Processing Non-Compliant Orders (Force Compliance)

Last updated: November 10, 2026

Overview

By default, Corksy blocks checkout when an order fails a compliance check (for example, the destination state doesn't permit shipping, or there's an age verification issue). With the Allow Non-Compliant Orders to Be Paid setting enabled, the order is allowed to process and pay through — but it's held on the Non-Compliant Orders list so staff can review and resolve the issue before fulfilling it.

Orders held this way are sometimes called quarantined. If you use Sovos ShipCompliant, Force and Bypass are two different ways to clear an order from the list, and both send the order to ShipCompliant. See Force vs. Bypass below.

Enabling the Setting

  1. Go to Settings → Checkout & Marketing Consent.

  2. Find the Compliance section.

  3. Enable "Allow non-compliant orders to be paid."

  4. Save your changes.

This setting applies to Admin-created orders, Wine Club orders, eCommerce (online store) orders and POS shipping orders. POS pickup orders aren't checked for compliance. See the POS section below.

Finding the Non-Compliant Orders List

Non-compliant orders that have been paid are held on the Non-Compliant Orders list.

  • Go to Admin → Orders.

  • Look for the Non-Compliant Orders section or tab.

Orders here have been paid but are awaiting compliance review before they can be fulfilled.

What Happens After an Order Is Quarantined

Once this setting is enabled, an order that would otherwise be blocked by a compliance error will:

  1. Allow the customer (or admin) to complete payment.

  2. Appear on the Non-Compliant Orders list, flagged for review.

  3. Remain there until a team member resolves the compliance issue and clears it for fulfillment.

The order is paid but should not be fulfilled until the compliance issue is addressed.

Reviewing and Resolving Non-Compliant Orders

Open the Non-Compliant Orders list to see orders awaiting review. The compliance error on each order should indicate the cause — typically one of:

  • The destination state is restricted or not permitted for direct-to-consumer shipping

  • An age verification check failed

  • The ship-to address has an issue flagged by your compliance provider (SOVOS or Avalara)

To resolve a compliance issue directly on an order, edit the order (fix the address, items, or shipping method), then save. Saving triggers a re-validation and recalculates taxes. If the edit resolves the issue, the order will clear compliance and can be fulfilled normally.

For age verification blocks managed in SOVOS, the adjustment (such as bypassing age verification for a specific state) must be made in SOVOS — not in Corksy.

Force vs. Bypass

If you use Sovos ShipCompliant, each order on the Non-Compliant Orders list has a Force action and a Bypass action. Both take the order off the list and send the full order to ShipCompliant. The only difference is how they send it:

  • Force tells ShipCompliant to overwrite an order it already has with the same order number. Use it when the order is already in ShipCompliant and Corksy's version should replace it.

  • Bypass sends the order without that instruction.

With either action, the order is sent without a request to commit it in ShipCompliant, its status and tax in Corksy don't change, and it continues on to fulfillment as normal.

Important: Neither Force nor Bypass skips ShipCompliant. If an order shouldn't go to ShipCompliant (for example, you ship that state through a different compliance account), don't use either action. Fix the order instead (editing and saving it runs compliance again), or cancel or refund it.

POS Orders and Compliance

POS pickup orders aren't checked for compliance.

With the setting enabled, a POS shipping order that fails compliance isn't blocked at the terminal. The order is created, payment is taken, and the order goes to the Non-Compliant Orders list for review, the same as Admin and online orders. If an order has both pickup and shipping items, the pickup part completes right away and only the shipping part goes to the list.

Important Notes

  • Non-compliant orders that are paid but never resolved can create fulfillment and legal risk. Review the Non-Compliant Orders list regularly.

  • Compliance is checked before taxes are calculated. Every time you edit and save an order, it re-validates compliance and recalculates taxes.

  • If the compliance failure is due to a state restriction (e.g., you don't have a license to ship there), the order may need to be cancelled rather than fulfilled.