If you’ve ever shipped items to a US territory, you know how difficult the process can be. You think, why is it so much harder to ship to such a destination? It can’t be because they’re islands. After all, shipping to Hawaii is treated the same as shipping to any other state such as Alaska. Furthermore, Puerto Rico is much closer to the mainland than Hawaii.
Some carriers, such as FedEx and UPS, even require you to use the territory’s name in place of the country name. Furthermore, carriers may even require you to fill out customs forms (Commercial Invoice). Despite this caveat, these shipments are still treated as domestic shipments. Even though these shipments may never go through customs, they frequently in this weird grey area where they still need to have the same documentation as an international shipment. So let’s go over what’s needed when shipping to a territory.
What is Needed to Ship to US Territories
Shipping to Puerto Rico
Carrier
State Code
Country Listed With Carrier
Customs Required
USPS
PR
United States
No. Customs forms required with USPS to Caribbean territories
FedEx & UPS
PR
Puerto Rico
Yes. Customs forms required for all territories with UPS and FedEx
Shipping to Puerto Rico from the US
Shipping to Guam
Carrier
State Code
Country Listed With Carrier
Customs Form Required
USPS
GU
United States
Yes. USPS requires Customs to Pacific territories
FedEx & UPS
GU
Guam
Yes.
Shipping to Guam from the US
Shipping to American Samoa
Carrier
State Code
Country Listed With Carrier
Additional Notes
USPS
AS
United States
Yes. USPS requires customs forms to Pacific territories
FedEx & UPS
AS
American Somoa
Yes
Shipping to American Samoa from the US
Shipping to US Virgin Islands
Carrier
State Code
Country Listed With Carrier
Additional Notes
USPS
VI
United States
No. Customs forms not required by USPS to Caribbean territories
FedEx & UPS
VI
US Virgin Islands
Yes
Shipping to US Virgin Islands from the US
Shipping to the Northern Mariana Islands
Carrier
State Code
Country Listed With Carrier
Additional Notes
USPS
MP
United States
Yes
FedEx & UPS
MP
Northern Mariana Islands
Yes
Shipping to the Northern Mariana Islands from the US
Shipments to the Federated States of Micronesia need to to use the state code FM.
Shipments going to The Marshall Islands need to use the state code MH.
Shipping to another territory? Use the state code UM if shipping to one of the following U.S. Minor Outlying Islands:
Baker Island
Howland Island
Jarvis Island
Johnston Atoll
Kingman Reef
Midway Islands
Palmyra Atoll
Navassa Island
Wake Island
For more information on shipping to a US territory with more carriers, check out this knowledge base article.
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