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Troubleshooting State and Country Field Issues in Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce

24 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Checkout field editor (checkout manager) for woocommerce

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Why Are My State and Country Fields Acting Up?

If you're using the 'Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce' plugin, you might have encountered some puzzling behavior with your state (e.g., billing_state, shipping_state) and country fields. A common theme across many support threads is that these core address fields are deeply integrated with WooCommerce's functionality. Modifying them can sometimes lead to unexpected results. This guide will walk you through the most common problems and their solutions, based on community-reported issues.

Common Problems and Their Solutions

1. State Code Displaying Instead of Full State Name

The Problem: In orders and emails, you see a state code (like 'B' for Barcelona) instead of the full state name.

Why It Happens: This almost always occurs if the billing_country or shipping_country field has been disabled or removed from the checkout form. WooCommerce needs the country field to correctly map and display the full state name.

The Solution:

  • Do not remove the core billing_country and shipping_country fields from your checkout form using the plugin.
  • If you wish to hide them for aesthetic reasons, you can use CSS to hide them instead of deleting them. This allows the backend process to still function correctly.
  • Important Note: This fix will only apply to new orders. Existing orders will continue to display the state code.

2. "State/Country is a Required Field" Error for Valid Addresses

The Problem: A customer selects their country correctly but is still blocked by a "State/Country is a required field" error message.

Why It Happens: This can be a conflict between how the plugin manages required fields and WooCommerce's default validation for certain countries.

The Solution:

  • First, try temporarily deactivating the plugin to confirm it is the source of the conflict.
  • Ensure the country field is present and required, as some validation may depend on it.
  • As a workaround, some users have reported success by changing the state field from "Required" to "Optional," though this may not be ideal for all stores.

3. State Field Not Showing or Pre-filling Correctly

The Problem: The state field doesn't appear as a dropdown for certain countries, doesn't pre-fill for logged-in customers, or behaves differently in billing vs. shipping sections.

Why It Happens: WooCommerce controls which countries have dropdown state fields by default. Pre-filling issues can be caused by theme or other plugin conflicts. Incompatible settings can also cause the field to display incorrectly.

The Solution:

  • For missing dropdowns: This is often default WooCommerce behavior. Deactivate the plugin to check. If the dropdown is missing without the plugin, the issue is not with the Checkout Field Editor.
  • For pre-filling: Check for conflicts by switching to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-One) and deactivating all other plugins except WooCommerce and Checkout Field Editor.
  • For placeholder text: Ensure the "Enable placeholder override for address fields" option is enabled in the plugin's Advanced Settings tab.

4. Shipping Calculations or Zones Breaking

The Problem: After configuring checkout fields, your shipping methods and costs no longer appear correctly for customers.

Why It Happens: WooCommerce shipping calculations often rely on a complete and valid address, including country, state, and postcode. If any of these core fields are altered or missing, it can interfere with this process.

The Solution:

  • Do not remove or disable the core billing_country, shipping_country, shipping_state, or postcode fields.
  • If a field like "state" is mandatory for your shipping zones, it must be enabled and visible on the checkout form, even if it's optional for the customer in their country.
  • Temporarily deactivate the plugin to confirm it is the cause. If shipping works without the plugin, carefully review your field settings, ensuring all address-related fields are enabled.

General Best Practices

  • Avoid Removing Core Fields: The billing_country, shipping_country, state, and postcode fields are critical for WooCommerce operations. It is highly recommended to never remove them. Use CSS to hide them if necessary, but keep them active.
  • Test Thoroughly: After making changes to your checkout fields, always place test orders with different addresses to ensure everything works—from checkout to shipping calculation to order email.
  • Conflict Testing: Many unusual issues are caused by conflicts with your theme or other plugins. The standard troubleshooting step is to temporarily switch to a default theme and disable all other plugins to see if the issue resolves.

By understanding the tight integration between these address fields and WooCommerce's core, you can effectively troubleshoot and resolve most common issues, ensuring a smooth checkout experience for your customers.

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