International shipping involves more than choosing the right carrier or service. Every cross-border shipment from your Shopify store requires customs documentation, and how you handle that documentation directly affects how fast your parcels clear customs and reach customers. DHL Paperless Trade is a solution to one of the most time-consuming parts of international fulfillment: the physical paperwork.
For Shopify merchants shipping internationally with DHL Express, understanding and enabling Paperless Trade can speed up clearance, reduce errors, and simplify what is often the most tedious part of international fulfillment.
In This Article
- What Is DHL Paperless Trade?
- How DHL Paperless Trade Works in Shopify
- Benefits of DHL Paperless Trade for Shopify Merchants
- Documents Supported by DHL Paperless Trade in Shopify
- Requirements Before Using DHL Paperless Trade in Shopify
- Use DHL Paperless Trade with the PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label App
- Best Practices for DHL Paperless Trade on Shopify
- Conclusion
- FAQs
What Is DHL Paperless Trade?
DHL offers a Paperless Trade (PLT) service that permits shippers to send certain documentation accompanying the shipment electronically, eliminating the need for printed copies of documents.
In practical terms, this means that instead of printing your commercial invoice or other customs paperwork and physically attaching it to your shipment, you upload or generate the documents digitally and transmit them to customs authorities through DHL’s systems before the package even leaves your hands.
Paperless Clearance allows you to electronically transmit documents to Customs, eliminating the need to print and manually attach them to shipments.
For Shopify merchants who regularly ship internationally with DHL Express, this removes a manual step from every single outbound order. The complete DHL Express setup guide for Shopify covers the broader shipping workflow.
How DHL Paperless Trade Works in Shopify
DHL’s Paperless Trade service lets you prepare, generate, and electronically transmit your customs documents without the need to print and physically attach paperwork to your shipments. This fully online system streamlines the export process by sending documents directly to customs authorities, speeding up clearance and reducing manual effort.
The process fits into your existing shipment preparation:
- When creating a shipment, Paperless Trade activation prompts you to submit customs documents electronically.
- You can use a DHL-generated invoice, upload your own, or create documents directly within the platform.
- Paperless Trade is integrated into DHL’s online shipping applications: MyDHL+ and MyDHL API. You only need to activate Paperless Trade once; thereafter, the option of Paperless Trade will be shown automatically as you prepare your shipments.
This makes Paperless Trade a one-time setup with persistent benefits across all future eligible international shipments.
Benefits of DHL Paperless Trade for Shopify Merchants
Shopify merchants who ship internationally frequently deal with documentation bottlenecks. Paperless Trade addresses these directly; the key benefits are:
- Save time and reduce costs: Save time and reduce costs for printing and extra resources to attach customs paperwork to your shipment. For stores fulfilling dozens or hundreds of international orders per week, this compounds into significant time savings.
- Faster customs clearance: Avoid delays as customs documents can be submitted on time to facilitate customs clearance. Faster clearance means faster delivery, which directly affects customer satisfaction and repeat purchase rates.
- Sustainable shipping: Sustainable shipping with less paper and printing supplies. Reducing paper use is increasingly relevant for merchants who want their operations to reflect responsible business practices.
- Improved accuracy: Manual data entry is prone to human error. Paperless trade reduces this risk by enabling accurate data transmission, especially crucial for customs clearance where precision is essential.
- Customized invoices: Paperless Trade allows you to include digital signatures and company logos to reinforce your brand identity and ensure consistency in your documentation.
These advantages matter at every scale. Whether you’re handling ten international orders a week or several hundred, the combination of speed, accuracy, and reduced overhead is meaningful for how you run your DHL Express shipping in Shopify.
Documents Supported by DHL Paperless Trade in Shopify
DHL Paperless Trade covers the core customs documents required for most international shipments. Documents supported include Commercial Invoices, Proforma Invoices, and Certificates of Origin.
If your shipments require additional documentation beyond these, DHL also allows you to upload supplementary forms directly within the platform.
This is especially relevant for merchants shipping regulated product categories or to markets with specific documentation requirements.
Understanding which documents apply to your shipment destinations is part of building a compliant international shipping workflow. The guide to DHL Express for international shipping in Shopify covers the broader customs landscape in more detail.
Requirements Before Using DHL Paperless Trade in Shopify
Before you can transmit customs documents via Paperless Trade, a few things need to be in order:
1. An active DHL Express business account
You need a DHL Express business account with API access enabled. Your site ID, password, and account number are required to connect DHL Express to your Shopify store and to access PLT functionality.
2. PLT-eligible destination
Not all destination countries support DHL Paperless Trade. This is determined based on the destination country’s customs authority requirements.
3. Accurate product and shipment data in Shopify
The quality of your electronically transmitted documents depends entirely on the accuracy of the data behind them. Before enabling PLT, make sure:
- All products have accurate descriptions, weights, and declared values
- HS Codes are correctly assigned per product
- Your ship-from address is correctly configured in Shopify settings
- Currency and incoterms are correctly set for each destination region
Use DHL Paperless Trade with the PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label App
For Shopify merchants who want DHL Paperless Trade to work within their existing Shopify, the PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label app by PluginHive provides an integrated path.
The app connects your Shopify store directly to your DHL Express account and supports PLT as part of the label generation and customs documentation workflow. Here is how it works in practice:
- Connect your DHL Express account: Enter your DHL site ID, password, and account number inside the app. This establishes the API connection that powers live rates, label generation, and PLT document transmission.
- Configure customs document settings: Within the app’s DHL settings, enable the Paperless Trade option. Once enabled, the system generates and transmits customs documents electronically when you create the label, with no separate step required.
Generate labels and documents together: When you create a DHL Express label for an international order, the app handles both the physical label and the electronic customs documentation simultaneously. No printing, no attaching, no separate upload step.
Manage in bulk: For stores with high international order volumes, the app supports bulk label generation, which means Paperless Trade documents are transmitted in bulk as well. This is where the time savings become most significant.
Best Practices for DHL Paperless Trade on Shopify
Getting the most out of Paperless Trade requires a few operational habits:
- Keep HS codes current and accurate: HS codes are the foundation of customs classification. Incorrect codes can create documentation mismatches and cause the customs delays PLT is designed to prevent. Review codes whenever you add new product categories.
- Use accurate declared values: Submitting full and accurate data when completing international shipping documentation is essential. Undervaluing shipments creates compliance risk; overvaluing creates unnecessary duty costs for customers.
- Verify PLT availability per destination: Before relying on PLT for a new shipping corridor, confirm that the destination country supports electronic document submission.
- Pair PLT with DDP where appropriate: Combining Paperless Trade with a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) arrangement removes customs cost surprises for international customers and simplifies the end-to-end delivery experience.
Conclusion
DHL Paperless Trade takes one of the most repetitive parts of international shipping, printing and attaching customs paperwork, and eliminates it entirely. For Shopify merchants shipping internationally with DHL Express, enabling PLT means faster customs clearance, fewer documentation errors, and a simpler dispatch workflow that scales cleanly with order volume.
The PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label app brings DHL Paperless Trade directly into your Shopify dashboard, so generating labels and transmitting customs documents happen in one step, without toggling between platforms. If international DHL Express shipping is a consistent part of your business, PLT is one of the simplest improvements you can make to your fulfilment workflow.
FAQs
Q. Is DHL Paperless Trade free to use?
Yes. Paperless Trade is a free-of-charge service through which you can forward key export documents digitally.
Q. Do I still need to print any documents when using PLT?
There is no need to print and affix your documents to your package. Paperless Clearance allows you to electronically transmit documents to Customs, eliminating the need to print and manually attach them to shipments.
Q. Can I use PLT through the PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label app?
Yes. The PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label app supports DHL Paperless Trade as part of its DHL Express integration, allowing you to generate labels and transmit customs documents simultaneously from within Shopify.
