GLS tracking in Germany: statuses, ParcelShops and contact

GLS tracking number and Track-ID: where to find them

Check the shop's shipping email first. If GLS has your email address, its parcel announcement links straight to the tracking. GLS's notification card, on paper or by email, shows a QR code and a six-character Track-ID, which works like the parcel number in GLS's tracking.

GLS Germany publishes no length for its numbers; Peek knows these shapes:

Number refused? GLS asks you to have the sender check it. If the shop's email names another carrier, the number is theirs: see tracking number formats.

What GLS tracking statuses mean

GLS's English wordings, in the order a parcel meets them:

Delivered names the place, such as Neighbour or Parcelshop: GLS counts a ParcelShop as delivered. Preadvice lasts until the sender hands the parcel over, so ask the sender. Cancelled can mean the sender's pickup was called off.

GLS delivery times, ParcelShops and parcel lockers

When. Monday to Friday, never Saturday, usually within 24 hours inside Germany. You can't choose a time or phone the driver.

Nobody home. The driver tries a neighbour (named on a card or email; you can't exclude neighbours), then a nearby ParcelShop. Parcels only you may accept (car tyres, ID-checked parcels) get a second attempt the next working day; after that they wait 8 working days at the nearest GLS depot (contact GLS before going).

Changing it. Rerouting in GLS's tracking is free. Depending on what the sender booked and where the parcel is, pick a new day or address, a ParcelShop, a Parcelstation or the depot, or refuse it (online until the final parcel centre, then at the door). A drop-off permit lets the driver leave parcels somewhere dry and out of sight on your property.

ParcelShops keep a parcel 8 working days (Monday to Friday) from the day after it arrives, with no extension, then return it to the sender. Bring an ID card or passport (GLS's tracking also names a driving licence); someone else needs the power of attorney (Vollmacht) on the back of the card and their own ID.

Parcelstations are GLS's lockers, in selected cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. They open 24/7 with the QR or pickup code GLS emails you. GLS's page gives three business days from delivery and its FAQ three calendar days, so don't wait.

GLS parcel not delivered, late or damaged

GLS's contract is with the sender, so refunds go through the shop, and GLS can't speed a parcel up.

No update. Open the tracking's detailed information: it can show an address check. Then ask the sender, and see why tracking stops updating.

Delivered but not there. Check the tracking for a neighbour or ParcelShop, your letterbox for a card and your email. Not delivered as you asked? Email [email protected]. More in delivered but not received.

Damaged. You can refuse a visibly damaged box: GLS takes it back and tells the sender. For damaged contents, contact the sender: GLS can't check what's inside. German law (Commercial Code, § 438) wants visible damage noted at delivery, hidden damage reported within 7 days and delay within 21, in text form. A shop selling to you carries the transit risk unless you hired the carrier yourself (Civil Code, § 475), so ask the shop first.

Disputes. Loss or damage you can't settle with GLS can go to the Bundesnetzagentur's Schlichtungsstelle Post.

GLS Germany customer service and contact number

As listed on gls-pakete.de on 10 October 2026, for parcels within Germany:

• Contact form on GLS's English contact page, with recipient topics such as "Parcel status clarification" and "Parcel damaged".
• Email: [email protected].
• Phone: none for private customers. The notification card carries a service number; the Impressum's number is the company's.

Tracking a GLS Germany parcel with Peek

Peek asks the likely carriers about the number shapes above. GLS answers for German and Swiss parcels alike, and Peek names GLS Germany ("GLS Germany has this parcel"), or GLS France if it knows the parcel. In Switzerland or Liechtenstein (by your iPhone's region or web connection) it names GLS Switzerland, with a 4-digit postcode field: for a parcel to Germany, press "Change" and pick GLS Germany. A pasted gls-pakete.de link, or a gls-group one with /DE/, /EU/ or /GROUP/, also names GLS Germany.

GLS needs the delivery postcode for the detailed history, so the "Delivery postcode" field is required: without it Peek only learns whether GLS knows the number, and a wrong one looks like an unknown number. Any country's format works. It goes to GLS and, when needed, to tracking services.

You then see the status, each scan's town and country on a map, the expected day, the weight, the delivery time and, at a ParcelShop, its name and address. Your name, address and contact details, the signature and the sender's reference are dropped. GLS's ParcelShop status shows as ready for pickup. Times are read as German time. Peek checks GLS about once an hour, delivery day included (4 hours after a failed check), and can notify you of each change. Only a parcel GLS hands to Swiss Post is followed to another carrier.

Questions about GLS tracking in Germany

Where is my GLS package?

GLS's tracking shows it once you enter the number and the recipient's postcode: In delivery means it's in the van today.

What is the GLS Track-ID?

The six-character code on the front of GLS's notification card. It works like the parcel number for tracking and redirecting.

How long does GLS take to deliver?

Usually 24 hours within Germany, says GLS, and 2 to 8 working days to other European countries (2 to Austria), as standard times, not a guarantee.

How long does GLS keep a parcel?

A ParcelShop or GLS depot keeps it 8 working days and a Parcelstation only three days. Then it goes back to the sender.

Is GLS legit?

Yes: GLS Germany is General Logistics Systems Germany GmbH & Co. OHG, of Neuenstein. Fake messages use its name, though: see the warning above.