Ideally, you create the label on the same day you will ship the package. If the date on the label has passed and the package has not shipped, this delay can interfere with the timeframe required to deliver a shipment. Carriers may accept packages a few days past the ship date on the label, but we cannot guarantee that all locations or carriers will allow this.
We recommend setting the Ship Date to the date that you actually plan to ship the package.
When you create a label, the Ship Date automatically populates with the current date or the next shipping date, depending on the carrier's cut-off time. Manually overwrite this date with one of your choosing by including a ship_date parameter in your request.
Shipping Holidays
Many carriers observe holidays and do not pick up or deliver on those days. For the most popular carriers, ShipEngine will automatically set the ship date forward to the next business day when your ship date falls on a holiday.
