DHL eCommerce is a cost-effective delivery service for ShipStation merchants based in the. US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. ShipStation's direct integration with DHL eCommerce includes international services to all eligible accounts, as well as domestic services for US-based accounts. For international shipments, ShipStation automatically generates and submits your customs documentation.
To request a quote and begin the DHL eCommerce certification process, contact your DHL representative in your country:
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🇺🇸 DHL US
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🇨🇦 DHL Canada
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🇬🇧 DHL UK
Connection Requirements:
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A ShipStation account based in the US, Canada, Australia, or the UK
US-based accounts must be on a Platinum plan or higher to connect DHL eCommerce.
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An active account with DHL eCommerce.
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🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 US, Canada, UK accounts:
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Account Client ID and Secret (provided by DHL via email)
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Pickup account number and distribution center name
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🇦🇺 Australia accounts:
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Account Client ID & password (provided by DHL via email)
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Sold To account ID and pickup account ID
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Manifest Requirements:
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DHL eCommerce requires a printed manifest for each day's shipments. To manifest your shipments, use the ShipStation End of Day process.
🇦🇺 Australia Estimated Rate Requirements
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🇦🇺 Australia DHL eCommerce accounts have rating disabled by default. To view Estimated Rates in your ShipStation account you will need to have this enabled by your DHL account rep.
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New accounts please contact your DHL account rep to have this setting enabled.
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For accounts with rating already enabled make sure to uncheck 'skip rates' during set up.
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To connect your DHL eCommerce account to ShipStation:
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Contact your DHL account representative and request the following information if you do not already have it:
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🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 US, Canada, and UK accounts: DHL eCommerce client ID, client secret, pickup number, and distribution center number
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🇦🇺 Australia accounts: DHL eCommerce pickup account ID, Sold To account ID, shipment identifier prefix, and rating enablement
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Log in to your ShipStation account.
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Click the Add Carrier button.
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Select DHL eCommerce and click Connect.
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🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 US, Canada, or UK-based accounts: Enter your client Id, secret, and pickup account number. Then, choose a Distribution Center from the drop-down menu.
🇦🇺 Australia-based accounts: Enter your pickup account ID, sold to account ID, and shipment identifier prefix.
To see Estimated Rates in your account uncheck the 'skip rating' box.
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Select the DHL eCommerce services approved for use with your account (not applicable to Australia-based accounts).
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Click Connect.
You can now create DHL eCommerce shipping labels in ShipStation.
The ShipStation integration with DHL eCommerce supports the following standard features:
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Supported? |
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🇺🇸 US accounts: 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇦🇺 Canada, UK, Australia accounts: |
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*🇦🇺 Rates must be enabled for Australian Accounts |
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ShipStation integration with DHL eCommerce allows for the following additional features:
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Feature |
Description |
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🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 Supports shipping dangerous goods |
For US, Canada, and UK-based accounts, you can ship dangerous goods/hazardous materials using DHL eCommerce services. For accounts based in Australia, the dangerous goods shipping option is not available. Select the option This package contains dangerous goods in Other Shipping Options. Then, select the type of goods from the drop-down menu. This will print the appropriate warnings on the label. ImportantYour DHL eCommerce account must be enabled by DHL to ship dangerous goods. Please contact your account representative if you are unsure if your account is enabled for shipping dangerous goods. |
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An End-of-Day Driver Summary Manifest is required for all shipments. |
DHL eCommerce requires a printed manifest for their drivers to collect at pickup. See Create Shipment Manifests for instructions on how to print manifests in ShipStation. |
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Ship From Locations with the same address will be consolidated into one manifest. |
DHL eCommerce requires one manifest per Ship From Location. If you have multiple Ship From Locations that use the same address, all DHL eCommerce shipments will be consolidated into a single manifest for that address. Please note: The addresses in the Ship From Locations must match exactly for the manifests to consolidate properly. For example, if the addresses are technically the same, such as N. Lamar St and North Lamar St, the addresses do not match each other exactly and so will print as separate manifests. |
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Ancillary Endorsements |
DHL eCommerce allows you to select the following ancillary endorsements on a per-shipment basis. Go to Other Shipping Options in Order Details. You can choose from Forward Service Requested, Change Service Requested, Return Service Requested. |
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🇦🇺 Bill duties and taxes to payor of shipping charges (DDP) available for cross-border shipments. |
Australia-based accounts: Select Bill duties and taxes to payor of shipping charges to make your shipment DDP (Delivered Duty Paid). Please note: If you select Parcel International Direct Standard (PLT) as your service with this option unchecked, the Incoterm for this shipment will be set as DDU. You may need to contact DHL to enable your account for DDU, if it is not already. |
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🇺🇸 USPS tracking number associated with a DHL-created label (International Shipments) |
US-based accounts: DHL eCommerce uses the USPS for the US domestic part of the journey and the local postal service in the destination country to make the final delivery. Use the DHL tracking number to track your package with USPS and through the DHL eCommerce site. |
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All DHL eCommerce shipments must be closed out, manifested, and printed through ShipStation using our End of Day process.
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DHL eCommerce supports one label message only. You must use Label Message 3.
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DHL eCommerce does not support printing store logos on labels.
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Labels can and will appear differently when they ship to different destinations. This is because shipments go to different DHL eCommerce stations to be sorted by destination.
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DHL is likely to return shipments sent to residential addresses in Russia back to the sender. This is because Russian customs authorities examine all dutiable shipments with extreme scrutiny and there is no guarantee the package will be sent to its destination after inspection. You may wish to use a different carrier for shipments bound for a residential address in Russia.
DHL will deliver shipments to commercial addresses without issue.
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🇺🇸 🇨🇦 US & Canada accounts: DHL eCommerce Domestic will not display rates in ShipStation unless the Rating API is activated for your DHL account.
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🇨🇦 Canada accounts: Rating is not available for Canada-based “pick up accounts” using DHL eCommerce API V4.
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🇦🇺 Australia accounts:
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DHL eCommerce Australia does not support shipping dangerous goods. Learn how DHL eCommerce Australia defines Prohibited and Restricted Goods.
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The Ship From address is not displayed on DHL eCommerce shipping labels.
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If you cannot view rates in ShipStation, check with your DHL account rep if you have rating is enabled. If DHL makes a change to your rate settings, please reconfigure the carrier connection in ShipStation.
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Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
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Issue |
How to Troubleshoot or Resolve |
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Error: The requested Special Service Codes AA is not available. Please make sure data entered is valid before proceeding or contact our customer service. |
What it means: You have likely selected non-supported options for your DHL Express shipments. This error likely indicates that incorrect Other Shipping Options are being used. What to do: See the Label Options section of the Available Shipping Options by Carrier help article to confirm which options are supported. Or, try removing the options one by one to see which option is causing the error. Then proceed with the shipment without selecting that option. |
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Duplicate Tracking Numbers Tracking numbers created in the seller will always be unique. However, if one DHL eCommerce account (with the same pickup number) is connected to a different ShipStation account, duplicate tracking numbers can occur. |
What to do: To prevent this from happening, create a new DHL eCommerce sub-account to generate a new unique pickup number. When you connect your DHL eCommerce account to the secondary ShipStation account, use the unique pickup number for the new sub-account. If you aren't sure how to do this, contact DHL eCommerce directly to help set up the sub-accounts (or potentially add multiple pickup numbers to one account). |
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Error: The destination country code XX could not be found. Please check the destination country code. |
What it means: The country code is not valid in DHL’s system. This is common for very small countries that may have multiple country codes. For example, Curacao has an ISO address country code CW, but DHL is looking for ‘XC’ as the country code. What to do: Use this DHL Shipping Guide to find out if a country needs a DHL-specific country code. |
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🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Error: Product Finder is not available from DHL for this account. Please contact your DHL account manager. |
What it means: For US and Canada accounts, your DHL eCommerce account does not have the Rating API enabled. What to do: Contact your DHL account manager and request this be enabled for you. |
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🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Error: Customer does not have permission on this sold-to account. Status code: 400 |
What it means: For AU/NZ account, your account is not yet added to the Gemini API. What to do: Contact DHL eCommerce at ci-ecom.au@dhl.com and request that they add your account to the Gemini API. |
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🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Error: Create Label Failed: Destination Country is not supported for selected service product |
What it means: For AU/NZ account, this error most likely means you have configured the shipment with the Parcel International Direct Standard service, not selected the Bill duties and taxes to payor of shipping charges option, and your DHL account is not enable for DDU. What to do: Contact DHL eCommerce AU to add DDU support to your DHL account. |