same as a standard international postal label, but "DDP" and a Declaration ID are printed at the top of the label. The Declaration ID is different for each label created.
• The Zonos API has an automatic HTS code correction feature. As a result, a code different from the one you set may appear as a 10-digit HTS code in the label's HS code field.
• Due to how the Zonos API works, the symbols "%", "&", "$", "~", and "?" are automatically omitted and will not appear on the label. Please note this in advance.
• The weight set as the Total Gross Weight is automatically distributed across the number of items included and reflected in the Net Weight field on the label. However, if per-item weights are set via the Shopify integration or the Ship&co API, those take precedence.
• For shipment status updates (fulfillment) to integrated stores such as Shopify and Amazon, the carrier name is displayed as Japan Post — not Zonos.

Customs Invoice Generation

• EMS and Postal Parcel services: A customs invoice (Ship&co format) is not generated separately, because Japan Post-generated invoice is already included as the INVOICE on the Japan Post label.

• Other shipping services (other than EMS and Postal Parcels): A customs invoice (Ship&co format) is generated automatically. Please print it separately and use it as needed.

   

Deleting (Canceling) a Label

If you cancel after issuing a DDP label, it will be treated as Void on Ship&co's "Shipments" screen, and the order data will reappear on the "Orders" screen. You can make any necessary edits there and issue a new label.

Please note that canceling on Ship&co does not mark the label as Void on the Zonos / Japan Post side. However, rest assured that no customs duties will be charged to your Verified Account unless the label is scanned by Japan Post. No shipping charges will be incurred for labels that are not actually used for shipment.

For Ship&co API users

Businesses and logistics providers with high shipping volumes can integrate Ship&co's API to generate shipping labels directly from their own systems. For more information on the Ship&co API, please visit this page.

Zonos Integration API Setup

• Carrier value: zonos
• customs.duty_paid must be true (required)
• Credentials: { "account_key": "your_verified_account_key" }
• Service name format: zonos_japan_post_[air|surface]_[service]
  Example: EMS — zonos_japanpost_ems

Common Errors

• DDP_REQUIRED — Please enable the DDP (prepaid duties) option before creating a label
• DDP Not Available — This DDP service cannot be used for shipments where the product value exceeds 800 USD.
• Services not showing — Please check that your origin warehouse is in Japan and destination is the US
• Invalid credentials — Verify the Account Key in your Zonos dashboard under Integrations
• Duplicate account error — Only one Zonos integration is allowed per Ship&co account

Accepting Post Offices

International Mail using DDP labels can only be submitted at designated post offices. For the latest information on designated post offices, please check the Japan Post page.
 

Zonos Verified Account Billing

There is no paid subscription for the Zonos Verified Account itself — no recurring plan fee. The credit card on file is simply auto-billed for the duties Zonos collects, plus a per-shipment postal clearance fee.

• Billing is processed daily for new shipments; however, please note that it may take up to approximately 48 hours for data to be transmitted from Japan Post to Zonos, which may in turn cause delays in the timing of invoicing from Zonos.
• The postal clearance fee is shown in your Zonos Dashboard under Settings → Billing → Plan.
• No customs duties or fees are charged for labels that are never used for shipment (see "Deleting (Canceling) a Label" below).

For full details on Zonos billing and payments, please refer to the Zonos billing and payments documentation.
 

Questions?

Please submit a request from here, or contact us at hello@shipandco.com