Your shop will be deactivated if you miscalculate the deadline by even one hour. Thousands of sellers were hit with violations in late 2024—not from weekend miscounts, but from a hidden trap: carrier scan timing. You uploaded tracking on time. TikTok marked you late anyway.
This guide shows you exactly why “tracking uploaded ✅” isn’t enough anymore—and what you must do instead.
Friday orders are due Tuesday 11:59 PM PST (2 business days; weekends don’t count).
Thanksgiving week examples (2BD):
December 23 (Tue) ⇒ Fri Dec 26 (2BD; 12/25 skipped).
Critical rules:
Result: 47 violations in one batch. LDR spike from 0.8% to 4.2%. Campaign restrictions activated. Buy Box eligibility suspended.
TikTok’s Late Dispatch Rate (LDR) measures when your order status updates to “In Transit”—not when you post tracking numbers.
The status updates to “In Transit” only when the carrier scans your package as accepted into their possession. Until that scan hits TikTok’s system, your order remains in “Ready to Ship” status, and the dispatch timer continues running.
In the scenario above:
Time late: 9 hours, 1 minute. Penalty: Same as if you’d shipped three days late.
Prior to November 2024, TikTok measured dispatch timing from “Transit-to-Ship” (TTS)—a more flexible window that gave sellers breathing room between tracking upload and carrier pickup.
November 4, 2024: TikTok switched to “Ready-to-Ship” (RTS) enforcement within the 2-business-day window.
31,000+ violation notices issued to sellers who had been compliant under the old system.
The change hit hardest during the 2024 holiday season when order volumes surged:
Before November 2024, this workflow was considered compliant:
After November 2024, this same workflow triggers violations if your deadline falls on the label printing day:
The math is correct. The fulfillment is efficient. But the carrier scan timing creates the violation.
Under the RTS enforcement system, you need to calculate your deadline early enough to guarantee same-day carrier handoff for orders approaching their deadline.
Critical planning rules:
Why generic tools fail: ShipStation, Shopify, and general e-commerce platforms weren’t built for TikTok’s RTS enforcement model. They:
Business days = Monday through Friday ONLY, excluding federal holidays.
What NEVER counts as business days:
What ALWAYS counts as business days:
| Holiday | Date 2025 | Day of Week | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | January 1 | Wednesday | Orders placed Dec 30 (Tue) ⇒ Jan 2 (Thu) |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | January 20 | Monday | Orders placed Jan 17 (Fri) ⇒ Jan 22 (Wed) |
| Presidents’ Day | February 17 | Monday | Orders placed Feb 14 (Fri) ⇒ Feb 19 (Wed) |
| Memorial Day | May 26 | Monday | Orders placed May 23 (Fri) ⇒ May 28 (Wed) |
| Juneteenth | June 19 | Thursday | Orders placed June 18 (Wed) ⇒ June 23 (Mon) |
| Independence Day | July 4 | Friday | Orders placed July 3 (Thu) ⇒ July 8 (Tue) |
| Labor Day | September 1 | Monday | Orders placed Aug 29 (Fri) ⇒ Sept 3 (Wed) |
| Columbus Day | October 13 | Monday | Orders placed Oct 10 (Fri) ⇒ Oct 15 (Wed) |
| Veterans Day | November 11 | Tuesday | Orders placed Nov 10 (Mon) ⇒ Nov 13 (Thu) |
| Thanksgiving | November 27 | Thursday | Orders placed Nov 26 (Wed) ⇒ Dec 1 (Mon) |
| Christmas Day | December 25 | Thursday | Orders placed Dec 24 (Wed) ⇒ Dec 29 (Mon) |
Order placed: Friday, September 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM PST
Handling time: 2 business days
Calculation:
Deadline: Tuesday, September 16 at 11:59 PM PST
Critical requirement: Carrier must scan package by Tuesday 11:59 PM PST—not just tracking upload.
Order placed: Wednesday, November 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM PST
Handling time: 2 business days
Calculation:
Deadline: Monday, December 1 at 11:59 PM PST
Why this matters: 5 calendar days elapse, but only 2 business days count.
Order placed: Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 6:00 PM PST
Handling time: 2 business days
Calculation:
Deadline: Friday, December 26 at 11:59 PM PST
Planning note: December 26 often has reduced carrier schedules. Plan for earlier drop-off.
Order placed: Thursday, July 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM PST
Handling time: 2 business days
Calculation:
Deadline: Tuesday, July 8 at 11:59 PM PST
Why this catches sellers: 5 calendar days elapse for 2 business days. Orders placed Thursday before a Friday holiday won’t be due until the following Tuesday.
Order placed: Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM PST
Handling time: 2 business days
Calculation:
Deadline: Monday, June 23 at 11:59 PM PST
Common mistake: Sellers forget Juneteenth was added in 2021. This creates unexpected 5-day windows when orders are placed Wednesday before the holiday.
Step 1: Start with order placement timestamp
Example: Friday, September 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM PST
Step 2: Advance to next business day (Day 0 → Day 1)
Skip weekends and federal holidays. Monday 9/15 = Business Day 1.
Step 3: Continue advancing for handling time minus 1
2 business day handling = advance 1 more business day. Tuesday 9/16 = Business Day 2.
Step 4: Set deadline to 11:59 PM PST on final business day
Deadline = Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 11:59 PM PST.
Step 5: Monitor for carrier acceptance scan before deadline
Order must update to “In Transit” status (not just “Ready to Ship”) by the deadline.
Observed vs. Celebrated Holidays: When a federal holiday falls on a weekend, the observed date shifts to the nearest weekday. TikTok excludes the observed date.
Example: New Year’s Day 2026 falls on Thursday, January 1. No weekend shift—January 1 is excluded directly.
Order Placed on Holiday: If an order is placed on a federal holiday (e.g., you process orders on Thanksgiving), that day is Day 0 but doesn’t count as a business day.
Example: Order placed Thursday 11/27/2025 (Thanksgiving) with 2BD handling:
Time Zone Considerations: TikTok Shop uses 11:59 PM PST as the universal deadline cutoff for US sellers. Your local time zone doesn’t affect the calculation.
Example: Seller in New York (EST) has orders due Tuesday 11:59 PM PST, which equals Wednesday 2:59 AM EST. The carrier scan must land in TikTok’s system by 2:59 AM EST Wednesday.
Error: “Order placed Friday, so 2 days = Sunday.”
Reality: Weekends never count. Friday order with 2BD = due Tuesday.
Fix: Always skip Saturday and Sunday when counting. Count Monday–Friday only.
Error: “Order placed July 3 (Thu), so 2BD = Monday July 7.”
Reality: July 4 is a federal holiday (Friday). Tuesday July 8 is the actual deadline.
Fix: Maintain a 2025 federal holiday calendar and cross-reference every deadline calculation.
Error: “Seller Center shows ‘Ready to Ship’ with green checkmark. I’m compliant.”
Reality: LDR measures “In Transit” status, which requires carrier acceptance scan.
Fix: Monitor order status until it updates to “In Transit” before considering it safe.
Error: “My carrier picks up at 2 PM every day, so labels printed by 1 PM are safe.”
Reality: Pickup time ≠ acceptance scan time. Scans can occur hours later at sorting facilities.
Fix: For deadline-day orders, use retail counters or drop-off locations with immediate acceptance scans instead of scheduled pickups.
Error: “ShipStation says ‘synced successfully.’ TikTok will get the tracking.”
Reality: Tracking upload and carrier scan are separate events. TikTok measures the latter.
Fix: Don’t rely solely on third-party platform status indicators. Verify “In Transit” status directly in TikTok Seller Center.
| Carrier | Typical Scan Timing | Safe Buffer | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS (retail counter) | Immediate | 0-30 minutes | LOW |
| USPS (drop box) | Next collection (varies) | 4-12 hours | MEDIUM |
| USPS (scheduled pickup) | Evening sort scan | 6-10 hours | HIGH |
| UPS (retail/drop-off) | End-of-day scan | 2-6 hours | MEDIUM |
| UPS (scheduled pickup) | Hub scan (next day) | 12-24 hours | CRITICAL |
| FedEx (retail/drop-off) | Same day scan | 2-4 hours | MEDIUM |
| FedEx (scheduled pickup) | Evening scan or next day | 8-16 hours | HIGH |
Critical insight: Retail counters and drop-off locations provide the fastest, most reliable acceptance scans. Scheduled pickups create the highest violation risk because scans often occur after the carrier loads packages onto the truck and returns to the sorting facility.
Black Friday through Cyber Monday (November 28-December 1, 2025):
Week of Christmas (December 22-26, 2025):
Best practice for high-risk deadline situations:
Generic fulfillment platforms (ShipStation, Shopify, WooCommerce) were built for general e-commerce, not TikTok Shop’s unique RTS enforcement model. Here’s what’s required for automated protection:
Required capabilities:
SellerOps’s Watcher Mode was created by sellers who experienced the November 2024 RTS policy shift firsthand. It monitors your Seller Center 24/7 and provides:
Situation: It’s Wednesday 8:00 PM PST. You uploaded tracking Wednesday 5:00 PM. Order still shows “Ready to Ship.” Deadline is Wednesday 11:59 PM PST. You have 3 hours 59 minutes.
Minutes 1-10: Inventory audit
Minutes 11-30: Carrier coordination
Minutes 31-50: Emergency drop-off
Minutes 51-60: Verification and documentation
If status doesn’t update to “In Transit” by 11:59 PM PST but you have proof of carrier acceptance scan before deadline: You may receive a Late Dispatch violation initially. Immediately file an appeal with your timestamped receipt, carrier scan screenshot, and photo evidence. Success rate for appeals with strong documentation: approximately 65-80%.
Essential evidence (all required):
Subject: Late Dispatch Violation Appeal – Order [ORDER_ID] – Carrier Scan Timing Issue
Body:
Dear TikTok Shop Support,
I am appealing the Late Dispatch violation for order [ORDER_ID] issued on [DATE]. The violation occurred due to carrier acceptance scan timing, not late fulfillment on my part.
Timeline of events:
Supporting evidence attached:
The delay between my tracking upload and carrier scan was beyond my control. I fulfilled my responsibility to upload tracking and physically hand off the package before the deadline. The carrier’s scan timing should not result in a Late Dispatch violation against my account.
I request removal of this violation and correction of my Late Dispatch Rate calculation to exclude this order.
Thank you for your consideration.
Seller Shop Name: [SHOP_NAME]
Order ID: [ORDER_ID]
Tracking Number: [TRACKING_NUMBER]
Appeal success factors:
UK TikTok Shop sellers follow different business day rules:
Excluded days:
2025 Bank Holidays (England and Wales):
| Region | Business Day Definition | Dispatch SLA | Key Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Mon-Fri (excluding 11 federal holidays) | 2 business days | 11:59 PM PST deadline; RTS enforcement active |
| United Kingdom | Mon-Fri (excluding Bank Holidays) | 2 business days | Regional Bank Holiday variations; GMT/BST |
| Southeast Asia | Varies by country | 2-3 business days | Local public holidays; regional courier coverage |
Q: What time zone does TikTok Shop use for dispatch deadlines?
A: TikTok Shop uses 11:59 PM PST as the policy cutoff for all US sellers. SellerOps recommends an internal buffer of 9:00 PM local time as a best-practice to account for carrier scan processing delays.
Q: If I get an order on Friday at 9 PM, when is it due?
A: For 2-business-day handling: Due = the second business day after the order date, by 11:59 PM PST. Count Monday (Day 1) and Tuesday (Day 2), so the deadline is Tuesday 11:59 PM PST. Your carrier must scan the package by this deadline—not just tracking upload. Weekends never count toward the dispatch window.
Q: Does Christmas count as a business day for TikTok Shop?
A: No. Christmas Day (December 25) is a federal holiday and is excluded from business day calculations. Dec 23 orders ⇒ Dec 26; Dec 24 orders ⇒ Dec 29 (12/25 skipped; weekend skipped). Plan for carrier acceptance scans by these deadlines, accounting for reduced holiday schedules.
Q: What happens if my Late Dispatch Rate goes above 4%?
A: Enforcement depends on total violation points and severity—see Seller Enforcement Policy for current actions. Typical progression: 4-12 points = warning, 12-24 points = campaign restrictions, 24-36 points = temporary suspension, 36-48 points = account review, 48+ points = permanent termination.
Q: Can I appeal a late dispatch violation if my carrier scanned the package late?
A: Yes, if you have timestamped evidence showing you handed the package to the carrier before the dispatch deadline. Required documentation: photo of handover with visible timestamp, pickup manifest with order IDs and time, screenshot showing the late scan occurred after your on-time handover, and carrier communication confirming scan delay was not your responsibility.
Q: Does TikTok Shop count Juneteenth as a business day?
A: No. Juneteenth (June 19) became a federal holiday in 2021 and is excluded from TikTok Shop business day calculations. In 2025, Juneteenth falls on Thursday, so orders placed Wednesday June 18 have deadlines pushed to Monday June 23 (requires carrier scan by Monday 11:59 PM PST).
Q: If I have 2-business-day handling time and get an order on Monday, when must I ship?
A: Due = the second business day after the order date, by 11:59 PM PST. Count Tuesday as Day 1, Wednesday as Day 2, so Wednesday 11:59 PM PST is your deadline. Your carrier must scan the package as accepted by this time—uploading tracking alone is not sufficient. The order status must update to “In Transit” before the deadline or the order counts as late dispatch.
Q: Why did I get a violation when I uploaded tracking before the deadline?
A: TikTok’s Late Dispatch Rate measures when your order updates to “In Transit” status, which requires carrier acceptance scan. “Ready to Ship” status (tracking uploaded) is not the same as “In Transit” (carrier scanned). This policy changed in November 2024 when TikTok shifted from Transit-to-Ship (TTS) to Ready-to-Ship (RTS) enforcement. If your carrier scanned your package after the 11:59 PM PST deadline—even by 10 minutes—the order is marked late regardless of when you uploaded tracking.
Q: How can I prevent carrier scan timing violations?
A: Plan your fulfillment workflow to guarantee same-day carrier handoff for orders approaching their deadline. Best practices: (1) Print labels and ship by 2:00 PM local time for same-day carrier pickup or drop-off, (2) Use staffed retail counters instead of drop boxes when deadline is within 12 hours (guarantees immediate acceptance scan), (3) Monitor “In Transit” status updates in real-time rather than trusting “tracking uploaded” as success metric, (4) For scheduled pickups, confirm your driver’s typical arrival time and ensure labels are ready 30+ minutes before, (5) During peak seasons, switch to daily drop-off at carrier retail locations to control scan timing.
Thousands of sellers were hit with violations in November 2024 when TikTok shifted from Transit-to-Ship (TTS) to Ready-to-Ship (RTS) enforcement. The change created a new violation trap that generic fulfillment tools can’t detect: carrier scan timing.
The old violation pattern: Miscounting weekends, forgetting federal holidays, timezone errors.
The new violation pattern: Uploading tracking on time but getting carrier scans after the deadline.
TikTok Shop’s enforcement system is unique in e-commerce: The strictest LDR threshold (4%), mandatory carrier acceptance scan requirement (not just tracking upload), business-day-only counting with federal holiday exclusions, and 11:59 PM PST cutoff precision create a system where perfectly efficient fulfillment workflows can still generate violations if carrier scan timing isn’t monitored.
The solution isn’t working harder. It’s working with tools built specifically for TikTok Shop’s RTS enforcement model—tools that monitor both your tracking uploads AND your carrier acceptance scans, that know July 4, 2025 falls on Friday and adjust deadlines accordingly, that alert you when a package is “Ready to Ship” but still waiting for carrier scan with 4 hours until deadline.
If you calculated deadlines manually for this guide’s five worked examples and understood why the carrier scan timing creates violations even when tracking was uploaded correctly, you’re ready to prevent the next wave of RTS violations. If you’re still relying on “tracking uploaded ✅” as your success metric, you need automated protection before your next scheduled carrier pickup creates a violation batch.
SellerOps’s Watcher Mode was built by sellers who experienced the November 2024 RTS policy shift firsthand. It monitors your Seller Center 24/7, calculates deadlines using TikTok’s exact federal holiday exclusion algorithm, tracks both “Ready to Ship” and “In Transit” status updates in real-time, and alerts you when carrier scans are delayed with orders approaching deadline—giving you time to switch from scheduled pickup to emergency drop-off before violations occur.
The 47 orders in that Monday morning violation batch would have generated substantial customer lifetime value. SellerOps Watcher Mode costs $35/month. The difference was understanding that “Ready to Ship” isn’t the same as “In Transit”—and that TikTok’s LDR enforcement doesn’t care whether your fulfillment process was efficient if the carrier scan landed 9 hours after the deadline.
Your next Monday 3 PM order is already in your queue. This guide gave you the calculation methodology and the carrier scan timing awareness. Now you have to decide: manual deadline tracking with real-time scan monitoring, or automated protection using tools built for TikTok’s RTS enforcement system. Both can work. One requires you to check Seller Center every 2 hours to verify scan status and never trust “tracking uploaded” as confirmation. The other does it for you.
247 sellers got warnings this week. Don’t be next.
Next application review: Monday morning