The offer
Checkout compliance: built once, kept current if you want it.
If some of your products cannot ship to certain states or ZIP codes, your checkout should know that. We set it up for a fixed price, and can keep the rules current each month after.
Get a free checkout checkHow it works
Three steps, and the first one is free
The free check stands on its own. You see the gaps before you decide anything.
- 1Free
Free check
We review your shipping policy and your checkout, then send you a short video showing where restricted orders could get through.
- 2One-time, fixed price
Checkout compliance build
We set up your state and ZIP restrictions so they are enforced at checkout, with a refund fallback for anything that slips past.
- 3Monthly
Compliance upkeep
We track law changes in your categories, update your rules, and send a short monthly report that says you are covered.
The build
What is included
State and ZIP restrictions enforced at checkout
When a shopper enters a shipping address, the cart is checked against your rules, per product. If something cannot ship there, they are told before they pay.
A refund fallback
Every new order is checked again. If a restricted order gets through, it is cancelled and refunded, or held for you to review, and you get an email.
No promos on products that cannot ship to the visitor
Deals and badges are hidden from visitors in places where the product cannot be sold, so you do not advertise what you cannot deliver.
An age gate where required
A confirmation screen before the store opens, remembered so returning visitors are not asked every time.
A "can we ship to you?" lookup page
A public page where a shopper can check their location before they fill a cart. It reads from the same rules checkout enforces, so the two never disagree.
How we have built it before
One rule list, enforced in two places.
For a multi-brand regulated retailer on BigCommerce, the rules run at checkout and again on every new order. Staff edit them in plain terms, and each blocked order records which rule stopped it.
Plainly
What is not included
We would sooner tell you now.
- Legal advice. We build what enforces your rules. We do not decide what is legal for your products.
- Your rule list, signed off. You or your lawyer confirm which products are restricted where. We turn that into rules and show you what we set up.
- A promise that no restricted order will ever be placed. The checkout check is built so that an outage never blocks good customers. That is why every order is checked a second time.
- Identity checks. An age gate asks the visitor to confirm their age. It does not verify an ID.
- Sales tax, licenses, permits, or your agreements with carriers and payment processors.
Questions
What store owners ask
- Does this replace a lawyer?
- No. A lawyer tells you what the rules are for your products. We make your store follow them. With upkeep, we watch for changes and tell you what we updated, so you or your lawyer can confirm it.
- Which platforms do you work on?
- BigCommerce and custom-built stores. Everything shown on this site was built on BigCommerce or on a custom storefront. We do not take on Shopify or WooCommerce builds.
- How long does it take?
- It depends on your platform, how many of your products are restricted, and how many rules you have. After the free check we give you a fixed price and a timeline before you commit to anything.
- What if a law changes?
- With upkeep, that is our job. We track changes in your categories, update your rules, and send you a short report each month. Without upkeep, your rules stay as they were built until you or your developer change them.
- What happens if the check itself breaks?
- Checkout keeps working. If the check cannot get an answer, it lets the shopper continue, and the second check on the order catches anything restricted. We would sooner refund one order than block every customer during an outage.
- Will it block customers it should not?
- It is built not to. As one example, some ZIP ranges cross state lines, and we leave those to the state the shopper selected so real customers are not turned away. A new rule can also run in notify-only mode first, so you can see what it would stop before it stops anything.
Laws change, and this page is not legal advice. Check the current rules for your products with a lawyer or the state agency that sets them.
Start with the free check
Email us your store URL and what you sell. We send back a short video of what we find.
BuildPath is run by Ian Mason, a developer with 20 years in ecommerce and search.
- The check is free
- A short video of what we find
- If we find nothing, we tell you that