export const metadata = {
  title: `Shipping Option`,
}

# {metadata.title}

In this document, you’ll learn about shipping options and their rules.

## What is a Shipping Option?

A shipping option is a way of shipping an item. Each fulfillment provider offers a set of shipping options. For example, a provider may offer a shipping option for express shipping and another for standard shipping.

When the customer places an order, they choose a shipping option to fulfill their items.

A shipping option is represented by the [ShippingOption data model](/references/fulfillment/models/ShippingOption).

---

## Service Zone Restrictions

A shipping option is restricted by a service zone, which limits the locations where the shipping option can be used.

For example, a fulfillment provider may have a shipping option that can be used in the United States and another in Canada.

![A diagram showcasing the relation between shipping options and service zones.](https://res.cloudinary.com/dza7lstvk/image/upload/v1712330831/Medusa%20Resources/shipping-option-service-zone_pobh6k.jpg)

Service zones can be more restrictive, such as limiting to certain cities or province codes.

<Note title="Tip">

The province code is always in lowercase and in [ISO 3166-2 format](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2).

</Note>

![A diagram showcasing the relation between shipping options, service zones, and geo zones](https://res.cloudinary.com/dza7lstvk/image/upload/v1712331186/Medusa%20Resources/shipping-option-service-zone-city_m5sxod.jpg)

---

## Shipping Option Rules

You can restrict shipping options by custom rules, such as the item’s weight or the customer group.

<Note title="Tip">

You can also restrict a shipping option's price based on specific conditions. For example, you can make a shipping option's price free based on the cart total. Learn more in the Pricing Module's [Price Rules](../../pricing/price-rules/page.mdx#how-to-set-rules-on-a-price) guide.

</Note>

These rules are represented by the [ShippingOptionRule data model](/references/fulfillment/models/ShippingOptionRule). Its properties define the custom rules:

- `attribute`: The name of a property or table that the rule applies to. For example, `customer_group`.
- `operator`: The operator used in the condition. For example:
    - To allow multiple values, use the operator `in`, which validates that the provided values are in the rule’s values.
    - To create a negation condition that considers `value` against the rule, use `nin`, which validates that the provided values aren’t in the rule’s values.
- `value`: One or more values.

![A diagram showcasing the relation between shipping option and shipping option rules.](https://res.cloudinary.com/dza7lstvk/image/upload/v1712331340/Medusa%20Resources/shipping-option-rule_oosopf.jpg)

A shipping option can have multiple rules. For example, you can add rules to a shipping option so that it's available if the customer belongs to the VIP group and the total weight is less than 2000g.

![A diagram showcasing how a shipping option can have multiple rules.](https://res.cloudinary.com/dza7lstvk/image/upload/v1712331462/Medusa%20Resources/shipping-option-rule-2_ylaqdb.jpg)

---

## Shipping Profiles and Types

A shipping option belongs to a type and a profile.

A shipping option type defines a group of shipping options with shared shipping characteristics. For example, a shipping option’s type may be `express`, while another may be `standard`. The type is represented by the [ShippingOptionType data model](/references/fulfillment/models/ShippingOptionType).

A shipping profile defines a group of items (such as products) that are shipped in a similar manner. For example, the "Standard" shipping profile applies to all products, whereas the "Digital" shipping profile applies to digital products. Shipping profiles are represented by the [ShippingProfile data model](/references/fulfillment/models/ShippingProfile).

---

## data Property

When fulfilling an item, you might use a third-party fulfillment provider that requires additional custom data to be passed along from the checkout or order creation process.

The `ShippingOption` data model has a `data` property. It's an object that stores custom data relevant for creating and processing a fulfillment later.