How to add your Zonos account to Ship&co (Japan Post DDP)

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&co integrates with Zonos to create DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipping labels via Japan Post International, from Japan to the US and to 15 EU countries and territories. Zonos calculates, collects, and remits duties on your behalf.

This page explains how to set up Zonos and create labels in Ship&co. For the rules that apply to each destination (value thresholds, eligible countries, IOSS and VAT), please see Shipping to the US and EU with Japan Post (DDP) via Zonos: Rules and Conditions.

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

1. Go to Japan Post referral Zonos link 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. Click "Settings" at the bottom of the left menu in your Zonos dashboard, then go to Account >> Integrations (Account key). In the "Account key" table, the token in the "Account key" row is the value you need for Ship&co. Use the copy icon on the right to copy it.

   The "API key" shown in the same table is not used in this process.

[Please Note]
A Later Pay Number (ゆうびんビズカード number) is no longer required to create a Japan Post Verified Account on Zonos. If you want to generate Postpaid Mail Slips (後納差出票), enter your Yu-Bin Biz Card number in Ship&co instead (see Step 2).

If a Japan Post Verified Account has been properly created, the Japan Post logo will appear below your name in the upper left of the Zonos dashboard, as shown in the image below.

If the Japan Post logo is not displayed, your account is a standard Zonos Ecommerce account, not a Japan Post Verified Account. In this case, please contact Zonos Support at support@zonos.com with the "Account Number" shown in the upper left of the Zonos dashboard, and request that your account be migrated to a Japan Post Verified Account.

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. Please paste the Account Key copied in Step 1 — not your Zonos login password or the API key.
4. (Optional) Enter your Yu-Bin Biz Card number (32 digits) only if you want to generate Postpaid Mail Slips (後納差出票). Without it, you can still create Zonos labels, but they cannot be included in postpaid slips. Only labels created after the number has been saved are eligible.
5. Select which Japan Post services you want to use with the Zonos integration.
6. Save the 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 or to a supported EU destination, select Zonos as the carrier to create a Japan Post DDP shipment.

• DDP / Duty Paid must be enabled — shipments without DDP are blocked. ※When using Zonos's bulk label issuance feature, DDP is automatically enabled.
• Only single-parcel shipments are supported.
• The estimated shipping cost displayed for Zonos is equivalent to the estimated rate for the corresponding international postal service. "N/A" is displayed for Zonos if the shipment exceeds the service's weight limit.
• If the "Company Name" field of the recipient's address is filled in, the label will be generated with the Contents type set to "BtoB commercial goods." If you are shipping items sold online (e-commerce goods), please leave the "Company Name" field blank.
• If the recipient's "Full Name" field is blank and only the "Company Name" field is filled in, the Zonos API repeats the company name three times in the recipient section of the label.

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.
• 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.
• The weight set as the Total Gross Weight is automatically distributed across the number of items 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 the Japan Post invoice is already included as the INVOICE on the Japan Post label.
• Other shipping services: A customs invoice (Ship&co format) is generated automatically. Please print it separately and use it as needed.

Postpaid Mail Slip (後納郵便物等差出票)

• A Yu-Bin Biz Card number must be saved in your Zonos carrier settings in Ship&co (see Step 2). For details, please refer to this support page.

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.

Canceling on Ship&co does not mark the label as Void on the Zonos / Japan Post side. However, no customs duties will be charged to your Verified Account unless the label is scanned by Japan Post, and no shipping charges are 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 the Ship&co 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 example: EMS — zonos_japanpost_ems

Common Errors

• DDP_REQUIRED — Please enable the DDP (prepaid duties) option before creating a label.
• DDP Not Available — The goods value exceeds the maximum allowed for DDP via Zonos (USD 2,500 for the US; limits vary for EU destinations — see Rules and Conditions).
• Services not showing — Please check that your origin warehouse is in Japan and that the destination is the US or a supported EU destination.
• Invalid credentials — Check that the value saved in Ship&co is the Account Key shown in your Zonos dashboard under Integrations (not your login password or the API key).
• 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 auto-billed for the duties Zonos collects, plus a per-shipment postal clearance fee.

• Billing is processed daily for new shipments. It may take up to approximately 48 hours for data to be transmitted from Japan Post to Zonos, which may delay 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" above).

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

Questions?

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