Does DHL Deliver on Sundays? Truth About Weekend Delivery
Have you ever been eagerly tracking a package only to realize it’s scheduled to arrive on a Sunday? With many shipping carriers taking weekends off, you may be wondering – does DHL deliver on Sundays?
The short answer is generally no, DHL does not offer Sunday delivery service in the United States. However, there are a few exceptions.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about DHL weekend delivery, including:
- DHL Saturday delivery policies
- Limited Sunday delivery options
- How weekend delivery works in other countries
- Factors that impact delivery times
- Alternative shipping carrier options
- And more
Let’s take a closer look at when you can expect your DHL packages to arrive!
DHL Saturday Delivery Policies: Limited Weekend Services
As a standard rule across the shipping industry, most major couriers and delivery services do not operate on Sundays. DHL is no exception to this rule in the United States.
But what about Saturdays?
DHL does offer Saturday delivery in some countries around the world. However, in the US, DHL delivery hours are typically Monday through Friday from 8am-6pm.
So unless you pay extra fees for specialized services (which we’ll cover next), your DHL packages will not be delivered on Saturdays or Sundays in the US.
Instead, your package will simply have its delivery delayed until the next business day (Monday, unless that Monday happens to be a postal holiday).
Paying Extra for Saturday DHL Delivery
Now, while Saturday delivery does not come standard, DHL does give you the option to pay more to receive your packages on Saturdays:
- For packages being shipped internationally, you can generally request Saturday delivery for a fee of 20 to 40 euros
- There is also a “Saturday delivery” option you can select when booking DHL deliveries on their website. This incurs an additional cost
So in short – yes Saturday DHL delivery is possible if you explicitly pay extra fees for this specialized service.
Limited DHL Sunday Delivery Exceptions
We’ve established the baseline that DHL does not deliver on Sundays, at least not as part of their standard U.S. delivery services.
But are there any exceptions where DHL could deliver your package on a Sunday?
As it turns out, there are a couple limited situations where your DHL parcel might land on your doorstep on a Sunday:
1. Emergency/Urgent Shipments
First and foremost, while quite rare, DHL does offer “emergency” or “urgent” shipping services in the US. This essentially serves as an expedited courier service to facilitate quick, time-sensitive deliveries.
And in some cases, DHL couriers may even deliver these urgent shipments on Sundays or outside normal business hours.
Of course, these emergency services come with a hefty upcharge. You’ll typically pay upwards of $100+ on top of the normal shipping costs to have your package delivered urgently on a Sunday.
So unless you absolutely need your item immediately, the extra costs are difficult to justify. Still, it’s an option for the most pressing delivery scenarios when money is no object.
2. USPS Contracts for Last-Mile Delivery
The second and more common way DHL packages can get delivered on Sundays relates to USPS partnerships.
Sometimes when shipping items, DHL will hand off packages to USPS couriers to complete the “last-mile” delivery. This helps DHL rely on USPS’s expansive local infrastructure to actually get parcels to customer doorsteps.
And since USPS does offer Sunday delivery services for some packages (like Amazon Prime items), DHL parcels that get routed through USPS may wind up arriving on Sundays as well.
So if you see USPS tracking updates on your DHL package, Sunday delivery becomes a possibility, however it is not guaranteed.
Weekend Delivery in Other Countries
So far we’ve focused exclusively on DHL’s delivery policies within the United States.
But what about elsewhere around the world?
Does DHL offer Saturday and Sunday delivery options internationally?
The answer is yes – DHL does provide far more extensive weekend delivery services when shipping to other countries like:
- Europe – DHL delivers 6 days a week (Monday through Saturday) in many European nations. You can also pay extra fees to receive DHL deliveries on Sundays
- Asia – Many Asian countries treat Saturdays and Sundays as normal business days. So DHL offers standard weekend delivery without extra charges
- Middle East – Similar to Asia, countries in the Middle East often enable DHL deliveries on Saturdays and Sundays
So if you’re shipping internationally, particularly to countries in the EU or Asia, weekend delivery becomes much more widely available.
Be sure to check delivery policies specific to your destination country when assessing weekend shipping options with DHL overseas.
Why Doesn’t DHL Offer Weekend Deliveries in the US?
Given that other carriers like FedEx and Amazon offer Sunday deliveries, you may be wondering…
Why doesn’t DHL offer weekend package delivery in the United States?
It really comes down to volume and money.
While DHL is a massive company globally, their share of the U.S. package delivery market is relatively small.
It’s simply not cost-effective for them to pay employees and operate fleets on weekends when they don’t have enough packages to deliver at scale.
However, as online shopping and ecommerce grows – leading to more DHL shipments – expanded weekend services may emerge. But for now, limited volume and tight margins prohibit Sunday delivery offerings.
Other Factors Impacting DHL Delivery Times
While weekends clearly play a role, there are other factors that can delay your DHL packages beyond the standard delivery estimates:
- Shipping speed – The faster the speed, the quicker your DHL parcel will arrive. But expedited shipping comes with much higher rates
- Weather – Inclement winter weather or natural disasters can randomly impact deliveries
- Holidays – DHL suspends delivery services on major postal holidays
- Pickup/drop-off times – When you actually hand off your package to DHL affects timelines
- Destination – The further a package has to travel, the longer the transit
And unfortunately, these delays are hard to predict. So always build some buffer room into your timelines when arranging urgent DHL deliveries.
Alternative Shipping Carriers That Deliver Weekends
If receiving your packages every single day is absolutely critical, DHL may not be the best fit since they don’t offer routine weekend deliveries in the U.S.
In that case, you may want to consider other shipping providers that do have Sunday operations:
- FedEx – FedEx Home Delivery packages can arrive on Sundays
- Amazon – Prime members get deliveries on weekends for no extra fees
- UPS – UPS SurePost utilizes USPS for Sunday delivery
Just beware that expanding delivery days often increases standard shipping rates. So weigh your priorities between cost and convenience when selecting the right logistics provider.
Or, explore starting your own local delivery fleet to control weekend options!
The Bottom Lines: No Sunday Delivery from DHL in the US
While DHL enables Saturday and Sunday delivery internationally, weekend package deliveries are not available from DHL in the United States currently.
You can occasionally receive DHL shipments on Sundays via USPS hand-offs. But otherwise, normal DHL delivery days are Monday through Friday in the U.S.
As ecommerce grows, expanded weekend services may emerge. But for now, DHL does not offer standard Sunday shipping without extra fees for expedited handling.
So be sure to account for DHL’s delivery limitations as you track packages and arrange time-sensitive item transfers!
