Canada Post BYOA Guide

Canada Post BYOA (Bring Your Own Account) enables users to integrate their existing Canada Post credentials into the EasyPost platform. This setup allows access to contract-specific rates and services negotiated directly with Canada Post. The BYOA option supports domestic, U.S., and international shipping, providing full access to Canada Post’s network while maintaining control of existing account relationships and service agreements.

Sign up for an EasyPost account to obtain a Test and Production API key. See Authentication and Key Management for more information.

Please review the Getting Started Guide for more information.

1. Register or log into the Canada Post website, ensuring a valid payment method is on file under My Profile > Payment section.
2. Log in to EasyPost and navigate to Account Settings > Carriers.
3. Select the Add Carrier button at the top of the screen and choose Canada Post.
4. The page will redirect to the Canada Post website for login and account authentication. All relevant credentials will be automatically saved in the EasyPost system.
5. Start purchasing labels through the EasyPost shipping API.

To link an existing Canada Post account, ensure not_platform=true is set and use the developer keys obtained from the Canada Post developer portal.

curl -X POST https://api.easypost.com/v2/carrier_accounts \
  -u "$EASYPOST_API_KEY": \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "carrier_account": {
    "type": "CanadaPostAccount",
    "description": "CanadaPostAccount",
    "credentials": {
      "api_key": "VALUE",
      "contract_id": "VALUE",
      "customer_number": "VALUE",
      "has_credit_card": "VALUE",
      "not_platform": "VALUE"
    },
    "test_credentials": {
      "api_key": "VALUE",
      "contract_id": "VALUE",
      "customer_number": "VALUE",
      "has_credit_card": "VALUE",
      "not_platform": "VALUE"
    }
  }
}'
## REQUIRES CUSTOM WORKFLOW ##

Download an EasyPost Client Library or utilize the REST API with cURL.

Examine the EasyPost Objects section to understand the API's structure, which is critical for constructing requests and interpreting responses.

For existing Canada Post accounts, real-time rates are provided based on the user’s specific agreement with Canada Post. In cases of discrepancies or incorrect rates, users are advised to contact their Canada Post account representative.

Labels purchased with existing Canada Post credentials are billed directly by Canada Post in CAD.

Canada Post delivers five days per week (Monday-Friday), except during holidays. The service levels through EasyPost include:

Canada Post supports a variety of service levels from Canadian origins. With Canada Post Default accounts, EasyPost users may ship to:

• Domestic shipments within Canada (Canada to Canada)
• Shipments from/to Canada to/from the United States (Canada to US)
• International shipments from Canada to destinations outside the US (Canada to International)

There are no predefined packages for Canada Post.

With EasyPost, the process for generating shipping labels for Canada Post is the same as generating them for any other carrier.

Review the Getting Started Guide for help generating a shipping label.

One-call buys enable streamlined label purchasing through the EasyPost API by consolidating multiple operations into a single API request. This feature is designed to simplify and accelerate the shipping process by combining the creation of a shipment, retrieval of rates, and purchasing the shipping label into one efficient step.

See Reducing API Response Times for more information.

Canada Post labels are available in PDF, PNG, ZPL, and EPL2 formats.

EasyPost supports three types of QR code forms for domestic shipments through Canada Post:

• RMA (box-free, label-free) QR code: Used for returns where the recipient does not need to provide packaging or print a label.
• Returns label QR code: Used for returns where the recipient does not need to print the label.
• Outbound label QR code: Used for outbound shipments where the sender does not print the label.

Please refer to the Canada Post - QR Codes Help Center article for details.

Voiding and refunds are supported.

Hazardous Materials (or Dangerous Goods) as defined by the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, are non-mailable matter. Canada Post will not accept packages that contain dangerous goods or that display dangerous goods symbols, except for lithium batteries described in the ABCs of mailing.

Manifesting is not required.

Manifesting is required using the ScanForm object. Non-compliance results in a reassignment fee per unmanifested shipment.

• Contract customers receive notifications for attempting to send unmanifested shipments.
• An option is available to disable notifications by marking shipments as manifested in the API.
• Despite disabling notifications, Canada Post charges for non-manifested shipments remain applicable.

Canada Post BYOA pickup requests can be made via the EasyPost API. Review the pickups documentation for details.

EasyPost simplifies package tracking by offering two methods:

• Tracking with an existing number and carrier.
• Using a Tracker included with an EasyPost-purchased shipping label.

The service integrates webhooks for timely shipment updates. For detailed information on tracking methods, visit the Tracking Guide.

The Carrier Metadata endpoint can programmatically return information about service levels, predefined packages, supported features, and shipment options.

Use this information to quickly integrate and make educated decisions about the mix of carriers for shipping needs. Additionally, the Carrier Metadata endpoint is available to retrieve comprehensive information about all carriers on the EasyPost platform, enhancing decision-making for carrier services.

In addition to the guidance provided in our Carrier Guides, EasyPost offers support to assist with FAQs, troubleshooting issues, and inquiries related to the EasyPost platform.

Please visit the Help Center for more information.

For questions about getting started with the EasyPost API please talk to a Shipping Expert or

contact our Support team.