Evri API Integration: A Complete Guide for UK Businesses

The Evri API gives UK ecommerce businesses programmatic access to Evri’s parcel delivery network — creating shipments, generating labels, retrieving tracking data and managing returns without anyone manually logging into the Evri business portal. Evri is one of the UK’s largest dedicated parcel carriers, used by ASOS, Next, M&S, Etsy and thousands of UK ecommerce businesses. For businesses already shipping with Evri, a custom API integration removes the manual despatch process entirely. This guide covers how the Evri API works, what access requires and what a production-ready integration looks like.

Getting access to the Evri API

Evri’s API access requires an Evri Corporate Business account. There is no self-serve developer portal where you can sign up immediately and get credentials — API keys, Client ID, Client Secret, username and password are all provisioned by your Evri Account Manager once your business account is established. Evri also requires businesses to meet a minimum shipment volume threshold before a Corporate account is opened.

Before going live, Evri requires test labels to be created and submitted for approval. Evri provides a list of test addresses to use, and the labels must be approved by Evri before production shipping begins. This approval process adds time to the go-live timeline and should be started as early as possible — ideally at the same time as commissioning the build.

Evri provides a sandbox environment with separate test credentials for development. All integration work happens against the sandbox, meaning the live account is not touched until the integration is tested, approved and ready for production deployment.

How Evri API authentication works

The Evri API uses OAuth 2.0 client credentials authentication. Your Client ID and Client Secret are exchanged for a Bearer access token, which is included in the header of every subsequent API request. Access tokens expire and must be refreshed using the same client credentials exchange — a well-built integration handles token caching and refresh automatically, requesting a new token before expiry rather than on every API call.

All credentials — Client ID, Client Secret, username and password — must be stored server-side. They should never appear in client-facing code, version control, or unencrypted configuration files. The proxy pattern applies here exactly as with the DPD API: your platform calls your own server, your server calls Evri with the credentials, and the response is returned. Credentials are never exposed to the browser.

What the Evri API covers

Shipment creation. The core API call. You submit the recipient address, package weight and dimensions, service type and parcel value (required by Evri for insurance). Evri validates the address and creates the shipment, returning a consignment number and tracking number.

Label generation. Labels are returned as base64-encoded PDF or ZPL (for thermal printers) directly from the shipment creation response. Labels include the Evri barcode, recipient address and all routing information for Evri’s network.

Tracking. The Evri tracking API returns delivery status events for a consignment number. Events include: collected, in transit, out for delivery, delivered, delivery attempted and delivery to a ParcelShop. Tracking data can be embedded into your customer-facing order tracking page or used to trigger automated despatch notifications.

Returns. Evri supports returns label generation via the API. Returns labels use the standard consignment structure with the shipment direction reversed. QR code returns — where the customer receives a QR code and drops the parcel at an Evri ParcelShop without printing — require additional credential setup requested separately from Evri.

Evri service types

Evri’s domestic services accessible through the API include standard parcel delivery (3–5 day aim), next-day delivery where available, large parcel services for heavier or bulkier items, and ParcelShop delivery where the recipient collects from a local convenience store or supermarket.

Service selection in the API call specifies which Evri service to use for each shipment. A custom integration can select the service automatically based on the shipping option chosen at checkout, the package dimensions and weight, or other business rules — without anyone manually choosing a service for each order.

Parcel value and insurance

Evri requires all domestic shipments to include a valid parcel value. This is used for carrier insurance purposes and is not optional — shipments without a parcel value may be rejected or incur additional fees. The integration maps the order value from your platform to the parcel value field in the API call. For orders with multiple items, the total order value is used.

Evri’s standard carrier liability covers parcels up to a defined value. For high-value items, additional insurance or a higher-liability service should be considered and discussed with your Evri Account Manager as part of the account setup.

For the full service details, see the Evri API integration service. For WooCommerce integration, see Evri API for WooCommerce. For how Evri compares with DPD, see Evri API vs DPD API. For what the build costs, see Evri API integration cost.

Address validation and error handling

Evri validates recipient addresses on every shipment creation request. Invalid postcodes, addresses that don’t match the postcode, or missing required fields return validation errors rather than creating the shipment. The integration handles these explicitly: flagging the order with a clear error message in the order notes, sending an internal alert and preventing the order from being silently left unshipped.

Common error sources: postcodes that don’t exist, address lines that exceed character limits, missing phone numbers (required for ParcelShop delivery), and parcel dimensions that exceed the service limits. Testing with a range of realistic address formats during sandbox testing catches most of these before go-live.

Evri vs DPD vs Royal Mail — which to integrate first

The choice between Evri, DPD and Royal Mail for a first integration depends on which carrier the business already uses and what the primary use case is. Evri is typically chosen by businesses already shipping significant volumes with Evri who want to remove manual despatch processing. DPD is preferred where next-day delivery with a one-hour window is a customer expectation. Royal Mail covers letter-format items and remote UK addresses where Evri and DPD coverage is limited.

For businesses shipping with both Evri and Royal Mail, a multi-carrier integration that handles both from the same codebase — routing items to the right carrier based on format, service level and destination — provides the most operational value. See the DPD vs Royal Mail API comparison and Evri vs DPD API comparison for the full carrier selection picture.

If you need help with a custom API integration for your website or business application, I can help. I build bespoke API integrations for UK businesses. See API integration pricing or get in touch to discuss your project.

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