Spain's DeCA mandate: digital transport document from October 5

On 5 October 2026, the paper control document disappears from Spanish road freight. From that date, every domestic public freight transport operation in Spain must carry a DeCA (electronic administrative control document), a digital format with very specific technical requirements set by the Spanish Ministry of Transport. There is no grace period: operating without it means exposure to fines from day one. At Evicron we have already built custom solutions so that transport companies such as SBD Go and Transportes Guerrero 2015 reach that date with compliance solved.

What the law says

The obligation comes from Law 9/2025 of 3 December on Sustainable Mobility: its eighth transitional provision gave ten months from entry into force to digitise the freight control document — and the route sheet for passenger transport — a deadline that expires on 5 October 2026. The technical requirements are set out in the Resolution of 5 June 2026 from the Directorate-General for Road and Rail Transport, replacing the 2023 resolution, as announced by the Ministry.

The scope is public road freight transport within Spain, including cabotage performed there by foreign hauliers. International transport is out of scope: it remains governed by the CMR convention and its consignment note.

What the DeCA actually requires

Scanning the usual paper form is not enough. The resolution demands a document with these characteristics:

• A native digital PDF, generated from structured data. A scan or a photo of the paper document does not qualify.
• An embedded QR code pointing to a secure HTTPS URL from which the document can be downloaded directly, with no username or password.
• Generated before the transport starts, never during or after. If the operation changes, a modified version with a new QR code must be issued.
• Minimum content: contractual shipper, actual carrier, origin and destination, transport date, vehicle plate, and the nature and weight of the goods.
• Retention for at least one year by both shipper and carrier. The QR URL must remain live for at least seven calendar days after the service ends.
• No signature is required for its administrative role; only if the document doubles as a contract does it need an advanced or qualified electronic signature under the eIDAS regulation.

At a roadside check, the driver can show the document on a phone or tablet, carry a printed copy, or even carry just the QR code: the inspector scans it and downloads the document on the spot.

Who is liable and what non-compliance costs

The obligation to formalise the DeCA falls jointly on the contractual shipper and the actual carrier: inspectors can fine either party if the document does not exist, was generated late, or contains incorrect data. A missing or incorrectly completed document is a serious infringement under Spanish transport law (LOTT), with fines starting at €401 — counted per shipment, not per vehicle: in a groupage load with six consignments, the inspection report can record six infringements, as specialist trade media report (Transporte al Día).

Valid alternatives exist: the eCMR, ADR dangerous-goods documentation, SANDACH animal by-product paperwork or waste identification documents can replace the DeCA, provided they include all the mandatory data and meet the same native-PDF-plus-QR technical requirements.

How to be ready by 5 October

Little more than four weeks remain, and our experience with clients in the sector says the real work is not “making a PDF with a QR code” but integrating document generation into daily operations without adding friction for dispatchers or drivers:

• Audit how you produce the control document today: if it comes from a Word template, a spreadsheet or a paper pad, it will not comply.
• Check what your current TMS or ERP can do: some vendors are announcing DeCA modules; others will not arrive in time or will charge for the module separately.
• Solve offline access: the DeCA is generated before departure, so the driver must be able to show it without coverage; the app or downloaded PDF has to work on the road.
• Automate operational changes: rescheduling and vehicle swaps are everyday events in transport, and each one requires regenerating the document with a new QR code.

This is exactly the kind of project we deliver as custom software for logistics and transport: for SBD Go and Transportes Guerrero 2015 we built solutions that generate the digital control documentation inside their real workflow, instead of forcing the traffic team to fill in yet another tool. Our custom software process — weekly sprints with a navigable demo in week two — fits a deadline like this one: starting now still leaves time to be ready by 5 October.

The bottom line

The DeCA is not a recommendation: from 5 October 2026 it is the only valid way to document a domestic public freight operation in Spain, with technical requirements a scanned paper cannot meet and fines that multiply per shipment. If your company ships or hauls goods in Spain, the time to solve this is now.

Want to know where your operation stands and what you are missing to comply? Get in touch: the first consultation is free and we reply within 24 hours.