Skip to main content
You can test Sendcloud APIs without running the risk of being charged for any shipping labels you create in the process. There are two methods of creating test labels:
  1. Create a test label using the Sendcloud shipping method Unstamped letter. You won’t be charged for any parcels which are created using this method.
  2. Create a label and cancel it within the deadline
For testing purposes, we recommend you create parcels with the request_label property set to false. This will prevent labels from being created at the same time as the parcel and avoid potential charges.

​
Method 1: create a test label using the Unstamped letter shipping method

The shipping method Unstamped letter is a Sendcloud method which allows you to create test labels without being charged. It’s not possible to use the Unstamped letter shipping method to create return parcels. To test return parcel creation, you should use a suitable return method and then cancel the label before the cancellation deadline.
If you’re creating a number of test parcels, you may find it helpful to set Unstamped letter as your default shipping method in your Sendcloud account settings.
You can specify the shipping method Unstamped letter in your API requests within the shipment object. Note that the id for this method is 8 at the time of writing.
Note: Shipping method IDs are volatile, and should not be saved for more than an hour. The list of available methods and their associated IDs change frequently, as we continually add new methods and update existing ones in our system.
Example request body
{
  "shipment": {
    "id": 8,
    "name": "Unstamped letter"
  }
  // ... other parcel fields
}

​
Method 2: create a label and cancel it within the deadline

When you want to test outgoing or return parcel creation, and the “Unstamped letter” method isn’t applicable, it’s possible to create shipping labels and then cancel them within the cancellation deadline.

Cancel a label

Find out how to cancel a label before the cancellation deadline
Not all carriers support cancellation requests. Carefully consult the list of carriers in our help center before you request a label for a particular shipping method to be sure that cancellation is possible.