What to Know About Shipt Certifications in 2024

Shipt certifications allow you to complete different types of orders, such as deliveries for alcohol or Shop-only orders, in addition to standard orders. Certifications are available to Shoppers only, not Drivers (read about the differences).

Acquiring each certification typically involves passing a quiz to demonstrate you have the required knowledge, which can be done in less than an hour in most cases once you have access to the quiz.

What additional certifications are available?

Currently, Shipt offers three certifications: Alcohol Delivery, Shop Only, and Disney Delivery.

All of Shipt’s additional services are available in only a subset of the areas where Shipt operates — so the first thing you should check is which certifications are offered in your metro.

Shipt Alcohol Delivery Certification

The Alcohol Delivery certification allows you to deliver orders that might consist totally of alcoholic beverages from a store like BevMo, as well as grocery orders that just happen to contain one or more items with alcohol. The certification consists of passing a quiz demonstrating that you understand the laws in your area and how to ID someone in accordance with state regulations. 

The information may vary based on state, but most people report that it is a fairly quick process, taking as little as 15-30 minutes to complete once the link to do so has been provided by Shipt. 

To start the certification process, you will need to contact Shipt, and you can get started by following the link for your state’s certification course on Shipt’s list of available metros or by sending an email to alcoholdelivery@shipt.com.

In some cases (most commonly in Massachusetts), there may be a waitlist associated with alcohol certification, in which case you’ll have to wait until they provide the link for you to get started. There may be no indication of how long the wait will be.  

Where it’s offered

Alcohol delivery is offered in 20 states. However, in many states, alcohol certification is only available in select cities. 

States that offer alcohol delivery in all metros:

• Alabama
• California
• Florida
• Michigan

States where alcohol delivery is offered only in select metros:

• Arizona: Phoenix, Tucson
• Georgia: Atlanta
• Hawaii: Honolulu, Maui-Kahului
• Illinois: Bradley, Champaign/Urbana, Chicago, Danville, Galesburg, Normal, Peoria, Rockford, Springfield
• Kentucky: Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville, Owensboro
• Massachusetts: Boston, Mashpee
• Minnesota: Minneapolis, Rochester, St. Cloud
• Missouri: Columbia, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Osage Beach, Springfield, St. Joseph, St. Louis
• Nebraska: Kearney, Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha
• North Carolina: Asheville, Burlington, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Triad, Triangle, Wilmington
• Ohio: Akron/Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Defiance, Findlay, Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Sandusky, Toledo
• Oregon: Eugene, Portland
• Tennessee: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville
• Texas: Abilene, Austin, Bay City, Beaumont / Port Arthur, Beeville, Brenham, College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Denison/Sherman, El Paso, Fort Worth, Fredericksburg, Houston, Huntsville, Killeen / Temple, Laredo, Marble Falls, McAllen / Brownsville, Midland / Odessa, San Angelo, San Antonio, Stephenville / Granbury, Uvalde, Victoria, Waco
• Washington D.C.: Washington D.C.
• Washington: Seattle

You can find more info on state-specific restrictions and regulations on Shipt’s alcohol delivery page.

Shipt Shop Only Certification

The Shop Only certification allows you to take on orders in which you shop at the selected store and then – upon receiving a message from the customer that they have arrived – simply bring their order to the designated pickup spot outside the store. Think of it like providing curbside pickup services.

Shipt has a helpful FAQ page about Shop Only on the Shopper Hub that covers some finer points. The service can also be paired with the Alcohol Certification in metros that offer both services, as Shop Only orders may contain alcoholic items.

Despite the possible advantage of being offered more orders, Matthew Desmond, an experienced Shopper who has been working with Shipt for over three years, explains that many Shoppers do not like doing this service. 

“There’s a lot of coordination with customers, and sometimes it doesn’t pan out. You can finish an order and be sitting there waiting for the customer to show up. And sometimes they don’t tip well either.”

Where it’s offered

Shop Only orders are offered in a smaller set of metros. 

Shop Only certifications are available in all metros in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. 

In Indiana, the certification is only available in:

• Angola
• Chicago
• Evansville
• Fort Wayne
• Indianapolis
• Kokomo
• Lafayette
• Louisville
• Marion
• Muncie
• Richmond
• South Bend
• Terre Haute
• Warsaw

In Missouri, the certification is only available in:

• Osage Beach
• St. Louis.

In Wisconsin, the certification is only available in: 

• Appleton
• Green Bay
• Manitowoc
• Milwaukee
• Sheboygan
• Terre Haute
• Warsaw.

There is only one unified certification process regardless of what metro you’re in, so if the service is offered in your metro, you can start the certification via Shipt’s online educational portal.

Disney Delivery

Disney delivery is only available in the Orlando metro. It’s a special service for guests staying at Walt Disney World Resorts (sorry, Shoppers of Anaheim). 

The service entails completing otherwise ordinary orders and delivering them to Disney World’s Bell Services at resorts associated with Walt Disney World. The process can vary based on which resort you are delivering to. It will require some extra communication and a few extra steps. Specifically, you’ll need to label bags with

• The member’s name
• The number of bags
• A detailed summary of the contents of each bag
• Which bags need to be refrigerated or frozen (if they are being handed to Bell Services)

Different resorts might have different rules regarding deliveries, and Matthew also weighed in on the importance of following these rules:

“It’s super important to follow the rules on this one. You can’t bring groceries to the member’s room. No matter how much they beg or say that so-and-so did it for them. Disney Cast Members watch out for this and they can and will report to Shipt. You can lose your certification. You can also lose your job over this.”

The certification is fairly restrictive — it's only available to Shoppers who have completed over 300 orders and maintained a customer rating of at least 4.9 and an on-time percentage of at least 90%. 

If you meet these criteria, you can initiate the process by emailing certifications@shipt.com — just make sure to mention it’s for the Disney Delivery certification. 

Shipt no longer delivers prescriptions or provides CVS certifications

Unfortunately, Shipt no longer provides this service. You may find old forum and Reddit posts where Shoppers are discussing it, but Shipt removed their prescription and CVS certifications, likely in part due to the increased liability when dealing with medications.

But don’t feel too bad for having missed it – Matthew and James Tuliano, another experienced Shipt Shopper, both agree that the service was not great for Shoppers. Matthew said that “they only paid $6 per order and it was a massive pain” and that “new shoppers aren't missing out,” and James added that the “orders also never had a tip associated to them (I think mostly because it was not initiated by a user using the app, so I don't think they even could tip unless it was cash). New shoppers aren't missing out.”

Are the Shipt certifications worth it?

The benefit of certifications is straightforward: each certification you acquire will expand the pool of orders you are offered, providing the possibility to increase your earnings.  

But your experience with the additional services may vary. For a variety of reasons, many Shoppers will have strong preferences about which order types they prefer. 

In particular, Alcohol Delivery is a fairly polarizing experience among Shoppers. Some Shoppers prefer alcohol orders, saying that:

• The shopping part can be easier (for example, not having to search for good-looking produce items in an alcohol-only order).
• The tips can be better, as people are accustomed to tipping for alcohol.
• There are more bonuses offered for alcohol orders, as only certified Shoppers can fulfill them.
• It simply means more order offers, including grocery orders that happen to include a bottle of wine or six-pack.

Others tend to avoid it, explaining that:

• It’s more likely than with standard orders that you will be delivering to people who are already drinking, which can make them less reliable to communicate with and make some Shoppers feel uncomfortable or less safe.
• The ID check process requires that you physically see the person you’re delivering to, so there is no option to leave their order if they don’t answer when you arrive. Combined with the incidence of expired/invalid IDs, this means there is a higher risk of having to return the order.
• Drinks are heavy, and a big order can be physically demanding.

Some of this can be influenced by what orders you choose to accept. For example, some tend to avoid alcohol orders after dark due to feeling less safe and comfortable, while others focus on alcohol orders on Friday night when they can be lucrative.

James points out that beyond occasionally being a nuisance, it’s also illegal to deliver alcohol to somebody who is visibly intoxicated. 

“This is partly why the certification is in place. If the Shopper determines the customer to be drunk (similar to getting cut off at a bar), they can get into a lot of legal trouble if they still give them the booze. Some police even do undercover sting operations to ensure compliance.”

It’s worth noting that Shipt alcohol delivery is subject to any relevant state laws, which can vary significantly from state to state. Shipt has made that information available on its alcohol delivery page, where you can also find out if the service is offered in your metro.

Of course, in the end, the best way to find out what works for you is to try them out. You can always choose not to do a particular order type if you don’t enjoy it, and it will only cost you the time it takes to get certified.

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