DAP and DPU are nearly identical delivered terms — the only difference is whether the seller is responsible for unloading at the destination.
| DAP — Delivered at Place | DPU — Delivered at Place Unloaded | |
|---|---|---|
| Transport mode | Any mode | Any mode |
| Risk transfers | At named destination, ready for unloading | After goods are unloaded at the named destination |
Under DAP, the seller's responsibility ends once goods arrive at the named destination, ready for unloading — the buyer handles unloading. Under DPU (the only Incoterm requiring the seller to unload), risk doesn't transfer until after the goods have actually been unloaded at the destination. Both terms leave import duties to the buyer, unlike DDP.
Your buyer has their own unloading equipment and staff and prefers to handle it themselves, or the destination doesn't have facilities the seller could reasonably arrange unloading through.
You're delivering to a site without unloading capability (a construction site, for example) and need to guarantee the goods are actually off the truck and in place before your responsibility ends.
DPU replaced DAT (Delivered at Terminal) in the Incoterms 2020 revision. The name change to 'Delivered at Place Unloaded' clarified that the destination doesn't have to be a formal terminal — it can be any named place, as long as the seller unloads the goods there.
Effectively yes — the seller needs to either have unloading equipment available at the destination or arrange for it, since DPU makes unloading a seller obligation. This makes DPU less practical for destinations the seller doesn't have logistics relationships in.
More so than DAP, since the seller's risk period extends through the unloading process at a location they may not control. Any damage during unloading remains the seller's risk under DPU, whereas under DAP that risk has already passed to the buyer once goods arrive.
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