How to add or change a return address (Returns V2)

Return addresses decide where returned items are sent. This article covers adding an address, assigning it to carriers, changing it and deleting it in Returns V2.

4 min readUpdated Oct 29, 2026

This article explains how to add a return address, assign it to a carrier, change where your returns are sent, and delete an address you no longer use.

How return addresses work

Your return addresses are stored in the Return Addresses table under Returns → Shipping → Destinations. Adding an address to the table does not send any returns there. An address is only used once it is assigned to a carrier or a rule.

When a customer submits a return, Swap picks the address for each item in this order:

  1. A matching rule. A routing rule (on carriers with Split shipment turned on — see Understanding split return shipments) or an advanced rule with the deliver to this address action sends the item to the address in that rule.
  2. The carrier's Return to address. If no rule applies, the item goes to the address set in Return to on the carrier the customer chose.
  3. The first address in the Return Addresses table. If neither of the above applies, Swap uses the first address in the table.

For example, your UK warehouse is the Return to address on Royal Mail, Royal Mail has Split shipment turned on, and a routing rule sends one vendor's products to a partner warehouse in the Netherlands. A customer returns two items with Royal Mail. The item from that vendor goes to the Netherlands, and the other item goes to the UK.

Every carrier needs a Return to address before customers can use it.

Add a return address

  1. Go to Returns → Shipping → Destinations.
  2. In the Return Addresses table, click +.
  3. Fill in the address details and click Apply. Fields marked (Optional) can be left blank.

For UK returns, add a Key code. Key codes are required for UK returns under Returned Goods Relief (RGR).

The new address is not used until you assign it to a carrier or a rule.

Assign an address to a carrier

  1. Go to Returns → Shipping and open the Carriers tab.
  2. Click the arrow (>) next to the carrier to open its configuration.
  3. In Return to, select the address.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Repeat for each carrier that should send returns to this address.

Return to only lists addresses in countries the carrier delivers returns to. If an address is missing from the list, the carrier does not cover that country. Assign the address to a carrier that does, or contact Swap support to check the carrier's coverage.

Change your return address

How you change it depends on whether the warehouse is the same.

  • The address details have changed (for example, a new unit number or postcode): click the edit (pencil) icon next to the address in the Return Addresses table. Carriers and rules that use it keep pointing at the same address.
  • Returns should go to a different warehouse: add the new address, then set it as Return to on every carrier that used the old one. If any routing rules or advanced rules send items to the old address, update those too.

Only returns submitted after the change use the new address. Labels already created for earlier returns keep the old address.

Delete a return address

You cannot delete an address while it is the Return to address on any carrier, including carriers that are switched off. If you try, Swap shows Address can't be removed and lists the carriers that still use it.

To delete the address:

  1. Note the carriers listed in the message.
  2. For each carrier, open its configuration, select a different address in Return to and click Save.
  3. Go back to Returns → Shipping → Destinations and click the delete (bin) icon next to the address.

Return to cannot be left empty, so you need at least one other address in the table first. If the address you want to delete is your only one, add the replacement address before you start.

Send returns to more than one address

To send items from the same return to different warehouses, for example by vendor, product tag, fulfilment location, customer country or whether the item is marked as faulty, turn on Split shipment under Return to in the carrier's configuration. In Split shipment destinations, select every location your routing rules send items to. Then set up routing rules in the Routing rules table on the Destinations tab. To send items to an address from the Return Addresses table, choose the Return to custom location action. To send them to one of your Shopify fulfilment locations, choose Return to this Shopify fulfillment destination. See Understanding split return shipments.

To send specific returns to a specific address, for example warranty or faulty returns, use the deliver to this address action in Advanced Rules. See Understanding advanced rules (Returns V2).