Show Request Submission Times in Shopify Request Received Emails

Choose the field for the request type

Shopify has added two Liquid variables to the Request received customer notification. Use return.requested_at for a return request and requested_edit.requested_at for a cancellation request. Each represents when the customer submitted that request, so the notification can identify the submission it acknowledges.

Choose the field that matches the request and label the value clearly. Submission time is not the time staff started handling the request, approved it, or completed a refund. Showing this timestamp alone will not answer a customer’s question about processing progress.

Add a date format through the notification editor

In Shopify admin, go to Settings > Notifications > Customer notifications > Request received, then select Edit code. Find where you want the submission time to appear and add the variable for the request type. This is the notification template, rather than a customer account page or a return-rule setting.

For a return request, Shopify’s published example is {{ return.requested_at | date: "%B %-d, %Y %H:%M %Z" }}. Liquid’s date filter formats a time value as text. The field and format string serve different purposes: the field selects the timestamp, while the format controls its presentation.

For a cancellation request, use requested_edit.requested_at. With the same format, that becomes {{ requested_edit.requested_at | date: "%B %-d, %Y %H:%M %Z" }}. This cancellation example substitutes the field according to Shopify’s mapping. Keep the correct field name when adjusting its display format.

Why the default email has no timestamp, and a resend keeps it

Shopify says the default Request received template has not changed. Access to the variables does not automatically add a timestamp to customer emails; it appears only after the merchant adds the field to the notification template. When checking your own notification, first inspect whether its actual template contains the matching field. The announcement does not establish that your template was changed.

For a hypothetical example, a customer submits a return request on Monday and the merchant resends the notification for that request on Wednesday. The variable still represents Monday’s submission. Resending does not change it to Wednesday. This example explains the value; it is not a real store operation or email delivery test.

Label the value as the request submission time and present it separately from the processing outcome. A timestamp placed next to wording such as Refund completed or Email sent may look like the time of that later event. Review its label and placement when deciding whether the notification communicates what you intend.

Separate time-zone formatting from delivery evidence

Shopify’s example includes month, day, year, hours and minutes, and %Z. The announcement does not identify the underlying timestamp’s time zone or promise conversion to the customer’s or store’s local time. If an explicit time zone matters, check Shopify’s relevant documentation and the actual configuration. The presence of %Z alone does not establish a conversion.

This update helps a template display when a request was submitted. It does not establish when the email was sent, whether it reached an inbox, or whether a request was approved or a refund completed. This guide checks the public announcement only. No merchant admin was accessed, template changed, or real customer email sent.