USPS Delivered Duty Paid
A sender who chooses this at the point of shipping folds the duty, tax and a service charge into the postage. The recipient owes nothing further when the parcel arrives.
Customs, paid three different ways
How to pay customs fees
There is no single "pay customs" button, because there is no single carrier. USPS, UPS and DHL each run their own channel for collecting a duty or tax bill, and none of the three works like the others. What follows is each one in the carrier's own words, read on 2026-08-28, so the right channel can be found without guessing.
Three carriers, three channelsRead 2026-08-28No brokers, no fees added
Find the carrier first
The tracking number on the parcel tells you which of the three channels below applies.
USPS: the fee is collected at handoff
USPS treats the payment as part of delivering the item rather than a separate transaction to arrange in advance. The rule sits in the International Mail Manual, section 712, read 2026-08-28.
“Post Office facilities must collect a Postal Service fee from the addressee for each item on which customs duty or Internal Revenue tax is collected.”USPS International Mail Manual, section 712, pe.usps.com, read 2026-08-28
In practice that means the fee is settled at the point of pickup or handoff, not through a separate online step the way the other two carriers offer. A card is left at the address when nobody is home to accept a dutiable item, and the parcel is retrieved once payment is made at the counter. Our guide to a package stuck in customs covers the exact form that notice takes and the deadlines attached to it.
UPS: online first, the driver as a fallback
UPS pushes customers toward settling the charge before the truck ever arrives, and says so directly on its own import-fees page, read 2026-08-28.
“The best way to pay fees is online before delivery. Start by tracking your package on UPS.com. If a yellow banner appears, click the Pay Now link.”UPS, Understanding Import Fees, ups.com, read 2026-08-28
Clicking that link opens a page showing the fee breakdown and the available payment options. The same page describes a second route for anyone who missed the online step: the delivery driver can take payment on the doorstep, but a 12 USD surcharge applies when a shipment is settled that way instead of in advance. Who ends up owing the charge in the first place depends on how the shipment was billed, since UPS routes duties and taxes back to either the exporter or the importer depending on the transportation mode and the Incoterm attached to the shipment.
DHL: three named channels
DHL Express lists more payment routes than the other two carriers, all on its own customs FAQ, read 2026-08-28.
“Use the DHL Global Payment Portal to securely pay online, view the duty calculation, and download relevant documents.”DHL Express, Customs Questions and Clearance Guide, dhl.com, read 2026-08-28
| Channel | How it works |
|---|---|
| DHL Global Payment Portal | Pay online, see the duty calculation broken out, and download the paperwork tied to the charge. |
| DHL ServicePoint location | Pay in person at the point of collecting the shipment yourself, rather than online. |
| On Demand Delivery link | DHL messages a payment link once the shipment reaches the destination country; following it settles the charge before the courier attempts delivery. |
Which of the three applies at a given moment usually comes down to timing: the portal and the On Demand Delivery link both work before the courier is on the road, and the ServicePoint option is for a shipment already sitting at a counter waiting to be collected. A fuller breakdown of who owes the charge in the first place, and the one arrangement that removes it from the recipient entirely, sits on our DHL import duty guide.
Skipping the bill entirely: prepayment
UPS DDP billing
The same idea under UPS's own Incoterm, with the shipper responsible for duties, taxes and clearance fees on top of the transportation charge rather than the receiver.
DHL Delivered Duty Paid
A shipment marked DDP by the sender is handed over at the destination without the consignee owing duties, taxes, or other import charges, per DHL's own DDP page.
None of these three prepayment options can be added after a parcel has already shipped without one. If a bill has already arrived, the payment channels above are what actually clear it. SMKlog's own scope stops short of any of this: our checkout prices and prints parcel labels for movements inside the United States, so we never bill duty, never hold a parcel for one, and never touch any of the three portals named above.
Where these rules come from
- USPS, International Mail Manual, section 712 — the Post Office's duty to collect the fee from the addressee. Read 2026-08-28.
- USPS, Prepaid Import Duties — the DDP prepayment mechanism. Read 2026-08-28.
- UPS, Understanding Import Fees — the Pay Now link, the 12 USD doorstep surcharge, and how billing routes back to the exporter or importer. Read 2026-08-28.
- DHL Express, Customs Questions and Clearance Guide — the three payment channels. No revision date shown on the page. Read 2026-08-28.
Payment portals and surcharge amounts change on each carrier's own schedule. Treat the figures above as what each page stated on the date shown, and confirm the current page before assuming a fee or a route still applies.
Common questions
How do I pay customs fees on a USPS package?
At the delivery office, generally. USPS requires its Post Office facilities to collect a fee from the addressee on every item where customs duty or Internal Revenue tax applies, and that collection normally happens as the dutiable item is handed over, either by a carrier at the door or at the counter on pickup.
How do I pay customs fees on a UPS package?
Online, ahead of delivery, is the route UPS steers customers toward. Track the shipment on ups.com, and a yellow banner with a Pay Now link appears once a charge is assessed. Skipping that and paying the driver at the door works too, but UPS adds a flat charge for the convenience.
How do I pay customs fees on a DHL package?
DHL names three channels on its own customs FAQ: the DHL Global Payment Portal for paying online and viewing the duty calculation, an in-person payment at a DHL ServicePoint location when picking the parcel up, or the link DHL sends through On Demand Delivery once the shipment reaches the destination country.
Can I avoid paying customs fees at delivery?
Only if the sender prepaid them before the parcel shipped. USPS sells a Delivered Duty Paid option that folds the charge into postage up front, and UPS offers the same idea under its DDP terms. Without that arrangement, the fee lands on the recipient by default on all three carriers.
What happens if I don't pay?
The parcel does not move. All three carriers hold a dutiable shipment until the charge is settled, and USPS mail that is refused outright is returned rather than delivered. Nobody carries a parcel first and sorts out the bill afterward.