To require a phone number for shipped Shopify orders, go to Settings > Checkout, find Customer information, set Shipping address phone number to Required, and save. This native setting checks that the field is present when checkout includes a shipping-address step.

Last verified: September 14, 2026. CartBlock shows Phone number with Is empty, Is not empty, Any, Not any, Partially contains, and Partially does not contains. It does not identify buyer versus shipping versus billing phone or show regex/prefix operators.

If your policy needs more than presence, such as a specific format or a condition tied to certain products, markets, or order risks, document the requirement first and evaluate a checkout validation app. Do not treat format validation as proof that the number belongs to the shopper or can receive calls.

What Shopify's native phone setting does

Shopify lets merchants make the shipping-address phone number optional, required, or omitted. The required setting is often enough when a carrier or payment provider needs a contact number.

The setting has important limits:

  • It applies to the shipping address form, not every possible checkout contact field.
  • It is enforced only when the checkout includes a shipping-address step.
  • Digital or non-shippable carts may skip that step.
  • Shopify says the customer-information settings do not apply to B2B checkouts.
  • Requiring a field does not verify ownership or reachability.

Shopify also lets stores choose Email or Phone number or email as the checkout contact method. That choice is separate from requiring a shipping-address phone number.

If the requirement depends on cart contents or another condition, first map the logic with this guide to conditional cart and checkout validation. Then use the checkout validation error-message guide to make the correction clear without exposing customer data.

Decide what "valid" means for your store

Check What it establishes Suitable method
Required / presence A value was entered Shopify native setting or CartBlock Is empty
Format / plausibility Text matches a documented pattern Verified country-aware validation
Ownership / reachability Shopper controls the number OTP or external verification

Write a definition that staff can test. Possible requirements include:

  1. A phone number must be present for shipped orders.
  2. The number must include a country code for selected destinations.
  3. The number must fall within reasonable length limits.
  4. Placeholder values such as repeated zeros should be rejected.
  5. The requirement should apply only when a carrier or delivery workflow needs it.

Avoid rules that assume one country's phone format applies worldwide. Formatting varies, and shoppers may enter spaces, parentheses, or a leading plus sign.

How to require a phone number in Shopify

1. Open the checkout settings

From Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout.

2. Find the customer-information options

Locate Shipping address phone number under Customer information.

3. Select Required and save

Choose Required, save the change, and allow time for the updated checkout setting to appear. Shopify notes that checkout-setting changes can take up to 30 seconds to be reflected.

4. Test a physical-product checkout

Use a product whose Physical product setting is active. If no item requires shipping, the checkout can skip the shipping-address step and the phone requirement will not run.

When a CartBlock validation may help

CartBlock exposes Phone number plus presence operators Is empty and Is not empty. The UI does not identify the source phone field, so test every checkout path. These checks do not prove ownership or reachability.

A conditional validation may be useful when the policy applies only to:

  • Orders using a delivery method that requires phone coordination.
  • High-value carts that receive manual confirmation.
  • Selected markets with a documented format requirement.
  • Products that require appointment scheduling.

Use the native Shopify requirement when every shipped order needs a number. Add a conditional rule only when it solves a specific gap and does not duplicate the native check.

Write a phone-number error shoppers can fix

State the requirement without claiming the number has been independently verified:

Enter a phone number with the country code so the carrier can contact you about delivery.

If you reject a format, say what the accepted input looks like. Do not display a customer's full phone number in an error or support log.

Phone validation test matrix

Test Expected result
Physical product, empty phone Blocked by required setting
Number matching the documented format Allowed under written policy
International number with + prefix Handled as documented
Spaces or parentheses Normalized or rejected with clear guidance
Obvious placeholder Rejected only if an explicit rule covers it
Digital-only cart Behavior documented; shipping field may be absent
B2B checkout Tested separately because customer-information settings differ
Accelerated checkout Same required outcome where the shipping step applies

Test on mobile and desktop, and repeat the check for every checkout path you offer.

Common phone-number validation mistakes

Promising phone ownership verification

A format check does not confirm that a number is active or controlled by the shopper. That requires a separate verification workflow, such as a one-time code service.

Blocking international customers with a local pattern

Do not require a fixed digit count across every market. Use country-aware rules or keep the check to presence when you cannot maintain international patterns safely.

Requiring a shipping phone for digital orders

Shopify does not show a shipping-address step when no product requires shipping. If digital orders need a contact number, design and test a separate collection method.

Collecting data without a business need

Only request customer data that supports a defined operational purpose. Update the store's privacy disclosures and retention process when required by your policies and applicable law.

Frequently asked questions

Can Shopify require both email and phone at checkout?

Shopify states that the contact-method setting does not offer an option to require both. For shipped orders, you can require email as the contact method and separately require the shipping-address phone number.

Why is the required phone field missing?

Check whether the cart contains a physical product. The shipping-address phone setting runs only when checkout includes a shipping-address step.

Can a validation confirm that a phone number is real?

Not by format alone. A validation can check presence or patterns, but confirmation of reachability or ownership needs an external verification process.

Use the smallest check that meets the need

Start with Shopify's native required-phone setting for shipped orders. Add conditional validation only when the policy calls for more precise enforcement. Explore CartBlock on the Shopify App Store and verify its current phone-related conditions before activation.