---
title: "Availability rules"
description: "Availability rules decide when a customer can request delivery — lead time, cutoff, delivery weekdays, and how far ahead they can book."
contentType: "docs"
locale: "en"
localized: true
source: "https://orderrules.com/docs/delivery/availability-rules"
slug: "delivery/availability-rules"
---
**Availability rules decide _when_ a customer can request delivery.** Each rule combines four controls:

- **Lead time** — the earliest date a customer can pick (e.g. 2 days out for made-to-order items).
- **Cutoff** — a clock time after which today no longer counts; orders roll to the next eligible day (e.g. orders after 14:00 start from tomorrow).
- **Delivery weekdays** — the days you actually deliver.
- **Horizon** — how far ahead customers can book (e.g. 30 days).

Rules can be **scoped and stacked**. When more than one rule could apply, the **most specific wins**: product > collection > tag > storewide. That lets a frozen-goods collection carry a longer lead time while the rest of the store keeps the default.

Each rule also sets the **fulfillment method** it applies to — delivery, pickup, or both — and can optionally **require a date/slot at checkout**.

## Related

- [Set up the delivery date picker](/docs/delivery/getting-started-delivery-dates)
- [Time slots](/docs/delivery/time-slots) · [Scoping rules](/docs/delivery/scoping-rules) · [Capacity limits](/docs/delivery/capacity-limits)