Creating a shipment with service point delivery

Service points, also known as drop-off locations, are physical locations affiliated with one or more specific carriers. Parcels can be dropped off at these locations, and a driver will collect them and take them to be sorted at the carrier’s sorting hub. Parcels can also be delivered to service points as an alternative to door-to-door delivery. A service point can be a local post office, a brick-and-mortar store, or a fuel station. Service point delivery is an increasingly popular choice among e-commerce consumers, as it allows them to pick up their parcels at a time and location that are convenient to them. The customer can see when their parcel is ready for collection using the tracking number. This tutorial walks through the complete API v3 flow for delivering a shipment to a service point: finding a suitable service point, checking that it’s still available, selecting a compatible shipping option, and creating and announcing the shipment.

Before you start

Service Points API v3 supports two ways to choose which carriers to search:

use the carriers enabled in your integration settings
provide the carrier codes explicitly in the request

If you plan to use the carriers from your integration settings, make sure service points are enabled and the required carriers are configured for your integration:

In the Sendcloud platform, go to your integration settings
Find your API integration and click Configure
Enable service point delivery
Enable the carriers you want to use for service point delivery and save your changes

Screenshot showing how to enable service points in the integration settings

You can skip this configuration if you plan to search for service points by providing carrier codes explicitly.

Step 1: Find a service point

Start by searching for service points near the recipient using the Retrieve a list of service points endpoint. A country code is required, and you must choose how carriers are selected:

Set use_integration_carriers=true to search using the carriers enabled in your integration settings. If you use this option, make sure service points and the required carriers are configured as described in Before you start
Provide one or more carrier_code parameters to search specific carriers directly. These carriers do not need to be enabled in your integration settings

These two options are mutually exclusive: use either use_integration_carriers or carrier_code, but not both.

For example, to search using the carriers configured for your integration:

Example request method and URL

GET https://panel.sendcloud.sc/api/v3/service-points?country_code=NL&address=Stadhuisplein%2010%2C%20Eindhoven&use_integration_carriers=true

To search specific carriers instead:

Example request method and URL

GET https://panel.sendcloud.sc/api/v3/service-points?country_code=NL&address=Stadhuisplein%2010%2C%20Eindhoven&carrier_code=postnl&carrier_code=dhl

The address parameter is geocoded into a reference location, and the closest service points are returned first. You can also provide the address as separate address_* parameters, or use latitude and longitude directly if you already know the delivery location’s coordinates. See the Retrieve a list of service points endpoint for all supported search parameters.

If you only need a certain number of nearby service points, set limit to that number. Returning fewer results can improve request performance and make the service point selection flow more responsive.

The closest matching service points are returned first:

Example response body

{
  "data": {
    "results": [
      {
        "id": 1000001,
        "name": "Stadhuisplein Parcel Shop",
        "carrier": {
          "code": "postnl",
          "name": "PostNL",
          "logo_url": <...>,
          "icon_url": <...>
        },
        "carrier_service_point_id": "NL-00001",
        "address": {
          "street": "Stadhuisplein",
          "house_number": "1",
          "postal_code": "5611EM",
          "city": "Eindhoven",
          "country_code": "NL"
        },
        "position": {
          "latitude": 51.438022,
          "longitude": 5.478543
        },
        "opening_times": <...>,
        "is_open_tomorrow": true,
        "next_open_at": "2026-03-11T09:00:00+01:00",
        "is_expired": false,
        "distance": 85
      },
      <...>
    ],
    "geocoding": {
      "status": "matched",
      "precision": "house_number",
      "formatted_address": "Stadhuisplein 10, 5611 EM Eindhoven, Nederland"
    }
  }
}

When searching by address, check data.geocoding to see how the address was resolved. A partially_matched result can still return service points, while precision indicates how closely the resolved location matches the address you provided. Show the returned service points to the recipient, for example on a map or in a list, and let them choose one. Keep the selected service point id, as you’ll need it in the following steps.

No service points found

If no service points are returned, check data.geocoding.status first. If the address was matched or partially_matched, the location was found successfully, but there are no service points matching the current search.

Example response - no service points nearby

{
  "data": {
    "results": [],
    "geocoding": {
      "status": "matched",
      "precision": "house_number",
      "formatted_address": "Stadhuisplein 10, 5611 EM Eindhoven, Nederland"
    }
  }
}

In this case, try making the search less restrictive. You can increase the radius or expand the bounding box, or remove these limits entirely to return the closest matching service points regardless of how far away they are. If data.geocoding.status is not_found, the address itself could not be resolved:

Example response - address not found

{
  "data": {
    "results": [],
    "geocoding": {
      "status": "not_found",
      "precision": null,
      "formatted_address": null
    }
  }
}

When this happens in an interactive flow, such as checkout, you can ask the customer to review the delivery address and try again.

Step 2: Check the service point is still available

Service point availability can change over time. The search endpoint may return service points based on recently updated data, but that does not guarantee they are still available for delivery. Before creating the shipment, check the selected service point using the Check availability of a service point endpoint. Use the service point id selected in Step 1:

Example request method and URL

POST https://panel.sendcloud.sc/api/v3/service-points/1000001/check-availability

Example response body

{
  "data": {
    "is_available": true
  }
}

The way availability is determined depends on the carrier. For some carriers, this involves a live check with the carrier. For others, the result is based on the best available information at the time of the request. If is_available is false, do not continue with that service point. Your flow should select a different service point before creating the shipment.

Step 3: Find a shipping option

Now that you have selected an available service point, use the Return a list of available shipping options endpoint to find shipping options that can deliver the shipment there. Include the selected service point id from Step 1 as to_service_point.id, together with the shipment details that affect shipping option availability, such as the origin, destination, and parcel weight.

Example request method and URL

POST https://panel.sendcloud.sc/api/v3/shipping-options

Example request body

{
  "from_address": {
    "country_code": "NL",
    "postal_code": "1000AA",
    "city": "Amsterdam"
  },
  "to_address": {
    "country_code": "NL",
    "postal_code": "5611EM",
    "city": "Eindhoven"
  },
  "to_service_point": {
    "id": "1000001"
  },
  "parcels": [
    {
      "weight": {
        "value": "1.500",
        "unit": "kg"
      }
    }
  ]
}

The response contains the shipping options available for the shipment and selected service point:

Example response body

{
  "data": [
    {
      "code": "postnl:pakjegemak",
      "name": "PostNL service point",
      "carrier": {
        "code": "postnl",
        "name": "PostNL"
      },
      <...>
    }
  ]
}

Choose one of the returned shipping options and keep its code. We’ll use postnl:pakjegemak when creating the shipment in the next step. See Shipping options & quotes for more on filtering options, calculating quotes, and shipping functionalities.

Finding a shipping option before service point selection

Some flows retrieve the available delivery options before a specific pickup location has been selected. In that case, omit to_service_point and filter shipping options using functionalities.last_mile instead. For example, to find shipping options that support service point delivery:

Example request body

{
  "from_address": {
    "country_code": "NL",
    "postal_code": "1000AA",
    "city": "Amsterdam"
  },
  "to_address": {
    "country_code": "NL",
    "postal_code": "5611EM",
    "city": "Eindhoven"
  },
  "functionalities": {
    "last_mile": "service_point"
  },
  "parcels": [
    {
      "weight": {
        "value": "1.500",
        "unit": "kg"
      }
    }
  ]
}

This returns shipping options that support service point delivery without restricting the request to a specific service point.

service_point is one of the supported last_mile values. Other values can be used for different delivery types, including locker delivery and options that support either lockers or service points. See the Shipping Options API reference for the available last_mile values.

Step 4: Create and announce the shipment

With an available service point and a compatible shipping option selected, you can now create and announce the shipment using the Create and announce a shipment synchronously endpoint. Include the service point id from Step 1 in to_service_point.id, and use the shipping option code from Step 3 in ship_with.properties.shipping_option_code.

Example request method and URL

POST https://panel.sendcloud.sc/api/v3/shipments/announce

Example request body

{
  "to_address": {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "address_line_1": "Stadhuisplein",
    "house_number": "10",
    "postal_code": "5611EM",
    "city": "Eindhoven",
    "country_code": "NL",
    "email": "john.doe@example.com"
  },
  "from_address": {
    "sender_address_id": 42
  },
  "to_service_point": {
    "id": "1000001"
  },
  "ship_with": {
    "type": "shipping_option_code",
    "properties": {
      "shipping_option_code": "postnl:pakjegemak"
    }
  },
  "parcels": [
    {
      "weight": {
        "value": "1.500",
        "unit": "kg"
      }
    }
  ]
}

The response includes the created shipment, the service point it will be delivered to, and a link to the label:

Example response body

{
  "data": {
    "id": "facade00-0000-4000-a000-000000000000",
    "ship_with": {
      "type": "shipping_option_code",
      "properties": {
        "shipping_option_code": "postnl:pakjegemak",
        "contract_id": 101
      }
    },
    "to_service_point": {
      "id": 1000001,
      "carrier_service_point_id": "12345"
    },
    "carrier": {
      "code": "postnl",
      "name": "PostNL"
    },
    <...>
  }
}

See Create a shipment for the full request schema, error handling, and advanced options like customs and insurance.

Getting started

Shipments

Addresses

Orders

Dynamic Checkout

Returns

Service points

Parcel tracking

Marketplaces

Archive

Before you start

Step 1: Find a service point

No service points found

Step 2: Check the service point is still available

Step 3: Find a shipping option

Finding a shipping option before service point selection

Step 4: Create and announce the shipment

​Before you start

​Step 1: Find a service point

​No service points found

​Step 2: Check the service point is still available

​Step 3: Find a shipping option

​Finding a shipping option before service point selection

​Step 4: Create and announce the shipment

Before you start

Step 1: Find a service point

No service points found

Step 2: Check the service point is still available

Step 3: Find a shipping option

Finding a shipping option before service point selection

Step 4: Create and announce the shipment