DHL Express MyDHL API (REST, global)

MyDHL API is the JSON/REST surface for DHL Express, the time-definite international express business unit. It is the only DHL surface a developer should target for cross-border express shipments under DHL's air-network products. It is not the API for DHL eCommerce parcel delivery, DHL Parcel DE domestic Germany, or DHL Freight; each of those is a different business unit with a different developer portal, different credentials, and a different contract. Authentication uses HTTP Basic over TLS with an API username and password issued through the DHL Developer Portal. Tokens are not refresh-rotated; treat the credentials as long-lived secrets and rotate them through the portal when staff changes. Most operations require a DHL Express account number per origin country, which is sent in the request body rather than derived from the credentials. The most common operational gotchas are sandbox-versus-production drift on label PDFs, currency-aware rate responses that look identical but differ by surcharges, and idempotency: MyDHL API does not provide a server-managed idempotency key, so duplicate shipments are prevented at the integrator side using a deterministic correlation ID per logical operation. Webhooks for status updates are available through DHL's separate Shipment Tracking API and are not part of MyDHL itself.