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Fulfillment Policy

US Academy / Policy Center / Seller / Fulfillment and Aftersales

Open TikTok Source
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active
Canonical TikTok URL
https://seller-us.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=3995852763301633
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Creator TL;DR

AI-generated from the captured TikTok policy text. Verify against the TikTok source before acting.

TikTok Shop requires sellers to fulfill orders on time, provide valid tracking, and keep key fulfillment metrics within targets. The policy covers dispatch, delivery, cancellations, handling time, and enforcement actions for poor performance or violations.

Key points

  • Dispatch and deliver orders within the required SLA.
  • Add valid tracking so customers can follow orders.
  • Keep fulfillment metrics within TikTok Shop targets.
  • Follow handling-time rules for regular and special order types.
  • Poor fulfillment or repeated failures can trigger enforcement.

Say / show

  • Orders must be dispatched and delivered within the required SLA.
  • Valid tracking numbers are required for dispatch requirements.
  • Sellers must maintain fulfillment quality and timeliness metrics.
  • Late dispatch, late delivery, and seller-fault cancellations can lead to enforcement.
  • Some order types have different handling or dispatch timelines.

Do not say / show

  • All orders have the same dispatch timeline.
  • Tracking is optional if the order is already shipped.
  • Enforcement only happens after one missed order.
  • Creator sample orders count toward SFCR.
  • FCML orders are evaluated the same way as other shipping methods for delivery timeliness.

Violation risks

  • Late dispatch rate over 10% may trigger enforcement.
  • Cancellation rate of 90% or higher over 30+ days may trigger enforcement.
  • Poor fulfillment quality may lead to shop or product enforcement.
  • Missing or invalid tracking can affect VTR and dispatch compliance.
  • Failing fulfillment metrics can lead to limits, suspension, or deactivation.

Who it affects

  • All TikTok Shop sellers.
  • Seller Shipping users.
  • Sellers using pre-orders, backorders, made-to-order, custom handling, virtual goods, and FCML shipping.
  • Sellers whose shops are reviewed for fulfillment performance.
  • Orders fulfilled through TikTok Shop seller-managed shipping; FBT and some TikTok Shipping orders have metric exemptions noted in the source.

Source notes

  • Verify details against the TikTok source before acting; policy text and enforcement handling can change.
  • Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and US federal holidays.
  • This summary uses only the provided source text and does not add any extra TikTok requirements or dates.
  • Appeal acceptance is limited to the scenarios listed in the source text.

Confidence: high · Model: gpt-5.4-mini · Prompt: creator-policy-summary-v1

Readable Policy Copy

Captured policy content rendered without TikTok navigation, scripts, tracking markup, or page chrome. Source: article-html.

Key Points:
  • Sellers must dispatch and deliver orders within the required Service Level Agreements.
  • All orders need valid tracking numbers to meet dispatch requirements and let customers track deliveries.
  • Sellers must maintain key fulfillment metrics to ensure consistent performance and compliance.
This policy applies to all sellers and outlines the requirements they must meet when fulfilling any type of order on TikTok Shop.

Fulfillment

Fulfillment refers to the complete process of receiving, processing, and delivering a customer’s order on TikTok Shop. This process includes:
  • Preparing the product for shipment
  • Providing valid tracking information
  • Handing the package to a Logistics Service Provider (LSP)
  • Ensuring delivery within the required timelines

Requirements for Fulfillment

Service Level Agreements (SLA)

A Fulfillment SLA is the maximum number of business days for an order to reach a specific stage in the fulfillment/shipping process.
Order typeDispatch SLAAuto-Cancellation SLA Deliver-by SLA
RegularOrders must be marked as In Transit (for example, scanned by carriers) within 2 business days of Awaiting Shipment.
TikTok Shop will auto-cancel an order if the order status is not updated to Awaiting Collection (i.e., tracking information has not been added to Seller Center) within 5 business days of Awaiting Shipment.
Orders must be marked as Delivered within 6 business days of Awaiting Shipment.
Orders using TikTok Shipping that were dispatched within the dispatch SLA are considered on-time deliveries in OTDR calculations.
Made-to-OrderBackorderCustom HandlingOrders must be marked as In Transit (for example, scanned by carriers) within the handling time set by the seller plus 1 business day.

TikTok Shop will auto-cancel an order if the order status is not updated to Awaiting Collection (i.e., tracking information has not been added to Seller Center) within handling time plus 4 business days.
Orders must be marked as Delivered within the handling time set by the seller plus 5 business days.
Pre-OrderOrders must be marked as In Transit (for example, scanned by carriers) within 2 business days after the pre-order closure date.
TikTok Shop will auto-cancel an order if the order status is not updated to Awaiting Collection (i.e., tracking information has not been added to Seller Center) within 5 business days of pre-order closure date.
Orders must be marked as Delivered within 6 business days of the pre-order closure date.
Virtual Goods-
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Orders must be marked as Delivered within 2 business days of Awaiting Shipment.
First Class Mail Letter (FCML)A First-Class Mail shipping label must be generated within 2 business days of Awaiting Shipment.
TikTok Shop will automatically cancel an FCML order if a First-Class Mail shipping label is not generated within 5 business days of Awaiting Shipment.
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NOTE: Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, or US federal holidays. For pre-owned products requiring post-sale authentication, dispatch times start once TikTok Shop has approved the certificate of authenticity. Please refer to the Pre-Owned Products Requirements for more details.
TikTok Shop reserves the right to extend the minimally-required order fulfillment windows for specific holidays. TikTok Shop will provide 7-day notice to sellers prior to an extension. All notices are communicated through Seller Center.

Dispatching an Order

For orders to meet the dispatch requirements, sellers must have orders scanned by a carrier within the dispatch SLA. Once an order has been successfully scanned, the order will update to In Transit in Seller Center. If an order is not updated to In Transit within 2 business days, the order will be considered a late dispatch and recorded in the seller's Late Dispatch Rate.
If more than 10% of orders exceed the dispatch SLA requirements, TikTok Shop may take additional enforcement actions.
  • Sellers using the following fulfillment tools will have 1 business day added to their custom handling time to dispatch the order:
    • Order Handling Capacity tool (For orders exceeding the daily order capacity set by the seller)
    • Made-to-Order (MTO) feature
    • Backorder feature
    • Custom Handling Time feature
  • For pre-orders, sellers will have 2 business days after the pre-order release date to dispatch the order.
  • For virtual goods, sellers must ensure orders are prepared for customer redemption within 2 business days of the order status changing to Awaiting Shipment.
  • For First Class Mail Letter (FCML) Shipping, sellers must generate FCML shipping labels within 2 business days of an order entering Awaiting Shipment to meet dispatch requirements.

Failure to Fulfill Orders

Enforcement actions may be taken if the platform detects a seller has a cancellation rate of 90% or higher over a period of 30 or more days. This applies to cancellations due to seller-fault reasons where there was no delivery.
The enforcement action taken for failing to fulfill orders may include, but is not limited to, temporary shop suspension or permanent shop deactivation. Please refer to the Seller Enforcement Policy to learn more.

Auto-Cancellation

  • Orders will be automatically canceled if the seller does not update the order status to "Awaiting collection" within the auto-cancellation SLA for the order type.
  • TikTok Shop may investigate and take enforcement action against sellers it reasonably believes are in violation of platform policies. These policies include this policy, Fulfillment Policy, the After-Sale Policies, and any other agreements. Potential enforcement actions include warnings, auto-cancellation of "In Transit" orders, suspensions, or platform bans. Such actions may be taken in the following circumstances, but not limited to:
    • Detection of a high frequency of order cancellations
    • Suspicion of any violation of our policies or guidelines
    • Suspicion of any fraudulent behavior
  • For more information on order auto-cancellations, please refer to the Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy.

Handling Time

  • Handling time is set by the seller in business days and indicates the number of days required to update an order status from Awaiting Shipment to Awaiting Collection. At the shop level, sellers can choose a handling time between 1-2 business days, by default, for Regular Orders.
  • Sellers can set product-specific handling times to better manage various shipment types, including made-to-order, pre-orders, backorders, and custom handling:
    • Backorder handling time: 3-15 business days
    • Custom handling time: 3-7 business days
    • Made-to-Order handling time: 3-14 business days
    • Pre-order handling time: 3-60 calendar days
For more details on non-regular orders and seller eligibility, see Custom Order Requirements.
  • If an order remains undispatched beyond the set handling time, the seller will be notified. They must then update the new handling time for that order. This applies to all order types and ensures buyers have accurate expectations for delivery.
  • Under Fulfillment Settings in Seller Center, sellers can either allow TikTok Shop to set their handling time automatically or manually configure it to their default preference.
  • For sellers onboarded after September 13, 2023, and have opted for the default handling time, TikTok Shop will automatically adjust it based on their historical performance.
  • TikTok Shop will automatically cancel an order if it is not marked as Awaiting Collection within the auto-cancellation SLA, i.e. tracking information has not been added to Seller Center. For First Class Mail Letter (FCML) Shipping, sellers must generate FCML shipping labels within 5 business days of an order entering Awaiting Shipment to avoid auto-cancellation.

Shipping Time

  • Shipping time refers to the number of business days a Logistics Service Provider (LSP) takes to deliver an order after the seller hands it over.
  • The product display page gives each customer shipping options based on what was set by sellers in the Shipping Template (a tool in Seller Center to configure shipping rules) section of Seller Center. Sellers must ship orders in accordance with the customer's selected shipping-service level.
  • In order to qualify for specific shipping options, sellers must uphold certain delivery performance thresholds outlined in the Shipping Template. If sellers fall below the threshold, faster shipping options will be removed in Seller Center and on the product display page. For additional information and a screenshot of the Shipping Template, please refer to Seller Shipping Configuration.
  • For an order to be considered delivered on time, the Logistics Service Provider (LSP) must mark it as Delivered on or before the deliver-by SLA. The Seller Center will then update the order status to Delivered. Orders not marked as Delivered by the deliver-by SLA are classified as "Late Deliveries," while those marked as Delivered on or before the deadline are considered "On-Time Deliveries." FCML orders are not subject to a deliver-by SLA and are not evaluated for delivery timeliness.

Fulfillment Quality

Sellers must ensure that they provide customers with high quality fulfillment, in all shipping methods. Delivery issues that create a poor customer experience may result in enforcement actions taken on the shop or the product. Examples of poor fulfillment quality include, but are not limited to:
  • Packages marked as delivered, but never received by customers
  • Damaged item(s) or packaging
  • Package missing an item
  • Wrong item delivered
Sellers may be required to issue refunds to customers who experience delivery issues. For more information, refer to the Customer Order Shipping Requirements.

Metric Calculation Period and Targets

Sellers must meet our fulfillment quality and timeliness requirements. If sellers fail to meet these requirements, enforcement actions may include limiting the exposure of products with high negative feedback, point deduction in Account Health Rating (a system that measures seller performance), and order volume limits, up to and including a suspension of new order volume. Please refer to the Seller Enforcement Policy to learn more.

Valid Tracking Rate (VTR)

Seller Requirement: Sellers must maintain a VTR of greater than or equal to 95%.
VTR represents the % of orders processed within the evaluation period that has accurate and verifiable tracking numbers.
Sellers who have selected Seller Shipping (a fulfillment method where sellers manage their own shipping) must accurately input the tracking IDs, Shipping Provider Name, and Shipping Service to ensure the tracking information provided is valid. Orders through Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) and TikTok Shipping (including Upgraded TikTok Shipping, an expedited shipping option) are exempt from VTR calculations.
For additional information, please refer to our Valid Tracking Rate Requirements.
Appeals
Sellers bear responsibility for providing clear, verifiable, and original evidence. Claims relying solely on documents that cannot be independently verified are less likely to be accepted.VTR enforcements are appealable, but there are only 2 scenarios that are accepted by TikTok Shop.
  1. The customer has directly confirmed to the seller that the order has been received.
  2. A logistics integration error occurred and TikTok Shop mistakenly issued a violation.
To learn more about VTR appeals and requirements, please refer to our Valid Tracking Rate Requirements.

Late Dispatch Rate (LDR)

Seller Requirement: Sellers are recommended to maintain an LDR of less than or equal to 4%. If sellers' LDR is greater than 10%, enforcement actions may be applied.LDR is a shop-level metric that reflects a seller's consistency in meeting platform dispatch SLA. It represents the % of dispatched orders that were not updated to In Transit in Seller Center within the required dispatch SLA.
For First Class Mail Letter (FCML) Shipping, sellers must generate FCML shipping labels within 2 business days of an order entering Awaiting Shipment to meet dispatch requirements.
For example:Shop A has processed 100 orders in the last 30 days.
  • 75 of those orders were through FBT, so they are exempt from being considered late
  • The remaining 25 orders were not fulfilled through FBT and did not meet the dispatch SLA requirement
As a result, Shop A's LDR would be 25%.
Late-to-dispatch orders that have been canceled by the seller or customer after the Dispatch SLA will be included in LDR calculations.
Appeals
Sellers bear responsibility for providing clear, verifiable, and original evidence. Claims relying solely on documents that cannot be independently verified are less likely to be accepted.For LDR violations, the only scenarios that TikTok Shop will consider for an appeal are listed below:
  1. TikTok Shop enforced an order ID more than once (either in the same calculation period or in consecutive calculation period for the same Stock Keeping Units (SKUs)).
  2. TikTok Shop incorrectly categorized an order as late when it was dispatched in accordance with the dispatch SLA.
  3. Local fulfillment warehouse operations disrupted due to events or circumstances beyond seller and warehouse control.
    1. Labor strikes/disputes, environmental disasters or accidents, power outages or utility failures
  4. Seller unable to dispatch orders on time due to system issues with Seller Center.
To learn more about Late Dispatch Rate and appeal requirements, please refer to our Late Dispatch Rate Requirements.

On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR)

Seller Requirement: Sellers must maintain an OTDR of greater than or equal to 80%.
OTDR is a shop-level metric that reflects how efficiently orders are delivered. It represents the % of non-FBT (Fulfilled by TikTok) orders delivered on or before their designated deliver-by date and is calculated weekly (Monday-Sunday) based on all orders expected to be delivered during that period. The deliver-by date is the deadline for a package to be marked Delivered to meet OTDR expectations.
FCML orders are not subject to a deliver-by SLA and are not evaluated for delivery timeliness.
This metric applies to both Seller Shipping and TikTok Shipping options. Orders through the Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) program are exempt from OTDR calculations.
OTDR for orders created during the evaluation period = On-time deliveries* / Orders to be delivered during the assessment period*For TikTok Shipping orders - including collection by TikTok and Upgraded TikTok Shipping orders, a 'Late Delivery' status will only apply if dispatch fails to occur within the dispatch SLA.NOTE: The SLA may vary depending on the order type (regular, made-to-order, backorder, custom handling, or pre-order). To learn more about order types, please refer to our Custom Order Requirements.
Appeals
Sellers bear responsibility for providing clear, verifiable, and original evidence. Claims relying solely on documents that cannot be independently verified are less likely to be accepted.OTDR enforcements can only be appealed in the scenarios listed below:
  1. Technical issues within Seller Center prevent a seller from dispatching an order on time.
  2. TikTok Shop mistakenly classifies an order as a late delivery when it was delivered within the deliver-by SLA.
  3. Carrier operational disruptions caused by events beyond the control of all parties (including but not limited to labor strikes, civil unrest, disputes, environmental disasters, and severe weather conditions).
  4. TikTok Shop penalizes the same order ID for OTDR multiple times.
  5. Carrier marks order(s) as lost.
To learn more about the On-Time Delivery Rate and appeal requirements, please refer to our On-Time Delivery Rate Requirements.

Seller-Fault Cancellation Rate (SFCR)

Seller Requirement: Sellers must maintain an SFCR of less than or equal to 2.5%.
SFCR represents the % of confirmed orders placed within the evaluation period that were cancelled due to the seller's fault. Creator sample orders are NOT included in SFCR calculations.
NOTE: Creator sample orders are NOT included in SFCR calculations. Cancellation scenarios that are considered seller-fault include:
  • Cancellations due to lack of inventory
  • Cancellations due to inaccurate pricing
  • Cancellations due to delayed shipment
  • Cancellations due to product recalls
  • Cancellations due to unpaid postage orders and counterfeit label issues
  • Cancellations due to failure to provide a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) for pre-owned luxury products
To learn more about auto-cancellations, please refer to our Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy.
For additional information, please refer to our Seller-Fault Cancellation Rate Requirements.
Appeals
Sellers bear responsibility for providing clear, verifiable, and original evidence. Claims relying solely on documents that cannot be independently verified are less likely to be accepted.SFCR enforcements can be appealed if they fall under these 2 scenarios:
  1. System error within TikTok Shop Platform (multiple enforcements for a single order ID, Seller Center system issue).
  2. Uncontrollable LSP disruptions (force majeures, carrier system issues).
To learn more about SFCR and appeal requirements, please refer to our Seller-Fault Cancellation Rate Requirements.

Other Supplementary Performance Metrics

Unshipped Order Rate
The percentage of seller-shipped orders that have not been dispatched by the dispatch SLA. These orders can negatively impact LDR and OTDR metrics. To meet dispatch requirements, sellers must provide a valid tracking number on or before the dispatch SLA.
Out of Stock Cancellation Rate
The % of orders canceled by the seller due to out-of-stock reasons. These cancellations can negatively affect SFCR. Sellers should ensure their listed inventory accurately reflects stock available in the warehouse, ready for picking, packing, and shipping. Misrepresenting inventory levels can harm key performance metrics like SFCR.

Enforcement Actions and Appeals

We regularly review shops for compliance with our policies. If violations are identified, we may take enforcement actions on your shop. This may include, but is not limited to:
  • Deducting points from your Account Health Rating
  • Removing product listings
  • Revoking your access to offer products for sale
  • Issuing order volume limits
  • Issuing refunds to customers
  • Account deactivation
For more information on enforcement actions, refer to our Seller Enforcement Policy. If you would like to appeal an enforcement action, visit the Appeals section for guidance.

Snapshots

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