New / Shipping

DHL Express is now available directly
from the Shopify admin (UK, DE, FR, IT, ES)

Merchants in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain can buy domestic and international shipping labels straight from the admin — no third-party app and no separate DHL account. Customs documents are generated automatically for international orders.

On this page
  1. In 30 seconds: what changed
  2. The 5 supported markets and shipping range
  3. What's included (5 items)
  4. Before vs. now
  5. DHL On Demand Delivery: 4 options for the recipient
  6. How to buy a label (3 steps)
  7. 5 points developers should know
  8. 3 practical use cases
  9. A one-line summary you can use in a pitch

1In 30 seconds: what changed

In 5 markets — the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain —DHL Express can now be selected as a label-purchasing carrier in Shopify.
no third-party app and no separate DHL account required. You can buy both domestic and international labels from the order page in the admin.

Before: an app or a separate account

Using DHL Express required installing a third-party app or signing a separate account contract with DHL.

Now: directly from the admin

With no app and no DHL account, you can buy labels from "Create shipping label" on the order page.

¥/€

Pricing: pay per label

Available on every Shopify plan. No fixed monthly fee — you only pay for the labels you buy.

2The 5 supported markets and shipping range

Eligible merchant locations United Kingdom Germany France Italy Spain Domestic shipping Labels for shipments within the same country No customs documents needed International shipping Labels for cross-border shipments Customs documents areAuto-generated DHL Express labels Competitive DHL Express rates No app required / No DHL account required
Whether this is available outside these 5 markets (including Japan), the list of eligible destinations, specific rate tables, and size and weight limits arenot specified. Before adopting it, check whether DHL Express actually appears as an option in your own store's admin.

3What's included (5 items)

Competitive rates
DHL Express rates
Domestic / international labels
Buy from the admin
Auto-generated customs documents
Automatic for international orders
On Demand Delivery
Customers adjust delivery
ALL PLANS
Available on all plans
No monthly fee, pay per use

4Before vs. after

ItemBefore this announcementWith DHL Express support (the 5 eligible markets)
App Required Via a third-party app Not required Built into the admin
DHL account Separate contract Not required Buy labels without your own account
Where labels are purchased App screen / DHL's own admin The order page in the Shopify admin
Customs documents (international) Not specified Auto-generated
Eligible plans Not specified All Shopify plans
Cost Not stated No monthly fee Pay-per-label pricing
Delivery changes (customer side) Not stated On Demand Delivery Reschedule, redirect, leave with a neighbor, pick up at a service point

5DHL On Demand Delivery: 4 options for the recipient

A way for customers to choose how a shipment already in transit gets delivered. The article names these four options.

Customer Chooses while in transit Change the delivery date and time reschedule Redirect to another address redirect Leave it with a neighbor leave with a neighbor Pick up at a service point DHL service point Fewer failed delivery attempts Support inquiries about redelivery and returns also become easier for customers to resolve themselves * The article gives no figures on the impact
Which screen customers use to access On Demand Delivery (a DHL notification email, a tracking page, etc.), and whether Japanese is supported, arenot stated in the article.

6Buying a label (3 steps)

1

Open the order in the admin

Go to the page for the order in question.

2
Create label

Select "Create shipping label"

Start from the label creation action on the order page.

3

Buy the label with DHL Express

For international orders, customs documents are generated automatically as well.

There is no need to install an app or open a DHL account beforehand.DHL Express shows up as an option with nothing more than "open the order → create the label"— that is the real change here.

75 points for developers to keep in mind

1. It can duplicate your existing DHL apps

Stores that have been buying labels through a third-party DHL app now gain a native purchase path as well, which riskscreating two tracking numbers and two billing paths for the same shipment. Decide which one is authoritative before you migrate.
* The article does not describe the behavior when both are in use.

2. Automatic customs documents = product data quality matters

If customs documents are generated automatically for international orders, thenthe source is your product master data. How well HS codes, country of origin, weight, and declared value are maintained translates directly into the accuracy of those documents.
* The article does not specify which fields are referenced.

5 mkt

3. Availability is determined by merchant location

The wording is "merchants in the UK, DE, FR, IT, and ES."In multi-store / multi-market setups, availability will differ from store to store— design your operations on that assumption.

API ?

4. No mention of API / Webhook support

Only the purchase flow from the admin is described. Whether label purchasing can be automated via the Admin API or fulfillment webhooks isnot stated. Verify this before building bulk shipping automation.

5. On Demand Delivery means "the delivery destination can change later"

Customers can change the delivery date/time, forward to another address, leave it with a neighbor, or pick up at a DHL Service Point = the shipping address at order time and the actual pickup location will routinely diverge. If any logic in your OMS / WMS / accounting integration treats the order's shipping address as the final destination, it's worth revisiting your returns, reshipment, and address validation flows.
* The article does not state how these changes are reflected on the Shopify side.

8Three practical use cases

App Direct DHL contract Manual work admin One path
USE CASE 1

Cut running costs by auditing shipping apps at EU-based stores

Problem
A store based in the UK / DE / FR / IT / ES installs a third-party app solely to use DHL Express and keeps paying the monthly fee, while still maintaining a separate DHL account.
Approach
Map out what the native integration can replace, then: (1) move label purchasing to the native flow → (2) check your dependence on app-specific features (bulk fulfillment, custom labels, etc.) → (3) cancel the app once it is no longer needed.
Impact
Lower app subscription costs (the native option has no monthly fee, just per-label charges) and simpler operations once separate DHL account management goes away.
Technical notes
Identify app-only features (bulk processing, external WMS integration, etc.) first. Since the article does not state whether the native flow supports API access, always verify before canceling if you rely on automation.
Product data HS code Country of origin Weight Declared value
USE CASE 2

A product data cleanup project to get the most out of auto-generated customs documents

Problem
Even with customs documents auto-generated for international orders, the documents come out incomplete or incorrect if the underlying product data is full of blanks.
Approach
For SKUs shipped internationally, audit how completely the attributes required for customs (HS code, country of origin, weight, declared value, etc.) are filled in, and set up a process to fill the gaps via metafields or bulk CSV updates.
Impact
Less rework on auto-generated documents and lower risk of customs holds caused by incomplete declarations.
Technical notes
The announcement doesn't spell out exactly which fields Shopify reads. The quickest path is to buy a label on a single test order and work backwards from the fields on the generated documents to pin down the mapping.
USE CASE 3

Push missed-delivery inquiries back to the customer with On Demand Delivery

The problem
"I couldn't receive it" and "I want to change the address" support tickets each turn into a call to the carrier and a manual fix.
What to do
For orders shipped with DHL Express, spell out the four options — reschedule the date and time, redirect to another address, leave with a neighbor, or collect at a service point — in your order confirmation emails, FAQ, and support reply templates, so customers can handle it themselves.
The payoff
First-line support becomes a template, and you cut down on the reshipping costs that come with failed deliveries going back to the carrier.
Technical notes
The announcement doesn't say where customers access these controls, or how the changes are reflected in Shopify's order data. Confirm the behavior on one real shipment before you build out the templates.

9One-line summary you can use in a pitch

"If your store is in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, or Spain,you can buy DHL Express domestic and international labels right from the admin — no app and no DHL account required.
Customs documents for international orders are generated automatically, and customers can change the delivery date, time, or pickup location themselves.
It's available on every plan, with no monthly fee and per-label pricing, so the fastest move is to try a single shipment and see whether you can retire your existing shipping app."