Carrier - DHL Express Troubleshooting Tips

Overview

If you are receiving error messages related to DHL Express, the article provides the troubleshooting tips to help you resolve the issue.

data.shipment.ship_to address is invalid

What does it mean

The error indicates that the address provided for the recipient of your shipment is incorrect or invalid.

How to solve

When you receive this message, our system in response might suggest a correct address, such as data.shipment.ship_to address is invalid, the correct address might be 133 MAIN STREET, METHVEN. Please update your ship_to address and try again . You can use the suggested address and retry the shipment.

If you are unsure about the validity of the address, you can use the DHL's address verification service like https://dct.dhl.com to find the correct city and state information using zip codes.



For the admin UI: Update the address details of the recipient in the order details directly from the admin interface.



For the API: If you are using API to manage shipments, update the shipment.ship_to address information in your API request payload.

error 8009: Shipper Billing Country must either be same as Billing Country of Shipment Origin or the Shipper Account must be an Impex Account

What does it mean

The error indicates that there is a mismatch between the billing country of the shipper and the billing country of the shipment origin.

How to resolve

Check that the billing country of the shipper matches the billing country of the shipment origin. Update the information if necessary to ensure they match.
If you need to ship from a different billing country than the shipper's, you need to set up your account as an Impex Account with DHL. Contact your DHL account manager to request the setup it.

data.service_type is not available for this request

What does it mean

The error indicates that the selected service_type is not available for the shipment for the type of request you are making.

How to solve

Double check if your service_type is correct. E.g. if you're handling an international shipment, you cannot use a domestic service for that.
Double check if your DHL account number is correct. The correct account number is crucial for determining which DHL services are available for the shipment destination and the associated rates.

data.customs.importer_address.tax_id_type should be equal to one of values [\"ioss\",\"gst\",\"vat\",\"eori\"]

What does it mean

The error indicates that the importer_address.tax_id_type does not meet the allowed input values.

How to solve

Update importer_address.tax_id_type value to be either of below allowed values: ioss, gst, vat, eori

data.invoice.number is a required property

What does it mean

The error indicates that the data.invoice.number is missing from the request payload. It's the required information for commercial invoice generation.

How to solve

Update your request payload to include invoice.number value when "invoice" object is present.

data.shipment.ship_from.email is invalid

What does it mean

The error indicates that the data.shipment.ship_from.email is invalid. DHL Express requires the email to be valid email address format when present.

How to solve

Update your request payload to ensure data.shipment.ship_from.email is a valid email address format.

data.shipment.ship_from.state is too short, minimum length is 2

What does it mean

The error indicates that the data.shipment.ship_from.state is invalid. DHL Express requires the state must be at least 2 chars when present.

How to solve

Update your request payload to ensure data.shipment.ship_from.state is a valid value with at least 2 chars.
If the country has no state, you can either skip this field or set it to null value.

Updated on: 07/04/2025