WooCommerce: Set Checkout Field Value @ Order Creation

This is a very specific function. Sometimes, you need to “set” a checkout field value upon order creation (because it was not required and left empty for example). In some other cases, you might want to override what the customer input if you have certain requirements.

Either way, overriding the checkout fields on order creation is super easy. Here’s how it’s done – enjoy!

PHP Snippet: Set & Save a Checkout Field Programmatically Upon Order Creation

The “$order->set_$key( $value )” function comes to the rescue. Simply concatenate it with the shipping/billing field key in order to tell the system what key you should target. $value defines the value you should set this key to.

In the following example, I’m setting the “billing_city” to “Singapore” in case “Singapore” is the “billing_country”. Change “billing_city” to any other key to set that specific key.

/**
 * @snippet       Set checkout billing / shipping field - WooCommerce Order
 * @how-to        Get CustomizeWoo.com FREE
 * @author        Rodolfo Melogli
 * @compatible    WooCommerce 3.5.7
 * @community     https://businessbloomer.com/club/
 */

add_action( 'woocommerce_checkout_create_order', 'bbloomer_set_singapore_city', 9999, 2 );

function bbloomer_set_singapore_city( $order, $data ) {
	if ( $data['billing_country'] === 'SG' ) $order->set_billing_city( 'Singapore' );
}

Where to add custom code?

You should place custom PHP in functions.php and custom CSS in style.css of your child theme: where to place WooCommerce customization?

This code still works, unless you report otherwise. To exclude conflicts, temporarily switch to the Storefront theme, disable all plugins except WooCommerce, and test the snippet again: WooCommerce troubleshooting 101

Related content

• WooCommerce: Add “Confirm Email Address” Field @ Checkout
  A correct email address is worth a thousand dollars, some ecommerce expert would say 🙂 So, you don’t want your WooCommerce checkout visitors to mess up with that, do you? What about adding an “Email Verification” field? In this way, we can make sure they double check their entry – and also show an error […]
• WooCommerce: How to Add a Custom Checkout Field
  Let’s imagine you want to add a custom checkout field (and not an additional billing or shipping field) on the WooCommerce Checkout page. For example, it might be a customer licence number – this has got nothing to do with billing and nothing to do with shipping. Ideally, this custom field could show above the […]
• WooCommerce: Get Order Data (total, items, etc) From $order Object
  As a WooCommerce development freelancer, every day I repeat many coding operations that make me waste time. One of them is: “How to get ____ if I have the $order variable/object?“. For example, “How can I get the order total“? Or “How can I get the order items“? Or maybe the order dates, customer ID, […]
• WooCommerce: Hide Checkout Fields if Virtual Product @ Cart
  If you sell downloadable/virtual products and need to simplify your WooCommerce checkout when such product type is in the Cart, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s a simple snippet, as well as a handy mini-plugin, that checks if there are only “virtual” products in the Cart and hides all the billing fields and order […]
• WooCommerce: Move / Reorder Checkout Fields (Email, Country, etc.)
  We’ve already seen how to disable fields on the checkout page by using a simple snippet. Given my ultimate goal of trying to do as much as possible without installing heavy-weight plugins, today we’ll take a look at how to move fields around inside the billing & shipping sections.

Rodolfo Melogli

Business Bloomer Founder

Author, WooCommerce expert and WordCamp speaker, Rodolfo has worked as an independent WooCommerce freelancer since 2011. His goal is to help entrepreneurs and developers overcome their WooCommerce nightmares. Rodolfo loves travelling, chasing tennis & soccer balls and, of course, wood fired oven pizza. Follow @rmelogli