SPAIN IS DRIVING DIGITALISATION IN FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION

Meeting the new DCA requirements with the OLF-eCMR

Spain is the first country in Europe to require companies to submit an officially mandated control document for road freight transport – the Documento de Control Administrativo (DCA) – in electronic form. For the logistics sector, this creates an opportunity to strategically advance the digitalisation of transport documents with the OLF-eCMR.
Connected instead of isolated: Now is the right time for industry-wide and Europe-wide standardisation!
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5 October 2026

From this date, the obligation to digitalise and electronically present the DCA takes effect.

Applies to road freight transport

Companies must maintain the DCA in digital form for all transports into, within, out of, or through Spain.

Must be presented during inspections

Drivers must present the DCA digitally to authorities. Paper documents will no longer be sufficient.

What does this new regulation mean and who does it affect?

Spain has been working for some time on a reform of public transport law. One small component with significant impact is the digitalisation of the DCA (Documento de Control Administrativo), an official accompanying document for road freight transport in Spain.
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The DCA contains all relevant information to a shipment, in particular the consignor, carrier, vehicle, loading and destination locations, type of goods, weight, and transport date. The purpose of the document is to enable authorities to carry out transport checks efficiently. Currently, the DCA can be carried either in paper form or electronically.

The use of the DCA is, in principle, straightforward – however, the technical implementation by Spanish authorities is still in the development and rollout phase:

  • In general, companies must register once via the official portal of the Spanish authorities. Registration per trip or shipment is not required. By registering, they confirm that every DCA carried by a driver is properly stored within the company.
  • If a company is not registered, drivers will receive a 21-digit control number from authorities during an inspection, which can be entered into the portal. A QR code is then generated, which inspectors can scan.
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What is new is that transport companies will now be required – from October 2026 onwards – to provide the document digitally or present it electronically during inspections. Spain is therefore currently taking its own approach to the digitalisation of freight transport – independently of the EU’s eFTI Regulation, which establishes a harmonised EU-wide framework for the exchange of transport and logistics documents during official inspections. However, companies are not yet obliged to digitalise transport documents under the eFTI Regulation.

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The DCA does not establish a system for structured data exchange. It is an electronic document. It remains unclear whether Spain will retain the digital DCA as part of the implementation of the eFTI Regulation. It seems possible that both frameworks will coexist in parallel.

Prepare for Spain’s digital DCA

Learn everything about the new regulations in a Spotlight Session by the Open Logistics Foundation: “Prepare for Spain’s digital DCA”

Portrait Michael Gschwandtner

Andreas Nettsträter

CEO, Open Logistics Foundation

»The digitalisation of the DCA opens up new opportunities for logistics: Companies that act early can use a regulatory obligation as a strategic step towards digitalisation. With the OLF-eCMR from the Open Logistics Foundation, they already have access to an open source solution that they can integrate into their IT landscape freely and at no cost.«

Dr. David Saive, LL.M.

Legal Product Owner, Open Logistics Foundation

»The introduction of the digital DCA demonstrates how important it is to be able to rely on software solutions that take legal requirements into account during development and translate them into technically viable implementations. This enables companies to ensure compliance reliably and to design their processes efficiently, transparently and in a future-proof manner.«

How can companies adopt the (OLF-)eCMR to fit their needs (not only) in Spain?

The digitalisation of the DCA gives companies the opportunity to make transport processes more efficient, ensure reliable compliance, and strategically leverage existing digital systems. The key is to avoid isolated solutions that could later result in a multitude of incompatible systems. Instead, the implementation of the DCA should serve as the starting point for a standardised solution. This is exactly what the OLF-eCMR enables.

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The OLF-eCMR already represents a key building block for the digitalisation of European transport – not only in the context of the DCA, but also regarding the eFTI Regulation.

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With the OLF-eCMR for the digital consignment note, the Open Logistics Foundation provides an open source solution that meets the requirements of the Spanish DCA.

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By implementing the OLF-eCMR, companies can achieve two goals at once: they are prepared for the DCA and take a major step towards paperless transport.

The data model of the OLF-eCMR covers all mandatory fields required for the DCA.

The OLF-eCMR can functionally replace the DCA.

The OLF-eCMR eliminates the need to operate additional parallel systems.

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Discover the OLF-eCMR now

  • The OLF-eCMR consists of several open source components and is available to companies in the Open Logistics Foundation’s Open Logistics Repository.
  • Companies can use the solution freely and at no cost and integrate it seamlessly into their existing IT landscape, either with their own internal resources or with the support of IT service providers.
  • IT service providers within the Open Logistics Foundation network, who are involved in the development and ongoing enhancement of the solution, offer particular expertise in implementing the OLF-eCMR.
Explore the OLF-eCMR

Get in touch.

Portrait Andreas Nettsträter

Andreas Nettsträter

CEO
+49 (0) 172 1688483

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FAQs

What else you need to know about DCA

Learn more about what companies need to do and how the OLF-eCMR helps to implement the requirements efficiently.

Is there an obligation to implement the DCA?

For transports in Spain, the DCA will become mandatory. It serves as a digital accompanying document for road freight transport, and paper-based processes will no longer be sufficient. Affected parties include transport companies, shippers, logistics service providers and their IT service providers. The decisive factor is not the company’s registered office, but transport activity in Spain. Violations may be penalised with fines of up to €1.000.

Can the DCA be integrated into existing projects?

The DCA is not an isolated IT project, but can be easily integrated into existing initiatives. Typical starting points include the introduction or expansion of an eCMR. Companies that are already working on the digitalisation of their transport processes can incorporate the implementation of the DCA seamlessly into ongoing projects, without needing to launch a separate standalone solution.

What level of effort is required?

The extent of the necessary adjustments depends heavily on a company’s level of digitalisation. Companies already using digital solutions such as the eCMR will require only minor adjustments to meet DCA requirements. Those working with partially digital processes will need to adapt interfaces and workflows to capture and provide data correctly. Companies that currently rely on paper-based processes face a fundamental shift in their transport documentation.

Overall, companies that have already implemented digital standards clearly benefit from shorter implementation times and easier integration. The Open Logistics Foundation supports this development by providing open and interoperable solutions that help companies implement digital obligations efficiently and in a future-proof manner.