Optional Services – Extend Your Shipping Choices

DHL offers a wide range of Optional Services - from non-standard deliveries and billing options to climate neutral shipping. In this way, we give you the flexibility to choose the service that best fits your needs when using our express delivery services worldwide.

Please note that not all Optional Services are available with every shipment or in every country.

In addition to the standard DHL Express liability, we offer financial protection to our customers against all risks of physical shipment loss or damage, from any external cause.

Learn more on standard liability

Shipment Insurance can be arranged for express parcels, although some restrictions and limitations may apply. These will depend on the destination and contents of the shipment.

DHL’s Shipment Insurance meets the general requirements for loss and damage to goods in transit. Protection is effective from the time DHL Express has control or possession of the shipment until the time of delivery. Physical loss or damage of goods is covered, subject to specific limitations and exclusions.

Shipment Insurance covers items in transit worldwide, although temporary restrictions may apply from time to time as a consequence of, but not limited to, political, terrorist, nuclear and war risks, or on the advice of government officials. It does not cover the following:

delay;
ordinary leakage;
loss in weight or volume, or wear and tear of the shipment;
loss, damage or expense caused by insufficiency or unsuitability of packing or preparation of the shipment;
loss, damage or expense caused by inherent vice or nature of the shipment;
loss, damage or expense attributable to the willful misconduct by the customer or its agents;
loss, damage or expense caused by delay;
loss, damage or expense arising from the use of any atomic or nuclear weapon or radioactivity.

Cover is limited to the value declared by the shipper, replacement cost, invoice value or actual cash value whichever is the lowest. Evidence may be requested to substantiate the declared value in the event of a claim.
In the event of total loss of your shipment, with Shipment Insurance, you will also be entitled to a refund of the shipping charge. In the event of a partial loss, you will be entitled to a refund of the relevant proportion of the shipping charge.
When more than one shipment that is covered is subject to loss or damage arising from a single event, the maximum aggregate compensation for all such shipments is limited to 5 million EUR.

Excluded Countries
The Shipment Insurance program is not available for imports, exports, domestic transits or storage for the following countries:

Cuba
Iran
Myanmar
North Korea
North Sudan
Syria

Restricted Countries
The Shipment Insurance program can provide coverage for international shipments from the time they are loaded onto or off of an international flight in Iraq or Afghanistan. However, domestic or inland transit coverage within Iraq and/or Afghanistan is not automatically covered, but may be obtained on a case by case basis. In order to obtain inland transit coverage, please contact your local Customer Service to discuss with the Risk Management team. Inland transit coverage must be agreed in writing with DHL before any transport of the Shipment.

If you wish to make a claim, you should always notify DHL Express as soon as possible, but in any event, no later than 30 calendar days from the date that DHL accepted the shipment.

DHL Express has a service to satisfy sending shipments of almost all shapes and sizes. When a piece in your shipment is in excess of 70kg, or has a longest side in excess of 120cm, additional charges are payable to cover the higher shipment handling costs. Shipment pieces, skids or pallets with an actual weight above 1000kg or that exceed 300cm in length, width or height require prior approval. Please contact your local DHL Express office for advice.

When sending express shipments, DHL Express is certified in most countries in certain classes of Dangerous Goods in accordance with IATA and ADR regulations.

Not enough days in the week? DHL Express offers pickup and delivery options from and to certain markets when the business week just isn’t long enough. Whether it’s a Saturday Delivery to a country in Asia, a pickup in the Middle East on a Friday or a delivery during the public holiday, your local DHL Express office can help to explain what is possible.

Sending an unusual shipment? DHL Express offers a number of pickup and delivery options for when the normal courier service at times isn’t enough. Our Dedicated Pickup and Delivery services provide specific vehicles or send more than one courier to the challenge. Your local DHL Express office can confirm if we have a solution for you at either the origin or destination.

DHL Express offers its customers flexible payment and billing options for transport charges, duties and taxes. This flexibility gives the freedom to invoice the Shipper, Receiver or a third party Importer.

Import Express
An Import Express billing account allows you to control all of your inbound shipments through a single account number with all shipments shown on just one single invoice. A free of charge billing option.

Read more about our Import Services

Electronic Billing
Our free of charge electronic billing service enables customers to have an accurate, fast and efficient accounts payable service. Electronic billing allows our customers to view new invoices, search through archived invoices and import invoice data directly into their own accounting systems.

Learn more about DHL Express Electronic Billing

Duties and Taxes Paid
This service allows duties, taxes or other regulatory fees to be charged to the Shipper or a nominated third party, rather than the Receiver at destination. The Shipper is then able to sell goods to a Buyer on an all-inclusive price basis. DHL clears the shipment at destination and invoices any duties, taxes or other regulatory charges that may apply to the account specified on the waybill. A charge applies whenever the Shipper requests that duties, taxes or other regulatory charges are to be paid outside of the destination country.

Change of Billing
When the account holder needs to re-invoice an amount to a different account number than the one marked on the waybill, or receive an invoice in a different format or to a different date, DHL Express can provide this.

Additional charges for Optional Services for international shipments.

Optional Service	How We Charge	Additional Charge
Shipment Insurance	By shipment value	1.5% of shipment value with a min surcharge of 12.00 USD
Extended Liability	Per shipment	4.44 USD
Verbal Delivery Notification	Per shipment	2.22 USD
Duties and Taxes Paid	Per shipment	19.98 USD
Change of Billing	Per invoice	11.10 USD

Optional Service	How We Charge	Additional Charge
Shipment Insurance	By shipment value	1.5% of shipment value with a min surcharge of 12.00 USD

Optional Services and Surcharges are in addition to applicable transportation charges. They will be billed in accordance with the published rates current at the time the shipment booking is made.

The local DHL Express Rate & Service Guide is available for download.

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