FedEx is retiring its SOAP shipping API — what does this break for WooCommerce stores in 2026?
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Posting because I've seen 3 stores hit this and it doesn't seem widely discussed yet.
FedEx is sunsetting their old Web Services SOAP API. Their official deprecation timeline points to 2026. The new path is REST-based.
Here's what I've found about the impact on WooCommerce:
What breaks for stores still on SOAP-based plugins:
- Live rates at checkout return empty — customers see "no shipping options"
- Tracking integrations fail because the SOAP tracking endpoint stops responding
- Label printing returns auth errors
- International customs documents (commercial invoice, ETD) can't be generated
- Residential surcharge calculations fall back to wrong values
Most of the popular FedEx WooCommerce plugins on the directory and on CodeCanyon were built on SOAP. Some have started migrating, some haven't announced anything.
Things I'm trying to figure out (would value the community's input):
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Has anyone here already migrated their store from SOAP to REST? What broke that wasn't obvious in advance?
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For people running multiple FedEx accounts (parent/child structure), does REST handle account hierarchy the same way SOAP did?
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For Freight LTL users — does anyone know if the REST Freight API supports liftgate and inside-delivery accessorials the same way?
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For international shipping with paperless customs (ETD), has anyone tested the REST endpoint? SOAP had quirks with certain country pairs.
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For developers — is there a known way to run SOAP and REST side-by-side for testing without breaking production rates?
If you're on a SOAP-based plugin right now, two practical things to do this week:
- Log into your FedEx Developer portal and check whether your account already has REST credentials provisioned. Most do, some need a manual request.
- Ask your current plugin author (or check their changelog) whether they've shipped REST support yet. If they're silent, plan for either an upgrade or a switch.
Curious what others are seeing on this. Has it broken anything for anyone yet, or is the SOAP endpoint still working fine on your stores today?
Their site has changed since the other 2 answers here.
The most direct answer is that they do not have a classic WSDL endpoint, where you just get a URL, Add Service Reference and go.
Instead they have you download a zip file which contains a wsdl file which you then use locally - pretty odd. That wsdl file changes name over time, as does the zip, with every version - but the current file is at:
https://images.fedex.com/templates/components/apps/wpor/secure/downloads/wsdl/201607/standard/RateService.zip
My guess is you can get at it without logging in given the images subdomain, likely a CDN.
Once that link dies here's how you currently navigate their obtuse Developer section, which they'll probably also change again:
http://www.fedex.com/us/developer/
Click FedEx Web Services on the left
Under the unclickable "Document and Downloads" part of the page, click Move to Downloads
Scroll to the bottom - there's a weird table with service names like "Quote Rates." Each time you expand a row, the header row will have some Download text stuffed into it. Clicking "WSDL" gets you the zip file.
Not the worst process for getting a simple WSDL I've seen but, they're definitely in the running.
Yes it would appear so.
http://www.fedex.com/us/developer/solutions.html