How to Fill Out and Submit the DHL Shipper’s Letter of Instructions (SLI)

The DHL Shipper’s Letter of Instructions is a signed form that authorizes DHL to act as your agent and file your Electronic Export Information (EEI) with the U.S. government through the Automated Export System (AES) before your goods leave the country. You complete it, sign the Power of Attorney section, and hand it off, either as a PDF uploaded through MyDHL+ or as a printed page given to the courier at pickup. The mechanics are straightforward once you have your export data ready; the delays come from missing fields, missing signatures, or getting it to DHL after the AES filing window has closed.

Where to Get the Form

DHL Global Forwarding publishes its SLI as a fillable PDF in its documentation center on dhl.com.1DHL. Documentation Center for Freight Shipping If you ship through DHL Express instead of Global Forwarding, the SLI often appears as an integrated web form during label creation in MyDHL+. The information requested is the same either way.

DHL’s version bundles a Power of Attorney section into the same document, so you do not need a separate authorization form to let DHL file on your behalf.

When You Actually Need an EEI Filing

The SLI drives a government filing only when your shipment triggers the EEI requirement under the Foreign Trade Regulations. EEI must be filed when any single commodity classification in the shipment is valued above $2,500.2eCFR. 15 CFR Part 30 – Foreign Trade Regulations The threshold is per Schedule B number, not per shipment total. Three different products at $2,000 each do not trigger it; one product line at $2,600 does.

Some shipments require EEI filing at any value:

  • Anything requiring an export license from the Department of Commerce, State, or another licensing agency.
  • Items on the U.S. Munitions List under ITAR.
  • Rough diamonds subject to the Kimberley Process.
  • Shipments to embargoed or sanctioned destinations.

If your shipment falls below $2,500 and none of the exceptions apply, note the exemption on your shipping documents with the citation “NO EEI 30.37(a)” in place of an Internal Transaction Number.3eCFR. 15 CFR 30.37 You still complete the SLI with product and consignee details; only the government filing step drops out.

What to Gather Before You Fill It Out

Assemble every piece of information below before opening the form. A blank field bounces the SLI back and forces you to start over on timing.

USPPI Identification

The U.S. Principal Party in Interest is generally the exporter, meaning the party that receives the primary benefit from the transaction. Every EEI filing requires the USPPI’s Employer Identification Number.4eCFR. 15 CFR 30.6 – Electronic Export Information Data Elements If your company has multiple EINs, use the one tied to employee wage and withholding reporting. Borrowing another company’s EIN is prohibited. Foreign entities without an EIN can provide a border crossing number, passport number, or a number assigned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Ultimate Consignee

You need the full legal name and street address of the final recipient in the destination country. A P.O. box will not satisfy the USPPI address of origin requirement, and incomplete consignee details will fail the security screening built into AES.4eCFR. 15 CFR 30.6 – Electronic Export Information Data Elements

Schedule B Number

Every commodity in the shipment needs a 10-digit Schedule B classification. The first six digits match the international Harmonized System code; the last four are specific to U.S. exports.5International Trade Administration. Harmonized System (HS) Codes Look up your product through the Census Bureau’s Schedule B search tool.6U.S. Census Bureau. Schedule B A wrong number can delay the shipment and lead to incorrect duty assessments at the destination.

Export Control Classification Number

If the product has military, intelligence, or dual-use applications, it may be controlled under the Export Administration Regulations. The Bureau of Industry and Security assigns five-character ECCNs to identify such items.7Bureau of Industry and Security. Classify Your Item Search for your ECCN on the interactive Commerce Control List.8Bureau of Industry and Security. Interactive Commerce Control List The classification determines whether an export license is required, and without that license DHL cannot move the shipment.

Value, Weight, Quantity, and Incoterms

The SLI asks for the transaction value, weight, quantity, and unit price of each item, plus the Incoterms rule governing the sale. The Incoterms rule spells out who is responsible for freight, insurance, and risk at each stage. Incoterms 2020 includes 11 options; exporters most commonly use EXW, FOB, and CIF.9International Trade Administration. Know Your Incoterms The choice affects how shipment value is reported and who bears liability in transit.

Filling In the SLI

With your documents ready, the fields on the form map directly to the mandatory data elements AES requires. In addition to the identification and product information above, you complete:

  • Date of export: the scheduled date goods will leave the U.S. port.
  • U.S. state of origin: the two-character postal code for the state where the goods begin their trip to the port of export.
  • Country of ultimate destination: where the goods will be consumed, processed, stored, or manufactured, not a transit country.
  • Method of transportation: air, vessel, truck, rail, or other.
  • Port of export: the CBP seaport, airport, or border crossing where the goods leave the country.
  • Related party indicator: whether the USPPI and ultimate consignee share a 10 percent or greater ownership relationship.
  • Domestic or foreign indicator: whether the goods originated in the U.S. or are foreign-origin goods being re-exported.
  • Commodity description: a plain-English description detailed enough to verify the Schedule B number.

Each corresponds to a mandatory AES data element.4eCFR. 15 CFR 30.6 – Electronic Export Information Data Elements A blank or inaccurate entry stops DHL from completing the electronic filing.

Signing the Power of Attorney Section

This is where most of the legal weight sits. Signing the Power of Attorney or Agent Designation section formally authorizes DHL to prepare and file EEI on your behalf as your agent.10eCFR. 15 CFR 30.3 The regulations require the authorization to name the agent as your “true and lawful agent” for creating and filing EEI in accordance with U.S. law. DHL’s version covers customs entry, export declarations, and related documents.11DHL. Power of Attorney and Designation As Export Forwarding Agent

Without a signed authorization, DHL cannot legally transmit your export data, and the shipment will not clear the port. If you ship regularly, a single standing Power of Attorney may cover multiple transactions, but read the language: some authorizations are transaction-specific and others are open-ended.

Screen the Buyer Before You Send the SLI

Before finalizing the SLI, check whether your consignee, the end user, or any intermediary appears on a U.S. government restricted party list. The International Trade Administration’s Consolidated Screening List compiles lists from the Departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury into a single searchable tool, including the Entity List, the Denied Persons List, the Unverified List, and the Military End User List.12International Trade Administration. Consolidated Screening List

BIS also publishes red-flag indicators that should trigger further investigation: a buyer reluctant to provide end-use information, a residential shipping address for industrial equipment, or an order inconsistent with the buyer’s stated business.13Bureau of Industry and Security. Identify Red Flags Shipping to a restricted party, even unknowingly, can bring penalties on every participant in the transaction.

Filing Deadlines by Transport Mode

EEI must be accepted and the Internal Transaction Number returned before the goods leave the country, and the deadline depends on how they travel:14eCFR. 15 CFR 30.4 – Electronic Export Information Filing Procedures

  • Vessel cargo: 24 hours before loading at the U.S. port.
  • Air cargo, including air express couriers like DHL Express: 2 hours before scheduled aircraft departure.
  • Truck cargo, including express consignment couriers: 1 hour before the truck arrives at the U.S. border.
  • Rail cargo: 2 hours before the train arrives at the border.
  • Used self-propelled vehicles: 72 hours before export.

Those deadlines mean DHL needs the completed SLI well ahead of pickup, not the day of. For air shipments the two-hour window is tight, and DHL typically needs the SLI and supporting paperwork hours before that to process the filing in time. A late SLI usually means the package waits for the next available departure.

Submitting the SLI to DHL

You have three practical ways to get the signed document to DHL:

  • Upload it through MyDHL+ during shipment creation. The portal’s Digital Customs Invoice feature (also called Paperless Trade) accepts the SLI and other customs paperwork electronically, with a 5 MB total file size limit for all documents per shipment. Click “Submit” to finalize.
  • Print the signed SLI and give it to the DHL courier at pickup. This suits one-off shipments or locations without reliable internet.
  • Email the SLI to a DHL customs brokerage desk. This is common for complex shipments that need manual review, such as hazardous goods, licensed items, or high-value cargo.

Whichever channel you pick, DHL must have the completed form before the filing deadline. An unsigned SLI or one with blank mandatory fields will come back for correction.

After Submission: the ITN and Five-Year Records

Once DHL receives your SLI, it transmits the data to AES as your authorized agent. When AES accepts the filing, it returns an Internal Transaction Number, an alphanumeric code that serves as proof the government accepted the data.15U.S. Census Bureau. Filing in AESDirect – How Do You Find Your Internal Transaction Number The ITN, or an exemption legend for exempt shipments, must reach the exporting carrier before departure.

Keep the ITN. All parties to the transaction, including the USPPI, any authorized agent, and the carrier, must retain export documents for five years from the date of export.16eCFR. 15 CFR 30.10 During that period the Census Bureau, CBP, ICE, and BIS can request shipping documents, invoices, packing lists, and correspondence.

Fixing Errors After Filing

If you discover an error in the EEI after it has been submitted, whether a wrong value, incorrect Schedule B number, or a changed destination, the correction must be transmitted to AES as soon as the error is known.17eCFR. 15 CFR 30.9 – Transmitting and Correcting Electronic Export Information The regulation sets no grace period. Failing to correct a known error is itself a violation. Contact DHL’s brokerage team as soon as you notice the mistake; they can amend the AES filing electronically on your behalf.

Routed Export Transactions

If the foreign buyer arranges shipping and picks the carrier, the transaction is “routed” and the filing responsibilities shift. The foreign principal party in interest designates a U.S. agent, often a freight forwarder, to prepare and file the EEI.10eCFR. 15 CFR 30.3

You are still on the hook as the USPPI. You must give the FPPI’s agent accurate export data, including the ECCN, Schedule B number, quantity, value, and country of ultimate destination, and you remain liable for the accuracy of what you provide. Keep documentation of what you handed over; the five-year retention rule applies here too. One practical difference: in a routed transaction you do not need to give the FPPI’s agent a power of attorney or written authorization, because the FPPI’s own authorization to its agent handles the filing authority.10eCFR. 15 CFR 30.3

Hazardous or Dangerous Goods

If the shipment includes chemicals, lithium batteries, compressed gases, or other dangerous goods, the SLI on its own is not enough. You will also need a Dangerous Goods Declaration listing the UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, packing group, quantity and packaging details, flash point for flammable liquids, and a 24/7 emergency contact. The declaration must be linked to the shipment by Air Waybill or Bill of Lading number and carry an authorized signature. Note the presence of dangerous goods on the SLI so DHL routes the shipment through the correct handling channel. Undeclared hazardous contents can lead to refusal, seizure, or destruction of the shipment.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Under 13 U.S.C. § 305, knowingly failing to file EEI or knowingly submitting false or misleading information carries a criminal penalty of up to $10,000 per violation, up to five years in prison, or both.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 13 USC 305 Using AES to further any illegal activity carries the same maximum. Civil penalties under the Foreign Trade Regulations are adjusted periodically for inflation and can attach to unintentional errors as well. BIS has identified semiconductor manufacturing equipment and shipments to China and Russia as enforcement priorities, and recent settlements have required companies to conduct multiple audits and file annual certifications with the agency.19Bureau of Industry and Security. News and Updates Careful SLI preparation is far cheaper than the audit that follows a careless one.