Special care must be taken when sending adult-only goods (for example alcohol, tobacco products or media with a 16/18 age rating). DHL's Visual Age Check service is a way to ensure that your goods don't fall into the wrong hands.

Benefits of Visual Age Check

  • Safe shipping of your sensitive goods
  • Better compliance with youth protection rules
  • Confidence in parcel delivery

Visual Age Check - supporting the protection of minors

Are you interested in shipping your sensitive goods safely with Visual Age Check?

I am already a business customer of DHL Paket and would like to send goods with Visual Age Check.

To the Post & DHL Business Customer Portal

I am not yet a business customer of DHL Paket but am interested in sending goods with Visual Age Check.

Become business customer

Our Visual Age Check* service is an easy and cost-effective way to make sure your parcels do not fall into the hands of children or young people when they are delivered. Whatever is in your item - for example alcoholic drinks, tobacco or e-cigarettes, age-restricted CDs/DVDs or computer and console games - simply specify the recipient's minimum age when you send your shipment (either 16+ or 18+). We'll make sure it is delivered safely.

With Visual Age Check, your parcel is released to the recipient in person or to anyone in the recipient's household but only if they are above the specified minimum age. The deliverer will ask for ID if the recipient/the person accepting the item is not obviously above the minimum age.

* DHL Paket offers various services which check the parcel recipient's identity and/or age at the time of delivery. For certain product groups, the purchaser's identity and age must be checked before items are sent. Deutsche Post provides other services for this, for example the comprehensive POSTIDENT range. It is the sender's responsibility to ensure that the chosen delivery service meets the legal requirements for the goods purchased by the customer. Please ask your trade association or lawyer for advice.

The Visual Age Check service is already included in your contract and can be ordered directly via DHL's dispatch logistics system ("Send" function in the Post & DHL Business Customer Portal). You can also use the service if you program your own systems in-house. Simply specify the recipient's minimum age (+16 or +18) and we will handle the age check for you at the point of delivery.

Send your parcels with Visual Age Check if they contain sensitive goods such as:

  • Alcohol and spirits
  • Tobacco products, e-cigarettes and accessories
  • CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs with a 16 or 18 age rating
  • Video games for computers and consoles with a 16 or 18 age rating
  • etc.

EUR 1.19 plus VAT, in addition to the parcel price

  Visual Age Check Named Person Only Ident-Check
Information required from sender

Minimum age
(16 or 18) 2

First name

Last name

First name

Last name

Date of birth and/or minimum age
Release to an authorized person  3  1 -
Check at the point of delivery ID checked if the recipient is not obviously above the specified minimum age ID checked only if the recipient is not personally known to the deliverer ID checked and documented
Price EUR 1.19 EUR 1.69 EUR 2.99

 

1 This requires a "specific" authorization to be issued, i.e. a letter with the following information: "Person XY is authorized to receive the item with the number 123 on my behalf" (the notification card meets this requirement). A general authorization such as "Person XY is authorized to represent me in postal matters." is not sufficient.
2 You must already have checked the age of the purchaser - and of the recipient if they are different - before you send the item.
3 Authorization can be given to anyone above the specified minimum age.

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