USPS Web Tools API platform Retirement

[tpperlman]

Hi Folks,

I posted this on the MmmCommerce forums last week, but haven't received any replies. If our stores that use USPS will cease to function that is a problem.

We've been receiving messages like the one below regarding the retirement of the USPS Web Tools API and not sure if it affects Hotcakes Commerce:

Web Tools API user,

The USPS Web Tools API platform will be retired on January 25, 2026. To avoid service disruptions, migrate now to the new USPS APIs. The functional equivalents of the Web Tools APIs are now available in the USPS API Catalog: USPS APIs Developer Portal.

More info can be found at https://postalpro.usps.com/node/14213

Can someone please advise if Hotcakes Commerce is affected? Currently we're running v3.8 and could upgrade if required.

Thank you!

[jtalk22]

This absolutely affects Hotcakes Commerce — the Web Tools XML API was shut down on January 25, 2026. Any store using USPS address validation, rate shopping, or tracking through the old API will have broken shipping functionality now.

What changed:

• Old: XML-based API at production.shippingapis.com, authenticated with USERID
• New: REST/JSON API at apis.usps.com, authenticated with OAuth 2.0 bearer tokens
• New credentials required: register at https://developer.usps.com to get client_id and client_secret

Migration overview for .NET / Hotcakes:

1. Replace the HTTP endpoint — old XML endpoints are gone; new ones are at https://apis.usps.com/
2. Add OAuth token management — before any API call, you need to get a bearer token:

   POST https://apis.usps.com/oauth2/v3/token
   Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
   
   grant_type=client_credentials&client_id=YOUR_ID&client_secret=YOUR_SECRET&scope=addresses tracking prices
   

3. Parse JSON instead of XML — all v3 endpoints return JSON
4. Handle rate limits — the new API is limited to ~60 requests/hour (Web Tools had ~6000/min)

Key endpoints:

Old (Web Tools)	New (v3 REST)
AddressValidateRequest	GET /addresses/v3/address
RateV4Request	POST /prices/v3/total-rates/search
TrackFieldRequest	GET /tracking/v3/tracking/{trackingNumber}

Full endpoint mapping: https://revaddress.com/blog/usps-web-tools-endpoint-mapping

The new API is free to use for address validation and tracking (same as Web Tools was). You just need to register for the new OAuth credentials.