How to Create a Shipping Label (Step-by-Step, 2026)

Creating a shipping label takes under two minutes once you know the steps. Whether you need a USPS label, a UPS label, a FedEx label, a prepaid return label, or a free label with no carrier account — this guide covers every scenario. No jargon, no filler. Just exactly what to do.

People search for this as “how to make a shipping label” and “how to create a shipping label” — it is the same job with the same steps, so both are answered here.

What You Need to Create a Shipping Label

Five things, and you probably already have them all:

• Sender address — your name/business, street, city, state, ZIP
• Recipient address — same fields for where it's going
• Package weight and dimensions — needed for postage calculation (can often estimate for a label-only document)
• Carrier choice — USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL
• Printer — any inkjet/laser for letter-size, or a thermal printer for 4×6 labels

Note: creating the label document and buying postage are two separate steps. Some tools bundle them (USPS Click-N-Ship, eBay Seller Hub, Pirate Ship). Others — including our free label maker— create the formatted label document and let you add postage separately. That separation is useful when you're creating labels in advance, printing packing slips, or using a different postage account than the label tool.

How to Create a USPS Shipping Label

USPS is the most popular carrier for e-commerce sellers and individual shippers in the US. You have three ways to create a USPS label:

Option A: USPS Click-N-Ship (Official)

1. Go to usps.com and sign in (free account required).
2. Click Ship a Package → Create a Shipment.
3. Enter sender and recipient addresses. USPS validates them against its address database.
4. Select service: Ground Advantage (cheapest, 2–5 days), Priority Mail (1–3 days), or Priority Mail Express (overnight).
5. Enter weight and dimensions to get the rate.
6. Pay by credit/debit card. USPS generates the label with prepaid postage embedded.
7. Print the label — 4×6 or 8.5×11 (two labels per sheet).

Online rate discount: Clicking-N-Ship gives you the same rate as counter service. For a bigger discount (up to 89% off retail), use a third-party service like Pirate Ship, which sells USPS Commercial Plus rates at no markup.

Scheduled pickup: After printing, you can schedule a free USPS pickup from your door. No trip to the post office required.

Option B: Third-Party Postage Tool (Cheapest)

Services like Pirate Ship, Stamps.com, and ShipStation give you USPS labels with Commercial Plus pricing — the deep-discount rates normally reserved for high-volume businesses. Pirate Ship is free to use with no monthly fee.

1. Create a free account at pirateship.com (or stamps.com).
2. Enter addresses, package weight, dimensions, and select the USPS service.
3. Pay for postage. The label downloads immediately with postage embedded and the USPS barcode.
4. Print and ship.

Option C: Label Document Only (No Postage)

If you want to create the formatted label structure without buying postage online — for example, if you're going to buy postage at the post office counter, or you need a packing-slip label without a rate attached — use our free USPS label maker:

1. Enter sender and recipient addresses.
2. Select USPS as carrier and choose your service type.
3. Select label size: letter paper is free; 4×6 thermal needs a paid plan.
4. Click Download Free Label. No account, no credit card.

You bring the printed label to the counter and pay postage there (or use a self-service kiosk). This workflow is useful when rates are complex (e.g., international) or you need a label template before committing to a service tier.

How to Create a UPS Shipping Label

UPS is strongest for packages over 5 lbs, long-distance ground shipments, and businesses that need reliable tracking and claims processes.

Through UPS.com

1. Go to ups.com and sign in or create a free account.
2. Click Ship → Create a Shipment.
3. Enter sender and recipient addresses.
4. Select service: UPS Ground (2–5 days), UPS 3 Day Select, UPS 2nd Day Air, or UPS Next Day Air.
5. Enter package weight and dimensions for the rate calculation.
6. Pay. UPS generates a label with a unique tracking number and QR code for the driver.
7. Print the label (4×6 or full-page) and attach to your package.

UPS Simple Rate: One price per box size (5 sizes), with no zones — similar to USPS Flat Rate, but you can use any box or mailer up to 1 cubic foot and 50 lbs. Worth comparing when shipping heavier items cross-country.

Third-party UPS rates: Pirate Ship also offers UPS Ground Saver rates cheaper than retail UPS.com pricing on select routes.

UPS Label Without an Account

You can create a UPS shipment without logging in using UPS's guest checkout — just choose “Ship as a Guest” on ups.com. You'll pay by credit card and get the label emailed to you. However, you miss out on account discounts (typically 10–15% off retail rates for free accounts, more for volume-negotiated accounts).

For a formatted UPS label document without postage, use our free UPS label maker to generate a properly formatted 4×6 PDF.

How to Create a FedEx Shipping Label

FedEx is the go-to for overnight shipments, business-to-business deliveries, and express services. FedEx Ground and Home Delivery are also competitively priced versus UPS for many routes.

Through FedEx.com

1. Go to fedex.com and sign in or create a free FedEx account.
2. Click Create a Shipment in the top navigation.
3. Enter the recipient address and select who's paying for the shipment.
4. Choose service: FedEx Ground (1–5 days residential/commercial), FedEx Home Delivery (residential ground), FedEx 2Day, or FedEx Overnight.
5. Enter package details. If using FedEx-branded boxes, consider FedEx One Rate — flat pricing up to 50 lbs.
6. Select packaging, declare value if needed, and pay.
7. Print the label — FedEx generates a 4×6 format compatible with thermal printers.

FedEx and email:FedEx makes it easy to email a shipping label to someone else. When creating the label, you can send it directly to the recipient's email, which is useful for creating a label for someone else (more on this below).

FedEx Ground Economy (SmartPost)

FedEx Ground Economy (formerly FedEx SmartPost) is FedEx's budget option for lightweight packages. It used to hand parcels to USPS for the final delivery; FedEx now delivers most of them itself. Typical transit: 2–7 business days. It is a contract service, so you need a FedEx business account with access to it.

How to Create a Free Shipping Label

“Free shipping label” means different things in different contexts. Here are the actual ways to get a free label:

• Free label document (no postage): Our free label maker creates print-ready PDFs for USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL with no account or payment required. You supply postage separately (at the post office or via a postage account).
• Free prepaid label from a marketplace:eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, Depop, and Amazon include postage in their seller fees when you print through their platforms. The label appears “free” to you because the cost is baked into their fee structure.
• Free carrier labels:USPS, UPS, and FedEx allow you to create labels on their websites for free — you pay for the postage, but there's no software fee. These are technically “free to create” even though you're paying for the shipping.
• Pirate Ship / ShipStation free tier:No monthly fee — you just pay for the postage itself. So in the sense that there's no subscription, the label creation is free.
• Business account free labels: UPS and FedEx will sometimes provide physical label stock (thermal roll labels) for free to accounts with volume commitments. USPS does not offer a free label printer program.

How to Create a Prepaid Shipping Label

A prepaid shipping label has postage already paid, so the recipient just needs to attach it to their package and hand it off — no payment required at the counter. Common scenarios: returns, warranty replacements, product exchanges.

USPS Prepaid Label

1. Go to USPS Click-N-Ship or a third-party tool.
2. In the “From” address, enter your recipient's address (where the package is coming from).
3. In the “To” address, enter your address (where you want to receive the return).
4. Pay for postage. USPS charges you at time of purchase, even if the label is never used.
5. Email or print the label and send it to the recipient.

USPS Return Label option:USPS also has a “Return Services” option in Click-N-Ship specifically for prepaid return labels. With this option, you can choose “Pay on use” — you're only charged when the recipient actually drops off the package. This is better for low-volume returns.

UPS Prepaid Return Label

UPS offers a Prepaid Return Label option through ups.com and all major third-party shipping platforms. Like USPS, you can choose “Print return label now” (pay immediately) or “Send return label by email” (pay when used).

FedEx Prepaid Label

FedEx Return Solutions let you create a prepaid label and email it to the sender. On fedex.com → Create Shipment → under “Billing details,” select “Bill to my account.” You're paying for the return shipment. FedEx can also email the label directly to the recipient from the label creation screen.

How to Create a Shipping Label for Someone Else

Creating a label for someone else (where you pay, they ship) is straightforward:

1. Open your shipping tool (USPS, UPS, FedEx, or our free label maker).
2. Enter their address as the sender (From field).
3. Enter the destination address (To field).
4. For postage-included labels: pay using your account, then either email the label PDF to them, or send the physical printed label by mail.
5. For a formatted label without postage: generate the PDF and share it — they take it to the post office.

FedEx makes this particularly easy — their label creation flow has an option to email the label directly to the shipper's email address from the creation screen. USPS Click-N-Ship lets you download the PDF and email it manually.

Label Sizes: 4×6 vs Letter Paper

Two sizes work for every major carrier. Which you use depends on your printer:

Letter paper tip: When printing on regular 8.5×11 paper, always set your printer to 100% scale / actual size— not “fit to page.” Fit-to-page shrinks the barcode and causes scanner failures at USPS / UPS / FedEx sorting facilities. After printing, cut the label along the border and apply with clear packing tape over all four edges.

4×6 thermal tip:All modern thermal label printers (Rollo X1038, DYMO 4XL, Zebra GK420d, MUNBYN ITPP941) print 4×6 labels. They use heat instead of ink, so there's nothing to smear, refill, or run out of. Labels cost $15–25 for 500. If you ship more than a few packages a week, the printer pays for itself in 2–4 months of ink savings alone.

Required Fields on a Shipping Label

Every shipping label — regardless of carrier — needs these fields. Missing any of them causes delivery failure or rejection at the counter:

• Sender name (individual name or business name)
• Sender street address (apartment/unit number if applicable)
• Sender city, state, ZIP code
• Recipient name (individual or company)
• Recipient street address
• Recipient city, state, ZIP code
• Country (required for international; implied for US-to-US)
• Carrier service type (e.g., USPS Ground Advantage, UPS Ground)
• Postage amount or payment method (if postage is included)
• Barcode/tracking number (generated by the carrier or third-party tool)

Phone number: Required by UPS and FedEx for the recipient — needed if the driver needs to call for delivery instructions. Optional for USPS domestic shipments.

International labels: Also require the Harmonized Tariff Code (HS Code) for contents, declared value, country of origin, and a customs declaration form (CN22 or CN23 depending on value). Most third-party shipping tools generate these forms alongside the label.

Step-by-Step: Creating a Label With Our Free Tool

The fastest way to create a print-ready shipping label document — no account, no credit card, no subscription:

1. Open our free shipping label maker.
2. Enter the sender address (From). Your details stay in the form if you reload the page. Saved address books come with paid plans (50 addresses on Starter, unlimited on Pro).
3. Enter the recipient address (To). Use the address exactly as it appears on the order — copy-paste is safest.
4. Pick a carrier style: Generic, USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL. This sets the layout; it does not buy postage.
5. Optional: pick a service type (e.g., Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, Ground, Express) so it prints on the label.
6. Choose label size: Letter — full page, 2 per page, or 4 per page — is free. 4×6 thermal is on paid plans.
7. Optional: add a reference or order number, a barcode or QR code, and package details (box, envelope, flat rate, or tube).
8. Click Download Free Label. The PDF downloads right away. Free labels carry a light watermark behind the text; the addresses and barcode stay readable.
9. Open the PDF and print. Set scale to 100% (not fit-to-page).
10. Apply the label to your package. For letter paper: tape all four edges with clear packing tape. For 4×6: peel and stick.

What about postage?Our tool makes the label layout — addresses, barcode, and handling marks. The postage itself is bought from the carrier (USPS.com, UPS.com, FedEx.com) or a discount service such as Pirate Ship, or paid at the counter. That keeps you free to pick the best rate.

Common Mistakes When Creating Shipping Labels

• Missing apartment/unit number.This is the #1 cause of failed deliveries. “123 Main St” is not the same as “123 Main St Apt 4B.” Always include the unit number.
• Incorrect ZIP code. ZIP+4 (9-digit) is preferred. If you only have the 5-digit ZIP, use the USPS ZIP code lookup tool to confirm it matches the street address.
• Printing at wrong scale.“Fit to page” shrinks barcodes. Always print at 100% actual size.
• Tape over the barcode.Use clear tape to secure the label edges, but never tape over the barcode or QR code. Tape creates glare that scanner lasers can't read.
• Printing on the wrong side of label stock. Thermal labels print on the coated side (usually shinier). If your printout is blank or gray, flip the roll.
• Not verifying service availability to the destination.USPS Ground Advantage doesn't deliver to every US territory the same way. UPS and FedEx don't deliver to P.O. Boxes. Check before printing.
• Mailing after the ship date.A USPS Click-N-Ship label carries the shipping date you chose. USPS says labels mailed after that date may be returned to you. If your plans change, request a refund on the unused label instead — USPS allows this up to 60 days after the print date.

Carrier Comparison: Which to Use for Your Shipment

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create my own shipping label?

Yes. You can create your own shipping label using the carrier's website (USPS.com, ups.com, fedex.com) or a third-party tool like our free label maker. The label you create must include both addresses, the carrier logo and service type, and a valid barcode/tracking number to be accepted. A fully formatted label from our tool looks identical to one generated by the carrier.

How do I make a free shipping label?

Use our free shipping label maker. Enter your addresses, select carrier and size, download the PDF. No account or credit card needed. For labels with prepaid postage included, use USPS Click-N-Ship (you pay for postage, but the label tool itself is free) or Pirate Ship (same model, cheaper rates).

What is the cheapest way to create a shipping label?

Creating the label document itself is free with most tools. The cost comes from postage. For the cheapest postage rates: (1) Use Pirate Ship for USPS Commercial Plus rates (up to 89% off retail). (2) For UPS, compare their daily rates vs Pirate Ship's UPS Ground Saver rates. (3) For short-distance ground shipping, USPS Ground Advantage under 1 lb is typically the cheapest option anywhere in the US.

Does UPS still give free labels?

Yes, for account holders. UPS says you can order free supplies — including boxes, labels, and envelopes — on UPS.com with a free username. New customers get a starting allowance; after that, how much you can order depends on how much you ship. Printers are not free: UPS sells label printers to qualified customers and rents them by phone. If you ship a few packages a month, a regular printer and letter paper is the cheapest route.

Can I create a shipping label without a printer?

Yes — in two ways. First, most carriers and third-party tools now generate a QR codeyou can show at a carrier location. USPS, UPS, and FedEx all have “label-free drop-off” at select locations — you show the QR code on your phone, they print the label for you. Second, you can email a PDF label to a local UPS Store, FedEx Office, or Staples and have them print it for a small fee (usually $0.50–$2).

How long is a shipping label valid?

A USPS Click-N-Ship label carries the shipping date you picked, and USPS says labels mailed after that date may be returned to you. If you won't ship on time, request a refund and make a new label — unused USPS labels can be refunded up to 60 days after the print date (in your account for the first 30 days, then by emailing the Click-N-Ship Help Desk). UPS and FedEx labels also carry a ship date: if one sits unused, void it in the account you bought it from and create a fresh one.

What happens if I put the wrong address on a shipping label?

The package will go to the wrong address — or get returned to you. If you haven't shipped yet: void/cancel the label in your shipping tool and create a new one with the correct address. USPS refunds unused Click-N-Ship labels up to 60 days after the print date. UPS and FedEx also let you void unused labels in the account you bought them from.

If the package has already shipped with a wrong address: call the carrier with your tracking number immediately and request an address correction. USPS, UPS, and FedEx can sometimes redirect packages in transit, but it costs extra ($10–20 for address correction fees) and isn't guaranteed.

Related guides:

• How to Ship Packages from Home (No Post Office Needed)
• Best Label Printer for Shipping (2026 guide)
• PayPal Shipping Label Alternative
• Cheapest Way to Ship a Package
• How to Create & Send a Prepaid Shipping Label
• Where to Print a Shipping Label (Every Option)
• How to Write a Shipping Label (Format Guide)
• Free Shipping Label Template for Word
• Address Label vs Shipping Label: Key Differences
• Standard Shipping Label Size: What Size Is It?