According to the expert statements familiar to us, the risk of Covid-19 spreading via contact with objects such as parcels is unknown. Only in a few cases so far has infection with the coronavirus via contact with objects been suspected. 

For customers nevertheless concerned about the risk of infection when receiving parcels, we recommend contacting DHL to specify a preferred location where our deliverer can drop-off your parcels (www.dhl.de/wunschort).

To optimally balance the interests of our customers and employees with the infection prevention rules, we decided at the beginning of the pandemic to temporarily modify our delivery processes so as to largely avoid physical contact between Post & Parcel Germany employees and our customers.

In view of the easing of general COVID restrictions, we also examined the possible reversal of temporary rules in the light of customer feedback and current knowledge about possible routes of infection. With effect from April 4, 2022, we therefore will no longer reroute shipments involving cash payments (cash on delivery, customs charges) and parcels subject to the ID check service to a retail outlet, but rather will once again deliver such items to the recipient's address as usual.  

For letters including the additional registered mail service (which are often used to send contracts or termination notices), we will once again obtain the recipient's signature.

As parcel delivery involves significantly greater contact frequency and in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we believe it makes sense to continue to limit the frequency of direct contact between customers and our staff in the future and will therefore make the delivery process adapted in 2020 a permanent procedure. In the future, we will document the delivery of business customer shipments (DHL Paket and DHL Retoure) to end customers nationwide by means of signature by our delivery staff.

Options for receiving items

Drop-off location: Specify a preferred location on your property where our deliverer can drop-off your parcels.

Packstation: Have your items sent to a Packstation (parcel locker) near you. Please note that you must be a registered Packstation user to take advantage of this service. Use of our Packstations is free of charge.
Is your parcel already in transit? Redirect it now.

Shipping

To avoid contact as much as possible, you can order physical letter stamps, Internetmarke stamps (online postage that you print out yourself), and parcel stamps online (shop.deutschepost.de)*. Using DHL’s online franking service, customers can also purchase and print their own parcel stamps from home (dhl.de/online-frankieren). 

Pre-franked parcels can also be sent using our Packstations, with no registration required. To find your closest Packstation visit Postfinder

More information at www.dhl.de/kontaktlos

^* Buy your postage online and have it shipped to your door for free until further notice

Please continue to make sure your box is emptied at least every 7 days. If this is not possible, e.g. due to quarantine or health reasons, your items will remain in your PO box.
In the event that your PO box is too full to accommodate any further items, we will be obliged to request that it is emptied. In line with standard procedure, you will be informed in writing in such cases and requested to empty your PO box as soon as possible in order to ensure our internal operational processes can continue without disruption. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

The safety of our employees, partners and customers is our top priority. For this reason, we have taken appropriate protective measures in our retail outlets, such as equipping our retails outlets with protective screens for the counter, and we are also providing information as to how the safety precautions recommended by the Robert Koch Institute can be effectively implemented in our retail outlets. Of course, the current 3G regulations also apply to all branch employees.

This means that access to postal and parcel services can be maintained to an extent that goes far beyond what is planned for in case of emergency.

In the event of local restrictions on access to commerce and services, as a system-relevant infrastructure service provider we are generally treated in the same way as food retailers and are therefore exempt from implementing 2G regulations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many flight connections to be canceled, which in turn has sharply reduced transport capacities from abroad to Germany. This has also impacted online ordered goods which are sent by mail for delivery in Germany by Deutsche Post DHL.

Significant delays are unfortunately possible between the dispatch of merchandise by the seller abroad and arrival of the item in Germany - even though the transit time information published online may state otherwise (e.g. in web shops).

Coronavirus tests (contents: samples taken from people or animals) can be sent as Groß/Maxibrief items (large/maxi letters) within Germany. As such, they can be posted in mailboxes. In the event proof of posting is required, this can be arranged in conjunction with additional services, such as Einschreiben Einwurf (registered mail for mailbox delivery).

In accordance with the requirements set out by the Robert Koch Institut (RKI), such items must be labeled as medical test specimens with the UN 3373 diamond and the text "B

Further information can be found under "Regulations for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Part 1A" (https://www.deutschepost.de/de/g/gefahrgut-versenden.html; Brief National).

We have invested heavily in increasing the capacity of our parcel network. We have also added thousands of additional staff, vehicles, swap bodies and roll containers, and have increased our sorting capacity wherever possible.

In spite of these measures, processing at some parcel centers is currently approaching maximum capacity. As a result - despite our extensive planning and preparations - delivery of your items may require considerably longer than usual at the present time.

In addition to handling more shipments than ever before, many of our processes have been hampered by COVID restrictions and are thus significantly less efficient than usual. We are doing everything we can to reduce parcel processing times down to normal levels.

To date, there are no major restrictions to our services in Germany.

As a result, there are currently no changes to our PO box, storage and forwarding services, or to our rerouting or bulk recipient postcode services.

• Due to lack of storage capacity, businesses must continue to empty their PO boxes regularly (at least every 7 days). We apologize for any inconvenience.
• If you have been forced to close your locations, you can set up temporary mail forwarding via Deutsche Post’s online shop ("Nachsendeauftrag wegen vorübergehender Abwesenheit") to redirect mail from your PO box address to a new address. This new target address cannot be the same as the street address on file with your PO box.
• As before, you will be informed in writing in a timely manner should we be forced to temporarily close your PO box facility. During such a closure, items will be sent to your street address. Please excuse any delays in service during this time.

Additional information on rerouting and bulk recipient postcode services:

• Please ensure that your mail is picked up on a daily basis. Please understand that limited storage capacity and resources prevent us from being able to store large amounts of mail at our sites over extended periods of time.
• Rerouting of your daily mail ("manual rerouting") is possible to the extent our capacity allows, as long as a bulk recipient postcode (GEPLZ) and/or PO box are available at both original target address and in the target region. Lead time for this usually 3-4 business days.
  

International items may be subject to delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These may be caused by changes in transport procedures (e.g. border controls), changes in international transport (e.g. cancellation of previously used flight connections) and/or changes in delivery procedures in the destination country (e.g. quarantine or other protective measures).

If you plan to send items to international destinations, please consult this site for information on possible restrictions. We are updating the site regularly.

Delays in delivery and limited capacity for processing tracking inquiries due to force majeure

The transport and delivery of international shipments may take significantly longer than usual at present as a result of the impact of the ongoing global pandemic.
If possible, we would request that you refrain from submitting an inquiry as to the whereabouts of your international shipment until the overall situation caused by the pandemic has eased somewhat.
You can check your shipment status at any time, either on our website or on that of our respective delivery partner (usually the foreign postal company).
In individual cases, the delivery of shipments can take up to three weeks within Europe at present, and may take longer outside Europe.
We and our delivery partners are doing everything in our power to make sure your shipment is delivered as quickly as possible.
We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding under these exceptional circumstances.

Current information on delivery to business addresses outside Germany:

Official administrative measures (e.g. the closure of businesses by official order) may lead to problems with the delivery of items to business addresses outside Germany (e.g. companies, retailers, public authorities, shopping centers etc.). The situation may arise whereby it is neither possible to deliver such items, nor to inform the addressees as to possible collection in a Paketshop. This may cause delays and unwanted returns. In light of this, we advise that you liaise with the recipient concerning the local situation to ensure that delivery is possible.

Current information on shipping to destinations in Asia, Oceania and parts of Africa:

As a result of the airspace bans currently in place over Russia, Ukraine, and other countries, various flight connections have been interrupted, and a number of other connections are being forced to fly a longer route than previously. This increases the amount of fuel required and reduces available transport capacity on these flights. Furthermore, the substantial increase in fuel costs is causing additional upheaval in the international air traffic networks and contributing to a further shortage of transport capacities.

In light of this, significantly longer transit times can be expected in some cases for shipments to long-haul destinations. That particularly applies to destinations in Asia and Oceania, but also impacts other destinations such as parts of Africa. Please understand that we are not in a position to reliably predict the effects that the currently rapidly changing situation may have.