A shipping checkpoint is a government-run agency in which the cargo manifests of spacecraft are examined to make sure they are in compliance of the law. They are typically located in platforms near jump points that cross into sovereign systems, with a checkpoint on either side. The Xi'an Empire and the United Empire of Earth (UEE) require by law for all spacecraft to stop at these checkpoints when crossing from one territory to another. The Banu Protectorate only enforces stoppage if the local system requires it.