Depending on whether your shipment is from abroad (import) or going abroad (export), the customs clearance process takes place either in Germany or abroad. 

Your shipment has arrived at the responsible Deutsche Post DHL customs clearance location (for shipments from abroad) or at the delivery partner in the destination country (for shipments going abroad). The customs clearance process has started at this location. This process may take several working days depending on the completeness of the necessary documents or data.

Important: Please do not contact German customs if you wish to receive information about the status of your shipment. The shipment in question is usually not physically located in the area of German customs.

Depending on whether your shipment is from abroad (import) or going abroad (export), the customs clearance process takes place either in Germany or abroad.

Currently your shipment is in the process of customs clearance at Deutsche Post DHL (for shipments from abroad) or in the process of customs clearance in the destination country (for shipments going abroad). Below are some reasons why the process of your shipment may be delayed:

• Waiting for additional documents from the sender (e.g. missing invoice, incomplete customs declaration CN22/23), which are mandatory for customs clearance
• Electronic customs data ("ITMATT data") must be added to the shipment 
• Inspection of the shipment

Important: Please do not contact German customs if you wish to receive information on the status of your shipment. The related shipment is usually not physically located in the realm of German customs.

Your shipment has been successfully cleared through customs and will now be transferred to the import processing parcel centre of Deutsche Post DHL (for shipments from abroad) or to the delivery partner in the destination country (for shipments abroad).

For further updates on your shipment, please refer to the DHL shipment tracking system or to the belonging tracking system of the delivery partner in the destination country. Your shipment will arrive soon.

The shipment cannot be delivered. Usually, the shipment will be returned to the sender. Below are some reasons for exclusion or return of the shipment:

• A notified shipment was not picked up at the post office branch/parcel shop/Packstation/parcel locker within the storage period.
• A shipment could not be cleared for import due to missing, insufficient customs documents (e.g. customs declaration of contents in wrong language, missing commercial invoice)
• The recipient did not pay the import duties
• Import of prohibited or restricted goods
• Missing electronic customs data that were not sent along by the sender
• Other, e.g. the shipment does not meet the shipping requirements of the destination country/area (allowed dimensions, etc.) or has an incorrect shipment number from the country of origin 

Unfortunately, the return shipment cannot be stopped for operational as well as liability reasons.

Further explanations and assistance on the topic of customs for shipments from abroad can be found here.

If you have registered for your own customs clearance in Germany (so-called "Selbstverzoller") the shipment will be handed over to the dedicated German customs office responsible for the recipient's address. For this purpose, a so-called PÜB number (Postübergabebogennummer) is assigned and sent to the recipient of the shipment by notification letter. This contains all the necessary information (including the PÜB number) for collecting the shipment from the customs office. 

Please allow two working days for the letter with the customs information to arrive. In case you have not received the notification letter on the third working day - please contact our customer service.

Due to security regulations (e.g. aviation security/dangerous goods), shipments may be subject to additional inspection in the country of origin. This check will take at least 2 working days. We may ask for a little patience.

The security check (e.g. aviation security/dangerous goods) on your shipment has been successfully completed and no irregularities have been detected. Your shipment will now be forwarded to the country/area of destination.

The shipment may not be forwarded to the country/region of destination and will be returned to the sender. There may be various reasons for the return:

• Your shipment contains dangerous goods (e.g. rechargeable batteries, batteries, liquids).
• The required documents (e.g. customs declaration) for the customs clearance processing the destination country/area are incomplete or incorrect.

You can find a factsheet (in German only) and further information on the topic of dangerous goods here.

Your shipment is prepared for safe onward transport and assigned to a transport container. In the next step, the transport container is booked onto a transport (e.g. flight) to the destination country/area.

The transport container with your shipment is assigned to a transport (e.g. flight). In the case of transport by air, the next step is the departure on the booked flight. In rare cases, the booking is cancelled by the airline. The shipment is then directly assigned to a new flight. The medium of transport (aircraft, ship or train) varies by destination country/destination area. Depending on freight and flight capacities, shipments are sometimes transported directly or with a stopover to the destination country/destination area.

The originally planned transport for the transport container was cancelled (e.g. due to lack of transport capacity). The transport container with the shipment is assigned to the next available transport. 

The international transport has started. Your shipment is now on the way to the destination area/region. The code listed shows the transport company and the corresponding transport number.

Example: LH 400 stands for a Lufthansa flight with the number 400.

The transport medium ( aircraft, ship or train) with your shipment has arrived at the airport, port or railway station. Once the destination country/destination area has been reached, the next step is to hand the shipment over to the delivery partner or the foreign postal company. If the destination country/destination has not yet been reached, further transport will be arranged.

The transport container with your shipment has been taken over by the delivery partner or the foreign postal company in the destination country. The next step is to scan the individual shipments in the destination country/area. 

For further updates on your shipment, please refer to the DHL shipment tracking system or that of the delivery partner in the destination country. Your shipment will arrive soon.

If the delivery person/postman is unable to reach the recipient at home and no family member or neighbor can accept the shipment, the shipment will be taken to a nearby post office/parcel store or dropped off to a Packstation/parcel locker and will be stored in this location for 7 to 14 working days (depending on the destination country). There, the shipment can be picked up by the recipient or an authorized representative before it is returned to the sender - after the storage period has expired. 

In certain countries, deliveries are exclusively made through post offices, parcel stores, Packstation/parcel locker. The type of delivery depends on the standard in the respective destination country and the booked shipping option by the sender.

The actual drop-off location (e.g. post office branch, parcel store, Packstation/parcel locker) is displayed to the recipient in the shipment tracking of the delivery partner. In case the delivery partner has the contact details of the recipient, an additional notification will be sent to the recipient via email/SMS.  

You can find further explanations about the destination country and the respective storage period on the country pages.

The delivery attempt has been unsuccessful. The delivery person/postman did not reach the recipient at home: It was also not possible to make a compensatory delivery to a family member or neighbor either. Depending on the country, the next step is forwarding the shipment to a nearby post office branch/parcel store or a another delivery attempt will be arranged.