Integrate PayPal directly with the Orders v2 API

This document outlines the PayPal Checkout flow and sample use cases.

PayPal Checkout flow

A buyer following the PayPal Checkout flow has a PayPal account and uses payment methods like PayPal, Venmo, debit, and credit cards to pay for their order:

Buyers are aware that PayPal is processing their payments.
Buyers can pay for the order using any of the PayPal-associated payment methods.
Payment sources for these orders can be PayPal, Venmo, PayPal Pay Later, debit card, or credit card.

Flow diagram showing PayPal order processing steps: Create order with capture/authorize intent, optionally confirm payment source, capture or authorize based on intent, buyer approval, tracking, then patch or show order details

Orders API flows using PayPal Checkout for Pay with PayPal

This section uses PayPal as the payment source to showcase the possible Orders v2 API flows in a PayPal Checkout integration.

Note: All of the Orders v2 API endpoints are designed for merchants and partners. The payer only comes into picture during the approval or payer action required steps.

You need to pass an intent during the order creation. You can select either CAPTURE or AUTHORIZE:

CAPTURE: Use this intent to capture a payment immediately after the buyer approves the purchase.
AUTHORIZE: Use this option to authorize a buyer’s funds before you capture payment and settle the purchase later. An authorization places a hold on the money and is valid for 29 days.

Orders v2 API, detailed PayPal Checkout flow

Sequence diagram showing PayPal checkout flow between consumers, merchant website, and PayPal. Consumer chooses PayPal (step 1), merchant creates order via API (step 2), consumer logs in and agrees to pay (steps 5-6), merchant redirects back after approval (step 7), retrieves order details (steps 8-9), and completes order (step 10). PayPal captures payment (steps 11-13). Diagram uses blue arrows for web interactions, pink arrows for API calls, and black arrows for PayPal internal processes.

Multi-step order flow with PayPal Checkout

There are 3 different ways to complete a PayPal Checkout payment:

PayPal Checkout with the payment source in a Create order request

Create the order: pass the payment_source in the payload.
Payer action required: send the payer to the Review your purchase page.
Capture or authorize payment.
Set up shipment tracking for physical goods.

PayPal Checkout with the Confirm payment source endpoint

Create the order.
Confirm the payment source: pass the payment_source in the payload.
Payer action required: send the payer to the Review your purchase page.
Capture order.
Set up shipment tracking for physical goods.

PayPal Checkout with the Authorize order endpoint

Create the order.

Payer action required: send the payer to the Review your purchase page.
Authorize order.
Capture payment.
Set up shipment tracking for physical goods.

Other API endpoints

Get order details.
Update order details.

Note: After you create an order, you have 3 hours to capture or modify that order. The order will remain in the CREATED state for only 3 hours. You can extend it up to 72 hours based on your use case. Connect with your TAM for more details.

Prerequisites

If you are a first-time user who wants to know where to get your access token, how to use the API suite, and complete Postman setup details, refer to Get started with PayPal REST APIs. See PayPal’s Postman Collection for the latest Orders v2 API payloads.

Note: Set up your server to call the Orders v2 API instead of making calls directly from the browser or the client-side.

Sample JSON order request 1: Single-step order flow

This example uses PayPal as the payment source for creating a multi-step order. When the buyer chooses the payment method on the Review Your Payment (RYP) page and approves the purchase, you can capture the funds or authorize them for later, depending on the intent you choose during order creation.

Step 1: Create order

Set the order intent to AUTHORIZE or CAPTURE. A successful request returns an HTTPS 200 OK status code with a payer-action-required order status. The following code samples show both the AUTHORIZE and CAPTURE intents. Sample create order request with intent AUTHORIZE:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{
    "intent": "AUTHORIZE",
    "purchase_units": [
        {
            "reference_id": "d9f80740-38f0-11e8-b467-0ed5f89f718b",
            "amount": {
                "currency_code": "USD",
                "value": "100.00"
            }
        }
    ],
    "payment_source": {
        "paypal": {
            "address": {
                "address_line_1": "2211 N First Street",
                "address_line_2": "17.3.160",
                "admin_area_1": "CA",
                "admin_area_2": "San Jose",
                "postal_code": "95131",
                "country_code": "US"
            },
            "email_address":"payer@example.com",
            "payment_method_preference": "IMMEDIATE_PAYMENT_REQUIRED",
            "experience_context": {
                "return_url": "https://example.com/returnUrl",
                "cancel_url": "https://example.com/cancelUrl"
            }
        }
    }
}'

Sample create order request with intent CAPTURE:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{
    "intent": "CAPTURE",
    "purchase_units": [
        {
            "reference_id": "d9f80740-38f0-11e8-b467-0ed5f89f718b",
            "amount": {
                "currency_code": "USD",
                "value": "100.00"
            }
        }
    ],
    "payment_source": {
        "paypal": {
            "address": {
                "address_line_1": "2211 N First Street",
                "address_line_2": "17.3.160",
                "admin_area_1": "CA",
                "admin_area_2": "San Jose",
                "postal_code": "95131",
                "country_code": "US"
            },
            "email_address":"payer@example.com",
            "payment_method_preference": "IMMEDIATE_PAYMENT_REQUIRED",
            "experience_context": {
                "return_url": "https://example.com/returnUrl",
                "cancel_url": "https://example.com/cancelUrl"
            }
        }
    }
}'

Include shipping details

Manage the shipping details for an order by including shipping_preference in the experience_context for the payment method defined in the payment_source object. For example, payment_source.paypal.experience_context.shipping_preference or payment_source.venmo.experience_context.shipping_preference. The shipping_preference parameter accepts 3 options:

Use buyer’s PayPal shipping address (default): When you set the shipping_preference parameter to GET_FROM_FILE, PayPal uses the buyer’s shipping address directly from their PayPal account. This is the default option when there is no shipping_preference value.
Ask buyer to provide address: When you have the buyer’s address while creating the order and want to pass it as part of the request, add the shipping_preference field to payment_source.paypal.experience_context and set its value to SET_FROM_PROVIDER. You need to pass that address in the purchase_units section of the request. The following Sample shipping request payload shows how to include the shipping address. An important note: buyers cannot edit this address on the PayPal side.
No shipping: For digital goods or gift cards that have no physical delivery address, set the shipping_preference parameter to NO_SHIPPING.

See the Orders v2 API for more information.

Sample shipping request

This sample request passes the shipping details using the the purchase_units.shipping object.

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{
    "intent": "CAPTURE",
    "purchase_units": [
        {
            "reference_id": "d9f80740-38f0-11e8-b467-0ed5f89f718b",
            "amount": {
                "currency_code": "USD",
                "value": "100.00"
            },
             "shipping": {
                "name": {
                  "full_name": "Firstname Lastname"
                },
                "address": {
                  "address_line_1": "2211 N First Street",
                  "address_line_2": "Building 17",
                  "admin_area_2": "San Jose",
                  "admin_area_1": "CA",
                  "postal_code": "95131",
                  "country_code": "US"
                }
           }
        }
    ],
    "payment_source": {
        "paypal": {
            "address": {
                "address_line_1": "2211 N First Street",
                "address_line_2": "17.3.160",
                "admin_area_1": "CA",
                "admin_area_2": "San Jose",
                "postal_code": "95131",
                "country_code": "US"
            },
            "email_address":"payer@example.com",
            "payment_method_preference": "IMMEDIATE_PAYMENT_REQUIRED",
            "experience_context": {
                "return_url": "https://example.com/returnUrl",
                "cancel_url": "https://example.com/cancelUrl",
                "shipping_preference": "SET_FROM_PROVIDER"
            }
        }
    }
}'

Step 2: Buyer approval

After successfully creating the order, redirect the buyer to the RYP page. The Create order API response passes the RYP page URL as a HATEOS link using the payer-action parameter in the links section.

See example buyer approval page

PayPal checkout page showing payment options including saved Visa card, PayPal Credit, and Pay in 4, with shipping address and total amount of $100.00

When the buyer selects Continue to Review Order, they will be redirected to the return_url in the experience_context object. Replace it with the URL of the page where the buyer:

Sees the final order amount.
Reviews their final order.

Continue to Review Order is the default behavior. If you know the final order amount upfront while creating the order, such as shipping and taxes, and will not modify the order later, use the PAY_NOW flow to complete the payment in one go without requiring further action from the buyer on the merchant site. Set this option in paypal.experience_context.user_action:

CONTINUE is the default value for user_action.
Choose PAY_NOW if you know the final amount before the buyer reaches the first review page.

Step 3: Authorize or capture order

Both authorize and capture API requests accept payment_source as an input, but it’s optional. See the preceding create order payload for the payment source. Learn more about authorize and capture.

Capture order

After the order has been created and the payer approves the purchase, capture the order by sending a POST request and the order ID to the /v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID/capture endpoint. The following sample request and response show the result of sending a capture order request without a request body: Sample capture order request:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID/capture"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{}'

After the order has been created, call the Authorize payment for order endpoint of the Orders v2 API by passing the order ID in a POST request to /v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID/authorize. The following sample request and response show the result of calling the authorize order endpoint without a request body: Sample authorize order request with intent AUTHORIZE:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID/authorize"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{}'

Authorization requires an additional step to complete the payment. Complete the authorization process and the transaction by sending a POST request to v2/payments/authorizations/AUTHORIZATION-ID/capture to call the Capture authorized payment endpoint of the Payments v2 API. This step triggers a call to the payment gateway to capture the payment.

Note: You can authorize the total amount or a part of the total amount. To authorize a partial payment, pass the amount in the request payload. For more information, refer to the Capture authorized payment endpoint of the Payments v2 API.

The following sample request and response show the result of calling the capture API endpoint without a request body.

Note: The Payments capture is not the Order capture call.

Sample capture authorized order request:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/payments/authorizations/AUTHORIZATION-ID/capture"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{}'

Step 4: Shipment tracking

If you have physical goods in your order, you can use the Shipment Tracking API to add tracking information to your packages, such as carrier, item, and SKU details.

If the intent is set to CAPTURE, replace CAPTURE-ID with the payments.captures.id field that is found in the Order capture’s API response.
If the intent is set to AUTHORIZE, replace CAPTURE-ID with the ID field found in the Payment capture API response, not the Order API’s capture call.

The capture_id field is automatically populated if you’re using the PayPal Postman collection.

Note: See the Add tracking information for an order endpoint of the Orders v2 API for more information about each field in the payload.

Sample shipment tracking request and response:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID/track"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{
  "capture_id": "CAPTURE-ID",
  "tracking_number": "TRACKING-ID",
  "carrier": "FEDEX",
  "notify_payer": true,
  "items": [
    {
      "name": "T-Shirt",
      "sku": "sku02",
      "quantity": "1",
      "upc": {
        "type": "UPC-A",
        "code": "upc001"
      },
      "image_url": "https://www.example.com/example.jpg",
      "url": "https://www.example.com/example"
    }
  ]
}'

Note: See Integrate package tracking for more details about adding package tracking numbers to your orders with the Orders v2 API.

Step 5: Show the order details

You can get the details of an order at any stage by sending a GET call to the Show order details endpoint of the Orders v2 API. Sample show order details request with an authorization token:

curl -v -X GET "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID" \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'

Sample JSON order request 2: Multi-step order flow with Confirm order API endpoint

This example also demonstrates multi-step order creation using PayPal as the payment method. But unlike the preceding example, you can create an order without any payment source information. When the buyer chooses the payment method on the RYP page and approves the purchase, you can confirm their intent to pay, capture the funds, or authorize them for later, depending on the intent you choose during order creation.

Step 1: Create order

Set the order intent to CAPTURE. A successful capture order request returns an HTTPS 201 Created status code: Sample capture order request and response:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '
{
    "intent": "CAPTURE",
    "purchase_units": [
        {
            "items": [
                {
                    "name": "T-Shirt",
                    "description": "Green XL",
                    "quantity": "1",
                    "unit_amount": {
                        "currency_code": "USD",
                        "value": "100.00"
                    }
                }
            ],
            "amount": {
                "currency_code": "USD",
                "value": "100.00",
                "breakdown": {
                    "item_total": {
                        "currency_code": "USD",
                        "value": "100.00"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}'

Step 2: Confirm payment

The buyer can confirm their intent to pay for the order using a PayPal Checkout payment source: in this case, PayPal.

Note: The payment_source parameter is required.

Sample confirm payment request and response:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID/confirm-payment-source"
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '
{
  "payment_source": {
    "paypal": {
      "experience_context": {
        "payment_method_preference": "IMMEDIATE_PAYMENT_REQUIRED",
        "email_address": "payer@example.com",
        "brand_name": "EXAMPLE INC",
        "locale": "en-US",
        "landing_page": "LOGIN",
        "shipping_preference": "GET_FROM_FILE",
        "user_action": "PAY_NOW",
        "return_url": "https://example.com/returnUrl",
        "cancel_url": "https://example.com/cancelUrl"
      }
    }
  }
}'

Step 3: Buyer approval

The buyer approves or cancels the payment in this step. For more information refer to Step 2: Buyer Approval in the preceding Sample JSON order request 2: Multi-step order flow section.

Step 4: Capture payment

The last step to complete the order is to capture the payment. You can capture an order without any payment source information.

Note: If you want to provide the buyer with an option to change the payment source after the approval, you can pass the new payment method details in the Capture API call. However, this would need buyer approval again as it’s a different payment source.

Sample capture payment request and response:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/ORDER-ID/capture"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{}'

Step 5: Shipment Tracking

If you have physical goods in your order, you can use the Shipment Tracking API to add tracking information to your packages, such as carrier, item, and SKU details. For more information, refer to Step 4: Shipment Tracking in the preceding Sample JSON order request 2: Multi-step order flow section.

Sample JSON order request 3: Multi-step order flow with Authorize API

This is similar to the previous examples which pass the intent as CAPTURE, but you need to use one of the Payments v2 API endpoints to complete the order. For more details, refer to the “Authorize” example of Step 3: Authorize or capture order in the preceding Sample JSON order request 2: Multi-step order flow section.

Step 1: Create order

Set the order intent to AUTHORIZE. A successful capture order request returns an HTTPS 200 OK status code.

Step 2: Buyer approval

The buyer approves or cancels the payment in this step. For more information refer to Step 2: Buyer Approval in the preceding Sample JSON order request 2: Single-step order flow section.

Step 3: Authorize order

An authorize order request accepts payment_source as an optional input, like a capture order request. Sample authorize order request with payment source:

Request

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '{
    "intent": "AUTHORIZE",
    "purchase_units": [
        {
            "reference_id": "d9f80740-38f0-11e8-b467-0ed5f89f718b",
            "amount": {
                "currency_code": "USD",
                "value": "100.00"
            }
        }
    ],
    "payment_source": {
        "card": {
            "number": "1111111111111111",
             "expiry": "2028-12",
             "name": "Firstname Lastname",
            "billing_address": {
                "address_line_1": "123 Main St.",
                "admin_area_1": "CA",
                "admin_area_2": "Anytown",
                "postal_code": "12345",
                "country_code": "US"
            },
            "attributes": {
                "customer": {
                    "email_address": "payer@example.com",
                    "phone": {
                        "phone_number": {
                            "national_number": "5555555555"
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}'

Step 4: Capture payment

Capture the authorized payment by calling the Capture authorized payment endpoint of the Payments v2 API using a POST request to /v2/payments/authorizations/AUTHORIZATION-ID/capture. Replace AUTHORIZATION-ID with the authorization ID returned in Step 3: Authorize order. This step triggers a call to the payment gateway to capture the payment.

Note: The Payments capture is not the Order capture call, and the request body isn’t mandatory.

Step 5: Shipment tracking

Sample JSON order request 4: Pay with Venmo

The previous workflows and samples that used PayPal as the payment method also apply to Venmo. Use the same code samples, but change the payment_source to Venmo. Sample create order request and response using Venmo:

curl -v -X POST "https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/checkout/orders/"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN'
-d '
{
    "intent": "CAPTURE",
    "purchase_units": [
        {
            "amount": {
                "currency_code": "USD",
                "value": "100.00"
            }
        }
    ],
    "payment_source": {
        "venmo": {
            "email_address": "payer@example.com",
            "experience_context": {
                "shipping_preference": "GET_FROM_FILE",
                "brand_name": "EXAMPLE INC"
            }
        }
    }
}'

Payment methods

Save payment methods

Features

Integrate PayPal directly with the Orders v2 API

PayPal Checkout flow

Orders API flows using PayPal Checkout for Pay with PayPal

Orders v2 API, detailed PayPal Checkout flow

Multi-step order flow with PayPal Checkout

PayPal Checkout with the payment source in a Create order request

PayPal Checkout with the Confirm payment source endpoint

PayPal Checkout with the Authorize order endpoint

Other API endpoints

Prerequisites

Sample JSON order request 1: Single-step order flow

Step 1: Create order

Include shipping details

Sample shipping request

Step 2: Buyer approval

Step 3: Authorize or capture order

Capture order

Step 4: Shipment tracking

Step 5: Show the order details

Sample JSON order request 2: Multi-step order flow with Confirm order API endpoint

Step 1: Create order

Step 2: Confirm payment

Step 3: Buyer approval

Step 4: Capture payment

Step 5: Shipment Tracking

Sample JSON order request 3: Multi-step order flow with Authorize API

Step 1: Create order

Step 2: Buyer approval

Step 3: Authorize order

Step 4: Capture payment

Step 5: Shipment tracking

Sample JSON order request 4: Pay with Venmo

Payment methods

Save payment methods

Features

​PayPal Checkout flow

​Orders API flows using PayPal Checkout for Pay with PayPal

​Orders v2 API, detailed PayPal Checkout flow

​Multi-step order flow with PayPal Checkout

​PayPal Checkout with the payment source in a Create order request

​PayPal Checkout with the Confirm payment source endpoint

​PayPal Checkout with the Authorize order endpoint

​Other API endpoints

​Prerequisites

​Sample JSON order request 1: Single-step order flow

​Step 1: Create order

​Include shipping details

​Sample shipping request

​Step 2: Buyer approval

​Step 3: Authorize or capture order

​Capture order

​Step 4: Shipment tracking

​Step 5: Show the order details

​Sample JSON order request 2: Multi-step order flow with Confirm order API endpoint

​Step 1: Create order

​Step 2: Confirm payment

​Step 3: Buyer approval

​Step 4: Capture payment

​Step 5: Shipment Tracking

​Sample JSON order request 3: Multi-step order flow with Authorize API

​Step 1: Create order

​Step 2: Buyer approval

​Step 3: Authorize order

​Step 4: Capture payment

​Step 5: Shipment tracking

​Sample JSON order request 4: Pay with Venmo

PayPal Checkout flow

Orders API flows using PayPal Checkout for Pay with PayPal

Orders v2 API, detailed PayPal Checkout flow

Multi-step order flow with PayPal Checkout

PayPal Checkout with the payment source in a Create order request

PayPal Checkout with the Confirm payment source endpoint

PayPal Checkout with the Authorize order endpoint

Other API endpoints

Prerequisites

Sample JSON order request 1: Single-step order flow

Step 1: Create order

Include shipping details

Sample shipping request

Step 2: Buyer approval

Step 3: Authorize or capture order

Capture order

Step 4: Shipment tracking

Step 5: Show the order details

Sample JSON order request 2: Multi-step order flow with Confirm order API endpoint

Step 1: Create order

Step 2: Confirm payment

Step 3: Buyer approval

Step 4: Capture payment

Step 5: Shipment Tracking

Sample JSON order request 3: Multi-step order flow with Authorize API

Step 1: Create order

Step 2: Buyer approval

Step 3: Authorize order

Step 4: Capture payment

Step 5: Shipment tracking

Sample JSON order request 4: Pay with Venmo