Tracking FAQs

We strongly advise you to make a record of your waybill number or request it from the Sender before contacting DHL, as it is not usually possible to locate a shipment without it.. However, if you have the shipper's reference number and know what date the shipment was picked up, you can use our online Shipper’s Reference Tracking service, otherwise please contact customer service.

There could be various reasons. Please ensure that you have selected the appropriate tracking system for your shipment.. Alternatively is may be related to the tracking number you are using. The DHL Express Waybill for Time Definite shipments is a 10 digit numeric number (e.g. 1234567890, 2345678901), so please recheck the number and try again. These numbers are located above the barcode on the printed Waybill and should be entered without spaces. For DHL EUROPACK and DHL ECONOMY SELECT shipments, please select DHL EUROPACK/ECONOMY SELECT Identcode or DHL EUROPACK/ECONOMY SELECT Reference from the dropdown list to track international Intra-European shipments. These tracking number s are 18 digits and usually start with JD000. For domestic shipments within Ireland, shipments have a a 12 digit parcel number.

If you are unsure of the shipment type or continue to receive an error message, please contact Customer Service

DHL periodically recycles shipment waybill numbers for operational reasons. Occasionally this results in information being in our systems at the same time for two shipments travelling under the same waybill number. DHL is working hard to eliminate these occurrences. However, in the meantime, please be assured that while this information may be confusing, your physical shipment will be heading to its correct destination and be receiving the same careful attention as every other shipment in our network.

This usually occurs if the information we have is insufficient to track the shipment for you. The address may be incorrect and we require clarification or some additional information may be required. Generally this is because the DHL office making the delivery need to confirm the recipient's contact details. Occasionally there may be technical problems preventing the Waybill being tracked on the web. The matter can be resolved very quickly by contacting Customer Service.

The Collection and Delivery destinations shown on the DHL Express tracking results are based on the destination of the Service Station location providing that collection and delivery. Please be assured that your shipment is being delivered to the destination provided by you when you completed the waybill for your shipment(s).

For shipments that have not yet been delivered, you can sign up for email or SMS/Text message notifications to receive delivery status updates. This saves you time – you don’t have to go online again to track your shipment.

DHL provide a number of different online tracking systems for our customers for Air Express, Road Express, Road Freight, Air Cargo and Sea shipments as appropriate.

To track an Air Express shipment please enter a 10 digit Waybill number. This is located above the barcode on the printed waybill and should be entered without spaces. The tracking system holds shipment information for the past 90 days. For older shipments please contact Customer Services for tracking information.

For Road Express you can use either an 18 digit Europlus Identcode (usually starting JD00) or a 12 digit Parcel Number. These numbers are entered in either the Ireland & UK Road Express Tracking or European Road Express Tracking as appropriate.

Parcels sent from Germany using DHL Paket International and Paketmarke EU Economy services are routed through the international postal network rather than the DHL Express network, where tracking numbers are 12 digit numeric and can be tracked at nolp.dhl.de

Business to Business shipments sent using DHL Freight, DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Exel Supply Chain services can be tracked using DHL Interactive tracking.

Note that it is not possible to track parcels sent using Deutsche Post / DHL GlobalMail mail services.

Tracking information is usually only available on the web when the shipment has arrived in a DHL warehouse. In general this is on the evening of the day it is collected from the sender. If you have received an automatic email from the sender with the shipment details please ensure that it has been collected by DHL before attempting to track it.

For Air Express shipments tracking information will remain on the web for 90 days after delivery. If you wish to track a shipment after this time you will need to contact DHL Customer Services with the Waybill number and as much other information as possible to assist them in retrieving the details.

If you are using the Air Express Fast Track to track your shipment then check our 'Tracking FAQs' to ensure that you are using a valid tracking number and then try 'More Tracking Options' to see if there is an alternative tracking system available.

DHL operates a number of large Express Hubs around the world. In general shipments are routed through these hubs rather than traveling directly from origin to destination airport. Also note that 'Location Service Area' shown will be the nearest DHL airport rather than the nearest DHL office (e.g. the majority of shipments collected in Leinster will be shown with Dublin as the origin).

The tracking system can take up to 10 separate Waybill numbers at a time. To separate the numbers please uses spaces or newlines. If the system fails to track a group of Waybill numbers please try to track them one at a time to improve performance.

The barcode on your shipment is scanned at a number of locations along its journey. In general we aim to upload the information from each check point within 15 minutes of the scan taking place. Remember that your shipment may be carried on a long haul flight or may be held in a warehouse over a weekend where it will not usually be scanned. There can also be delays uploading tracking information from remote areas or where part of the delivery is made outside our Air Express network.

Use the 'File' then 'Print' options at the top of your browser to print the tracking results screen. Highlight and copy the full Web Address in the results screen then paste it into an email if you wish to mail the details.