Brief
Payments Apps API now documents family_name as optional for B2B orders
Shopify's B2B checkout treats the buyer's surname as optional, so payment session requests for B2B orders can omit family_name in shipping_address and billing_address. The Payments Apps API request reference now documents this as optional to match existing behavior.
Payments apps that process B2B checkouts through the Payments Apps API and currently require family_name in shipping_address or billing_address must update their validation to accept requests where that field is absent. Apps that already accept requests without family_name for B2B orders need no change. The change aligns the API documentation with B2B checkout behavior, where a buyer surname is not required.
Our reading
Our reading: this is a documentation update that may require payments apps to relax validation rules, but only for B2B orders; apps that already handle missing family_name are unaffected.
Source details and supporting facts
Each line is stated by the page named above it.
Stated by shopify.dev
- B2B checkout treats the buyer’s surname as optional, so payment session requests for B2B orders can omit family_name in shipping_address and billing_address.
- The Payments app request reference now documents family_name as optional for B2B orders to match this behavior.
- Payments apps that use the Payments Apps API to process B2B checkouts and validate that shipping_address.family_name or billing_address.family_name is always present are affected.
- Payments apps that already accept requests without family_name for B2B orders don’t need to change anything.
Sources
- Shopify developer changelogText stored 16 September 2026
How this story was checked. Written from the 1 page listed above, stored 16 September 2026; claims checked against that stored text on 16 September 2026.
What that means
- 4 of 4 reported statements were confirmed against the page that carries them; the rest were removed rather than published.
- Figures in the text were required to appear in the stored source text: yes. Identifiers: yes.
- The check reads stored text only: no claim rests on a fresh look that did not happen.
- Where the reporting was silent, the text says so instead of filling the gap.