Understanding Error 10736: Invalid Shipping Address
This error occurs when processing payments through the following PayPal systems:
- DoAuthorization
- DoExpressCheckoutPayment
- DoReferenceTransaction
- SetExpressCheckout
- UpdateAuthorization
Cause
The shipping address information is invalid. The customer has entered a city, state, or postal code that doesn't match a real address. The error message will tell you exactly which part of the address is causing the problem.
Common reasons this happens:
- Your checkout form allows customers to enter incomplete or incorrect address information.
- Your website isn't properly collecting or sending the address information to PayPal.
- The address format is wrong. For example, a ZIP code with fewer than five digits or containing letters instead of just numbers.
Impact
The payment process stops, and your customer can't complete their purchase. This creates a frustrating experience and might cause you to lose the sale if not fixed quickly.
Resolution
- Guide your customer back to the shipping information page so they can correct their address.
- Make sure your checkout form requires a valid postal code before submitting the payment. Add checks to ensure the postal code field isn't left empty and follows the correct format.
- Check that your website is correctly gathering and sending the shipping information to PayPal.
- Use the ADDROVERRIDE option to control how PayPal shows shipping addresses:
- 0 – The PayPal checkout page won't show the shipping address.
- 1 – The PayPal checkout page will show the shipping address from your website instead of the customer's saved PayPal address. The customer won't be able to edit this address.
Upgrade
PayPal is phasing out the system that causes this error. For better results, consider updating to one of these newer PayPal integration methods:
Additional resources
- Express checkout token
- NVP/SOAP integration
- NVP/SOAP error codes
- Refer to Error 10736 developer document.
For help with this issue, contact PayPal support at paypal-techsupport.com.