Before you start: the data you need
Have these details of the service at hand. They are the ones article 6 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 requires:
| Data | Required | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Contractual shipper: company name, tax ID and address | Yes | Distribuciones Ejemplo S.L., B00000000, Calle de Ejemplo 1, Madrid |
| Actual carrier: company name and tax ID | Yes | Transportes Ficticios S.A., A00000000 |
| Origin and destination of each shipment | Yes | Getafe (Madrid) → Valencia |
| Nature and weight of the goods | Yes | Bottled drinks, 12,400 kg |
| Transport date | Yes | 13/10/2026 |
| Vehicle and trailer plates | Yes | 0000 XXX / R-0000-XXX |
| Special traffic permit | Only if the transport needs one | Its number |
If a trip has several pick-ups or drop-offs with the same shipper and the same carrier, you can put them all in one DeCA, one line per shipment.
Step 1. Create your free account
Sign up with your company email. No card needed. If your colleagues already use DeCA by Routyn, you can ask to join their company instead of creating another.
Step 2. Add your master data
Save your carriers, shippers, customers, drivers and vehicles once, or import them from Excel. You never type a tax ID or an address again: in the form you just pick them.
Step 3. Create the DeCA
Open New DeCA and choose the contractual shipper and the actual carrier. Add the vehicle, the date and one line per shipment with origin, destination, goods and weight. For repeat trips, start from a recent route or duplicate an earlier DeCA.
Missing a detail, such as the subcontracted carrier's tax ID? Save it as a draft and send whoever has it a link to fill in just their part.
Step 4. Issue it and send it to the driver
Clicking Issue gives you a one-page PDF with its QR code and a unique https address. The driver gets it by email, on WhatsApp or straight in Routyn Drive, and carries it on a phone or printed.
You can also issue it without opening the website: the driver can do it on WhatsApp with a photo of the delivery note, and your TMS or ERP can do it through the API.
Step 5. If something changes on the road, update it
If the vehicle changes after a breakdown, or the destination changes, open the DeCA, change the detail and give the reason. A new version is created with the same QR code: anyone who scans it always sees the current version, with the change history. Don't write anything by hand on paper, because it isn't valid.
Step 6. Complete it and archive it
When the service ends, mark it as completed, or cancel it if it didn't happen. The QR link stays active for seven days and is then switched off. The shipper and the carrier can download their copy for a year, even without an account.
Common mistakes
- Not telling shipper and carrier apart. Even if they are the same company, the DeCA must say who is which.
- Using the wrong tax ID. The contractual shipper is whoever contracts the transport in its own name, not necessarily the owner of the goods.
- Issuing it after the truck has left. The DeCA must exist before the service starts.
- Scanning paper. Since 5 October 2026 the DeCA must be a native PDF with a QR code. We explain it in the electronic DeCA is mandatory.
To see the end result, download our DeCA example PDF.
This summary is for guidance only and is not legal advice. For specific cases, read the BOE text or ask a specialist adviser.
More guides
- DeCA template in PDF, with a real exampleThis is what a real electronic DeCA looks like, created with DeCA by Routyn using fictional data. Download it, see what each part contains and issue yours for free in under a minute.
- The electronic DeCA is mandatory from 5 October 2026Since 5 October 2026 the road freight DeCA in Spain has to be electronic. Here is what the Resolution of 5 June 2026 requires of the PDF, the QR code and the link, and what you need to do to comply.
- What is the DeCA (Spain's administrative control document)The DeCA is the document that goes with every public road freight transport in Spain. Here is what it is, what it contains, who issues it and what changes with the electronic DeCA.