Does DHL Deliver To PO Boxes

If you want to ship something quickly, like a rental lease document or a birthday present, you may look into DHL’s express next-day delivery services. The company handles high-volume domestic and international next-day shipping around the world. They treat your packages as a top priority, and you’re paying for it! The company currently has 197 planes in service as of December 2022 and owns six leading airlines. If the person you are trying to ship to offers you an address with a PO box, can you still use DHL?

Using a workaround strategy, DHL will ship to a PO box. You cannot use the exact PO box address, but you can address the shipment like it’s going to an apartment.

DHL’s expertise is fast “door-to-door courier delivery” with a signature. Private shipping companies like FedEx and UPS do not claim to ship to PO boxes either, but we will explain how you can do this with a trick. The United States Postal Service owns and protects PO boxes inside their facilities but allows outside couriers to drop packages off.

If you are wondering why people use PO boxes, other services offered by DHL, and this special workaround for addressing your shipment to a PO box using another private courier besides the USPS, you should keep reading.

Why would you use DHL?

DHL is best known for its international shipping services. The logistics company does offer domestic shipping within the United States for packages and express mail. You can get your items delivered the next day across the country.

The company’s fleshed-out air, train, ocean, and road freight services appeal to people looking to ship things quickly domestically and overseas. Your shipment takes quite the journey.

If you want to ship something domestically within the U.S., you can go to www.dhl.com to prepare a local pick-up directly from your home. You can select express services for your documents or package to be shipped by the next day, for a high cost, of course.

DHL Express services promise to deliver high-speed transit of your mail. On DHL’s services page, you can find “urgent, time-sensitive” services for help with your delivery, with money-back guarantees. The express service offers delivery notifications, delivery management, and tracking visibility. DHL Express also includes customs clearance facilitation, clearing millions of documents and packages to be delivered internationally.

A workaround trick for delivery to PO boxes

Usually, PO boxes are used internally for USPS customers, and only USPS employees have access to knowing which postal service facility the boxes are located in. If you are renting a PO box, USPS offers an additional service, enabling you to receive deliveries from companies outside of the postal service.

If you use a “street addressing style” on your shipment, the package will be treated like it’s going to an apartment.

The street addressing style is explained here, allowing items shipped by companies like FedEx, UPS, Amazon, and DHL to be deposited at your PO box location. A USPS employee then directs the shipment to your PO box, so long as it is labeled with the correct number for you.

A vlogger on “Coffee Talk” also describes the workaround to use a PO box without shipping through the USPS. If you address the item to the postal office’s physical location with the number of the PO box addressed like you are shipping to an apartment, it will get to your PO box. For example, you would write “123 Postal Service Lane #123,” followed by the city, state, and zip code.

Why would you use PO Boxes?

The United States Postal Service knows exactly which specific post office any given PO box number is in. When you address an envelope or a package to a PO box, the couriers look at the PO box and the zip code to find which facility to deliver the item to.

When you rent a PO box, you are given a personal key to retrieve your mail. PO boxes are only opened by employees of the USPS and yourself when you check your mail.

The benefits listed on www.usps.com for renting a PO box include “speed, privacy, security, convenience, and mobility.” The company claims mail is delivered earlier in the day to PO boxes before going to businesses or home addresses.

The shipments are kept safe until they are picked up, as the boxes are locked and only opened by employees of the USPS. A top benefit for some is the privacy you get with a PO box and not having to list your personal or home address on your business.

If a courier from another company arrives, such as DHL, FedEx, or UPS, with an item, addressed using the workaround discussed above, a USPS employee will sign for your item and direct it to your PO box.

PO boxes typically range in size from extra small at 5 inches wide to large at 11 inches wide. If the package is too large and does not fit inside your PO Box, the employee will leave you a note for you to pick it up at the counter. Sometimes post office facilities have larger lockers for this reason and will leave a locker key with a note in your PO box.

Should you give your PO box address to your shipper?

No, give your shipper the “street address style” for your PO box described above. You do not need to let your shipper know you are using a PO box address. 

Imagine giving your shipper your PO box and finally reaching the cashier at UPS only to find out they cannot ship this to your PO box. They will have to get out of line and contact you. Cashiers may or may not know this workaround trick, either. Without this information, you wouldn’t want to leave them hanging at the cashier. Give them your PO box address in the “street addressing style.”

They won’t know the difference, and neither will the shipper. These shipments are accepted by the USPS facility hosting your PO box. If addressed correctly, write your PO box as a number like “#123,” the employees at the USPS facility will sign for and redirect your package to your box.