Tachographs in 2.5–3.5 t vans: how to organise the process after 1 July 2026

01

Facts: who has been covered since 1 July 2026?

Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 extended the scope of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006. From 1 July 2026, the rules apply to international carriage of goods and cabotage where the maximum permissible mass of the vehicle — including any trailer or semi-trailer — exceeds 2.5 tonnes.

The European Labour Authority states that light commercial vehicles above 2.5 t and up to 3.5 t used for those operations are subject to driving and rest rules, the use of a G2V2 smart tachograph and the relevant driver-posting rules. This concerns EU and non-EU drivers employed by EU-established transport companies.

This particular extension does not cover operations carried out by such a van solely within one country. The actual journey, its documents and the mass of the whole combination matter, not only the mass of the towing vehicle.

02

Facts: every condition of an exemption must be assessed

The legislation contains exemptions, but they cannot be applied solely because of an industry label or a statement that transport is “own account”. One exemption concerns vehicles or combinations above 2.5 t and not exceeding 3.5 t used for non-commercial carriage on the own account of the company or driver where driving is not that person’s main activity.

A separate exemption may apply to vehicles or combinations up to 7.5 t used within 100 km of the undertaking’s base to carry materials, equipment or machinery for the driver’s work, or to deliver goods produced on a craft basis. Additional conditions include no carriage for hire or reward and driving not being the driver’s main activity.

This article was verified on 26 October 2026. It provides operational information rather than individual legal advice. Scope should be confirmed for the particular vehicle, combination, route, transport contract, driver role and any national exemptions.

03

Facts: which time limits must be built into the operation?

Covered transport is subject to EU driving-time, break and rest rules. The ELA summarises the core limits as generally no more than nine hours of daily driving, extendable to ten hours no more than twice a week; a maximum of 56 hours in one week and 90 hours over two consecutive weeks.

After 4.5 hours of driving, a break of at least 45 minutes is required. It may be split into one part of at least 15 minutes followed by one of at least 30 minutes. Plans also need to account for daily and weekly rest, other work and availability.

A routing system should treat these constraints as planning boundaries, not warnings shown only after an infringement. Final classification still depends on the driver’s actual activity and correct use of the tachograph.

04

Facts: the tachograph is used throughout the journey, not just abroad

The Polish Road Transport Inspectorate explains that when a journey by a 2.5–3.5 t vehicle or combination is international carriage or cabotage within scope, the tachograph and driver-activity recording are required throughout the whole route shown by the transport document. The requirement is not limited to the section between the Polish border and another country.

Dispatch therefore needs to understand the full nature of the assignment before departure. Combining a domestic collection leg with an international movement without proper recording can create a gap in the data and evidence.

The ELA specifies a G2V2 smart tachograph for covered light commercial vehicles. Installation, activation, calibration and card issuance should be completed before assigning the vehicle to such work.

05

Facts: data needs to be downloaded and protected

Commission Regulation (EU) No 581/2010 sets maximum download periods of 90 days for vehicle-unit data and 28 days for driver-card data. A shorter cycle may be appropriate because of risk, journey frequency, technical design or internal monitoring.

Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 requires records to be protected against falsification, concealment, suppression and destruction. An undertaking must make data available for controls and retain required record sheets and printouts for the periods set by the rules.

Tachograph and card files are operational evidence and can contain personal data. Access should be role-based, while backups, retention, exports and deletion need controlled and documented handling.

06

WEBee recommendation: build a vehicle–route–exemption matrix

Inventory the vans, trailers and recurring assignments first. For every combination, retain maximum permissible mass, equipment, calibration date and card status. For each route, classify domestic transport, international transport or cabotage and record the basis for any exemption.

The decision should be made before a driver is assigned. If dispatch lacks enough information, the job should move to clarification instead of automatically receiving a “no tachograph” status.

• vehicle and every part of the combination with maximum permissible mass;
• start and end countries and any cabotage operations;
• commercial or non-commercial nature of the carriage;
• own-account carriage and the driver’s main activity;
• exemption basis, approver and supporting evidence;
• G2V2, calibration, company card and driver-card status.

07

WEBee recommendation: connect dispatch with hours control

Planning should not create a route that cannot be completed within the limits. A TMS or planning worksheet needs current data on used driving time, required breaks, rest, other activities and realistic travel time.

An alert should appear before assignment, not only in a weekly post-event report. Dispatchers need to see its cause and have a safe escalation route. Manual deadline changes or driver substitutions should remain in the decision history.

08

WEBee recommendation: automate downloads without losing evidence

Remote download can reduce the risk of missing the 28- and 90-day limits, but completeness needs monitoring. For every vehicle and driver, record the last successful download, date range, checksum or file identifier, validation result and archive location. Do not overwrite the original file with analysed data.

The workflow should distinguish no activity, missing card, communication failure and corrupt file. Each case needs an owner, response deadline and closure evidence. An exception report is more valuable than a green dashboard that does not show whether all sources actually connected.

09

A four-step implementation and control plan

Step one is scope: fleet, combinations, routes, drivers and exemptions. Step two covers devices, cards, calibration, training and planning changes. Step three is downloading, archiving, infringement analysis and corrective action. Step four is regular data review and process improvement.

WEBee can map the information flow from assignment to archive, structure requirements for the TMS and telematics provider, and design missing-download alerts and dashboards. The objective is not automated “compliance adjudication”, but quickly identifying cases that require an authorised person’s decision.

• appoint a process owner and deputy;
• test domestic, international, cabotage and trailer-combination scenarios;
• train drivers on manual entries, symbols and failure procedures;
• monitor download, calibration and card-expiry dates;
• analyse infringements and their causes, not only counts;
• review exemptions and permissions whenever the transport model changes.