With the Paperless Customs service, you can submit your customs documents digitally and directly during the shipping process. This helps save resources, reduce manual effort, and support digital customs clearance. The service is offered free of charge, while the traditional paper-based customs process remains available for shipments to customs destinations. You can choose the option that best suits your needs on a shipment-by-shipment basis.

Starting in November 2026, the service will initially be available for DHL Paket International shipments to Switzerland. Delivery will be carried out by our partner DHL Express. Availability for additional products and destination countries will be expanded gradually.

How Paperless Customs Works

1 Create Your Shipment

Create your international shipment as usual using your DHL shipping system.

2 Upload Digital Customs Documents

Upload the invoice and any other required customs documents directly during shipment creation.

3 Hand Over Your Shipment

There is no longer a need to attach customs documents physically to the outside of the shipment. Simply hand over the shipment with the shipping label attached.

Your Benefits

  • Simplified processes: Customs documents are transmitted digitally during the shipping process, eliminating the need to attach them manually to the outside of the parcel.

  • Save resources: By eliminating paper customs documents and plastic document pouches, you can reduce costs for paper, printing, and shipping materials.

  • Faster export processing: Digital document submission helps facilitate a faster and smoother customs clearance process.

  • Free and easy to use: The Paperless Customs service is available free of charge and can be selected for individual shipments directly within your shipping system.

The service is automatically available in DHL shipping solutions, including SHIP NOW (VERSENDEN) in the DHL Business Customer Portal. For third-party shipping systems, availability should be confirmed directly with the respective provider.

Customers with their own shipping software integration can find all relevant information on the DHL Developer Portal.

At launch in November 2026, the service will be available exclusively for DHL Paket International shipments to Switzerland, with delivery provided by DHL Express CH. Current availability can always be found in the "DHL Paket International - Information for Countries and Destinations" guide.

An expansion to additional products and destination countries is planned.

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Paperless Customs is provided free of charge. In addition, shippers can reduce their consumption of paper and shipping materials by submitting customs documents digitally.

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Country-specific requirements for shipments using Paperless Customs can be found in the "DHL Paket International - Information for Countries and Destinations" guide.

In principle, all customs documents can be transmitted digitally. However, in certain cases, it may still be necessary to attach a physical copy to the outside of the shipment. Currently, this applies, for example, to the Export Accompanying Document (EAD) for shipments that are declared for export by the shipper.

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Usually not. However, certain shipments may require original documents depending on the destination country. Currently, this applies, for example, to the Export Accompanying Document (EAD) for shipments that are declared for export by the shipper.

Detailed requirements can be found in the "DHL Paket International - Information for Countries and Destinations" guide.

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Yes. The customs clearance and payment processes remain unchanged, meaning customs clearance can still be billed to a third party and/or to a customs deferment account, as before.

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

No. The PDDP service is offered through our delivery partner Swiss Post. Paperless Customs is currently only available for shipments delivered by DHL Express CH, which means the two services cannot be combined.

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Information on service availability and compatibility with other services can be found in the "DHL Paket International - Information for Countries and Destinations" guide.

For the launch in Switzerland in November 2026, Paperless Customs can be combined with the following services:

  • Export Declaration Premium

  • Bulky Goods

  • Transport Insurance

  • Delivery Instructions

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Yes. The service digitizes the invoice submission process. As a result, both a Commercial Invoice and a Pro Forma Invoice can be provided digitally and replace the corresponding physical document.

Is this answer helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

To top# DAM Assets App