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Create a dispatch last mile delivery order

POST /v2/fulfillment/lastmile/orders

Sends a request to create a dispatch last mile delivery order with the desired delivery window.

When you send a request to create an order, Instacart validates the order. If the request passes validations, Instacart creates the order. If the request fails validations, Instacart returns errors. For example, the request fails if the customer provides an invalid address. Your site can prompt your customers to correct the information and then try to create the order again. If Instacart cannot fulfill the order, Instacart cancels the order and sends the canceled callback. For more information, see How to handle errors.

To define a desired delivery window, use the start_at and end_at fields. The window must be a minimum of one hour long and must start and end on the hour.

note

For carts with alcohol, it is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that alcohol type, alcohol quantity, and the age of the customer are in compliance with regional laws. For alcohol delivery, retailers must also ensure that the city and county of the store and customer match. For more information, see Alcohol compliance.

You can see which delivery window was used for the order in the fulfillment_details section of the response.

tip

Instead of failing order creation when there isn't capacity to fulfill the order, Instacart can substitute your desired window with the soonest alternative on the same day. To enable, set the fallback_to_soonest_sameday flag to true.

Security​

NameInDescription
AuthorizationheaderThe Authorization header with the bearer token acquired during authentication.

Request​

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
order_idstring✅The unique retailer-generated order ID to use for the order. The ID can be used later for lookup.
location_codestring✅Location code of the store where the delivery driver picks up the order.
start_atstring✅The requested delivery window start time in ISO 8601 format.
end_atstring✅The requested delivery window end time in ISO 8601 format.
localestringThe order's locale in IETF Language Tag format. Example: en-US.
first_namestring✅The user's first name.
last_namestring✅The user's last name.
user_phonestring✅The user's phone number.
user_idstringUnique user ID to use for this user. If not specified, a new user will be created.
initial_tip_centsintegerThe pre-delivery tip in cents.
items_countinteger✅The number of items in the order.
bags_countintegerThe number of bags in the order.
items_weightnumber✅The weight of the items in lbs.
cart_total_centsintegerThe total value of all items for the order in cents.
bag_labelstringA user-friendly label that helps shoppers identify the order.
alcoholicbooleanIndicates whether the order contains alcohol. Defaults to false.
leave_unattendedbooleanIndicates whether the user wants the driver to leave the order unattended. Defaults to false.
special_instructionsstringSpecial instructions about the order to pass on to the shopper.
customer_sms_opt_outbooleanIndicator whether the user has opted-out from receiving SMS communication. Defaults to false.
applied_instacartplusbooleanIndicates whether the retailer applied Instacart+ membership benefits to the order. Defaults to false.
fallback_to_soonest_samedaybooleanIndicates whether the order should be fulfilled by the soonest sameday service option if the requested delivery window is not available. Defaults to true.
addressAddress✅The address of the user.

Address Object​

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
address_line_1string✅The first address line.
address_line_2stringThe second address line.
address_typestringThe type of address, e.g., "residential".
postal_codestring✅The postal/zip code of the address.

Request examples​

curl --request POST \
  --url https://connect.instacart.com/v2/fulfillment/lastmile/orders \
  --header 'Accept: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "order_id": "string",
  "location_code": "string",
  "start_at": "string",
  "end_at": "string",
  "locale": "string",
  "first_name": "string",
  "last_name": "string",
  "user_phone": "string",
  "user_id": "string",
  "initial_tip_cents": 1,
  "items_count": 1,
  "bags_count": 1,
  "items_weight": 1,
  "cart_total_cents": 1,
  "bag_label": "string",
  "alcoholic": true,
  "leave_unattended": true,
  "special_instructions": "string",
  "customer_sms_opt_out": true,
  "applied_instacartplus": true,
  "fallback_to_soonest_sameday": true,
  "address": {
    "address_line_1": "string",
    "address_line_2": "string",
    "address_type": "string",
    "postal_code": "string"
  }
}'

Response​

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
idstring✅The ID of the order.
statusstring✅The current order status.
order_urlstringLink to view the order.
created_atstringThe time of order creation in ISO 8601 format.
cancellation_reasonstringThe reason the order was canceled.
localestringThe order's locale in POSIX format. Example: en_US.
is_expressbooleanDeprecated. Use `is_instacartplus` instead. Indicates whether the order received Instacart+ membership benefits. Defaults to false.
is_instacartplusbooleanIndicates whether the order received Instacart+ membership benefits. Defaults to false.
fulfillment_detailsFulfillment_detailsThe order delivery details.

Fulfillment_details Object​

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
store_locationstringThe location code of the store where the order was fulfilled. The store_location is often the same as the location_code that was used to create the order. However, orders can be fulfilled from a different store location.
window_starts_atstring✅The start time of the delivery window in ISO 8601 format.
window_ends_atstring✅The end time of the delivery window in ISO 8601 format.
delivered_atstringThe time the order was delivered in ISO 8601 format.
bag_countintegerThe number of bags in the order.
handoff_window_starts_atstringThe start time of the handoff window in ISO 8601 format.
handoff_window_ends_atstringThe end time of the handoff window in ISO 8601 format.

Response examples​

200 Success

{
  "id": "12345676789012345678780",
  "status": "created",
  "order_url": "https://example.com/example-order",
  "created_at": "2018-02-22T00:00:00Z",
  "cancellation_reason": "shopper_driven",
  "locale": "en_US",
  "is_express": true,
  "is_instacartplus": true,
  "fulfillment_details": {
    "window_starts_at": "2018-02-22T00:00:00Z",
    "window_ends_at": "2018-02-22T00:30:00Z"
  },
  "is_fallback_window": false
}

4XX Errors

Error responses return either a single error or multiple errors.

HTTP CodeCauseError MessageError CodeError Meta
400Invalid postal code"not found"1001{"key":"postal_code"}
400Unsupported postal code"not supported"1001{"key":"postal_code"}
400User without phone number"can't be blank"1001{"key":"user.phone_number"}
400Invalid order params*"There were issues with your request"9999{}
400Fails alcohol compliance check"Alcoholic items can not be added to this order. Please remove and retry."2001{}
400Time window is not available"Specified delivery time is not available - please select another time."1001{}
400Time window is invalid"Invalid start / end at."1001{}
400Address not serviceable"We do not currently support delivery from this store to the selected address."1001{"key":"address"}
* Multiple error
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