How to Create a Good Shipment Tracker

Introduction

To get accurate and complete tracking information with Ship24, it is important to create trackers using the right parameters. This guide explains how to optimize your tracker setup to avoid outdated, missing, or irrelevant events.

Why accurate tracking parameters matter

Providing the right data improves your tracking results because:

Tracking numbers may be reused by the same courier over time
Multiple couriers can use identical tracking numbers
Courier auto-detection is not always perfect, especially when tracking number patterns are not very specific, for example digits only
Some couriers may temporarily return incorrect tracking data

By defining clear parameters, you help Ship24 deliver more accurate results.

Required and optional tracker fields

Below is a breakdown of each field you can include when creating a tracker, and why it matters.

1. Tracking Number, required

Always use the actual tracking number, not an order or reference number.

Reference numbers are often reused or non-unique
Order numbers typically do not return any tracking results

2. Courier Code, optional but highly recommended

You can provide up to three courier codes to guide Ship24 in where to look first.

This helps disambiguate tracking numbers shared across couriers
It improves the speed and relevance of results

Ship24 also supports auto-detection, which means it can still return results from other couriers. This is especially useful when a last-mile service provider takes over the delivery.

Need a courier code? Browse the full list in the Ship24 courier documentation.

3. Destination Post Code, optional but required for some couriers

Some couriers require the destination post code to return tracking data.

To check whether it is needed, refer to the is_destination_postcode_required field in the Ship24 courier list.

Omitting this for certain couriers may result in no data returned.

4. Destination Country Code, optional but recommended

This helps Ship24 identify the correct delivery path and ignore unrelated events.

If a courier reports delivery to a country not matching the one you provide, those events are discarded
In rare cases this field is mandatory. Check is_destination_country_code_required in the courier list

Entering the wrong destination country code may result in missing or no tracking data.

5. Shipping Date, optional but powerful for relevance filtering

This field defines the expected starting point of the shipment.

Ship24 uses it to exclude irrelevant events that occur:

More than 10 days before the shipping date
More than 30 days after the shipping date

If the shipping date is incorrect, valid events might be filtered out.

6. Advanced option: restrictTrackingToCourierCode

If you want to limit tracking strictly to certain couriers, set restrictTrackingToCourierCode to true.

What it does:

Ship24 will only retrieve events from the couriers you provide in courierCode
Events from other couriers, including last-mile providers, will be ignored

When to use it:

You are confident about who handles the shipment
You want to avoid mixing events from similarly formatted tracking numbers

Use this with caution. If the couriers listed are incorrect, or miss the last-mile provider, Ship24 might return no tracking data at all.

Best practices for a good tracker

Field	Required	Recommendation
Tracking Number	Yes	Always use the actual tracking number
Courier Code	Optional	Add up to 3 when known
Destination Post Code	Optional	Required for some couriers
Destination Country Code	Optional	Helps ensure event accuracy
Shipping Date	Optional	Filters out irrelevant events
restrictTrackingToCourierCode	Optional	Use only when you want strict courier control

Next steps

To understand what each status means once your tracker starts returning events, see understanding shipment delivery statuses.

Updated on: 14/08/2026

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