DHL Express + ReturnMate
DHL Express is the dominant international air-express network, with particularly strong coverage across Europe, APAC, and the Middle East. ReturnMate connects to the modern MyDHL API for label generation, rate quoting, live tracking, and courier pickup booking — giving merchants a genuine alternative to FedEx for time-definite international returns. Newly released in Beta: connect your own DHL Express account and run a test shipment before going live.
What the DHL Express connection actually does.
- DHL Express international and domestic labels via the MyDHL API
- Product selection across Express Worldwide, Domestic Express, and timed 9:00 / 12:00 services
- Live rate quoting from your account's contract rates
- Courier pickup booking with self-serve day and time-window selection
- Tracking sync mapped onto the RMA timeline
- Multi-package shipments with per-piece tracking numbers
Where it earns its place.
EU and APAC cross-border returns
DHL Express covers cross-border EU and APAC returns on a single carrier and account. For AU and NZ merchants with regional customers it's a direct alternative to FedEx International Priority, and rate quoting lets you compare per shipment.
High-value time-sensitive returns
For high-value items where transit speed matters — luxury goods, time-critical electronics, advance-replacement swaps — DHL Express's 1–3 day international services keep the repair or refund clock short.
Scheduled pickup from the customer
Returns can be booked as courier collections from the customer's address, with the pickup day and window chosen in the portal, or generated as drop-off labels for any DHL ServicePoint.
How DHL Express gets connected.
Carrier accounts are set up by our team, not by you. We contact DHL Express directly, obtain API access against your existing commercial account, and apply it — so you never have to source or handle API credentials.
- You send us three things
Your existing DHL Express account number, written authority for ReturnMate to contact them on your behalf, and your account manager's name, email and phone number.
- We contact DHL Express
Our support team requests API access against your account and handles the paperwork and technical back-and-forth with the carrier.
- We apply the credentials
Credentials are stored encrypted against your shop. They are never shown to you and never need to be — there is nothing for you to paste or maintain.
- We test it end to end
We generate a test label — including the dangerous goods transport document where it applies — and confirm it works before the carrier goes live for your team.
Turnaround varies by carrier, depending on how quickly they issue API access. Support confirms the expected timeline for DHL Express when you start onboarding. Don't have an account with them yet? We can help you set one up.
Questions about DHL Express.
What does Beta mean for DHL Express?
The integration is deployed and available to connect today — labels, rates, tracking, and pickups are all wired end-to-end against the MyDHL API. Beta means it's newly released and still accumulating real-world merchant mileage, so we recommend a test shipment on your own account before going live, and we may adjust behaviour as usage grows.
Does DHL Express handle dangerous goods through ReturnMate?
Not yet. DHL Express itself carries many DG classes, but ReturnMate's DG document generation for DHL is still in development — DG-flagged SKUs are automatically routed to FedEx (or TNT/StarTrack in AU) instead, and DHL is blocked for those shipments so nothing non-compliant can be booked.
Is this the same as DHL Parcel or DHL eCommerce?
No — DHL runs several separate networks with separate APIs. This integration is DHL Express (international air express). German domestic DHL Paket is covered by the separate DHL Parcel (Germany) integration. DHL eCommerce is on the roadmap.
Ask about the DHL Express integration.
Tell us how you ship with DHL Express
Volumes, lanes, whether you already have an account — we'll come back within one business day.
Often set up together.
FedEx
Global Ship/Rate/Track/Pickup for US, Canada, EU and rest-of-world. OAuth2 REST API for non-AU merchants.
View integration →CarriersUPS
Global Ship/Rate/Track/Pickup for US, Canada, EU. OAuth2 Basic Auth REST API as a primary or backup non-AU carrier.
View integration →CarriersDHL Parcel (Germany)
DHL Paket for German merchants — Parcel DE Shipping API labels, Warenpost, EU products, and cancellation on your GKP account.
View integration →CarriersAramex
Global cross-border labels, rates, tracking, and pickups via the Aramex Shipping Services API. Strong across MENA and APAC.
View integration →CarriersDPD (UK)
UK labels, collections, and tracking via the DPD UK API. Next Day, Two Day, and Expresspak services on your DPD account.
View integration →Wire your stack together.
Start free — 5 returns a month on the Free plan, no credit card required. Billed through Shopify.