The electronic DeCA is mandatory from 5 October 2026

Since when it is mandatory

Law 9/2025 on Sustainable Mobility set, in its eighth transitional provision, that the freight control document had to be digital ten months after the law came into force. That deadline was 5 October 2026. Since then, a DeCA on paper, filled in by hand or scanned, does not comply.

The technical requirements are in the Resolution of 5 June 2026 of the Directorate-General for Road and Rail Transport, published in the BOE on 12 June 2026. It replaces the earlier Resolution of 22 May 2023.

Which transports it covers

It covers public road freight transport within Spain, cabotage included. International transports that only cross part of Spain keep using the documents set by international conventions, such as the CMR consignment note.

What the file must be like

• A PDF of at most 5 MB.
• Created natively in digital form: scans or photos of a paper document are not valid.
• With the date and time of creation and of every change in the PDF metadata.
• With a QR code inside the PDF that leads to the document's address (URL).
• Created before the service starts.

What the QR link must be like

• A unique address per file starting with https://, with TLS 1.2 or later.
• Opening it downloads the PDF directly: no sign-in pages, passwords, download buttons or other steps.
• It must not expire before the service ends.
• It may be switched off seven calendar days after the service ends.

The domain is up to you and doesn't have to be notified in advance. Files must be stored in a repository they can be downloaded from during an inspection.

What if something changes during the trip

If the vehicle, the destination or any other detail changes on the road, the Resolution allows only two ways:

1. Change the existing PDF, adding the new data and the reason and marking the old data as no longer valid. The URL and QR code stay the same.
2. Create a new PDF with all the data, a new URL and a new QR code, and keep the original.

Either way the driver must receive the updated document. Handwritten notes on a printed copy don't count.

What the driver carries

Before setting off, the driver must have a copy of the DeCA with its QR code, on a phone or printed. At a check the driver shows the document or, if nothing else is available, just the QR code. The officer scans it and downloads the current PDF.

Keeping it for one year

The contractual shipper and the actual carrier must keep each DeCA for at least one year. They can use the same repository or different ones: if one of them created the file, it's enough that the other can download it during that year.

Is an electronic signature needed?

Not for the DeCA to be valid. Only if the document also has a contractual purpose and is signed must the signature be at least an advanced electronic signature (or a qualified one) under the eIDAS Regulation.

How to comply at no cost

DeCA by Routyn creates every DeCA with all these requirements: a native PDF with a QR code, an https link that downloads it directly, changes with the same QR code and their history, a copy for the driver by email, WhatsApp or Routyn Drive, and a one-year archive for shipper and carrier. It's free, with no limit on documents. To see what data you need, read how to issue a DeCA.