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Transport guide · eFTI

eFTI in 2027.
What changes and what does not for your DeCA.

From 9 July 2027 authorities will have to accept transport information that reaches them through a certified eFTI platform. It does not force you to change: it gives you another way to show it.

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Category
Transport and DeCA
Level
Intermediate
Time
≈ 10 min
Steps
5
Updated
October 2026
Direct answer

Before you start.
What you are about to solve.

eFTI stands for electronic freight transport information under Regulation (EU) 2020/1056. The idea is simple: the data you show today on paper or as a PDF during an inspection (the consignment note, proof of cabotage, the ADR document or, in Spain, the DeCA) will be shareable with the authority from a certified eFTI platform, with a unique link per shipment.

What the regulation obliges is the authorities: from 30 months after the entry into force of the first delegated and implementing acts, which the Commission places at 9 July 2027, they must accept that information when the operator provides it that way (art. 5.1). For the carrier it remains an option: if it decides to provide the information electronically, it has to do so from a certified platform, in a machine-readable format and, if asked, also on screen (art. 4).

Among its national requirements, Spain notified the administrative control document of Order FOM/2861/2012 (the DeCA), combined transport and the ADR information of Royal Decree 97/2014 (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2025, annex I, part B). This guide helps you organise your documents and data for when certified platforms exist, without touching what already works.

Procedure

Do it in order.
Open only the step you are on.

5 steps to review, issue and leave the document ready, without reading a whole guide at once.

  1. Separate what changes from what does not

    Step 01: Separate what changes from what does not

    eFTI does not create a new document or replace the DeCA: it changes how information is shown to the authority. 9 July 2027 is the date from which the authorities of the Member States have to accept information that arrives through a certified eFTI platform; according to the Commission, since January 2026 they can already start accepting it voluntarily.

    • For the carrier, providing information through eFTI is an option, not an obligation (Regulation 2020/1056, arts. 4 and 5).
    • The PDF DeCA with its QR and download URL remains valid: the Resolution of 5 June 2026 does not depend on eFTI.
    • What does change is that, if you choose eFTI, the platform has to be certified.
  2. List your documents that fall within eFTI

    Step 02: List your documents that fall within eFTI

    The regulation lists the Union information requirements it covers and each country added its own. In practice, for a Spanish carrier the most common are these.

    • DeCA: Order FOM/2861/2012, articles 1 and 3.1 (national requirement notified by Spain).
    • Dangerous goods transport document: chapter 5.4 of the ADR (and, in Spain, Royal Decree 97/2014).
    • Proof of cabotage: article 8.3 of Regulation (EC) 1072/2009.
    • Combined transport: article 3 of Directive 92/106/EEC and the Order of 30 September 1993.
    • Waste shipments subject to Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 (information in articles 16.c and 18.1).
  3. Have structured data, not just the PDF

    Step 03: Have structured data, not just the PDF

    eFTI communicates information in a machine-readable format, based on the common data set of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024. If your documents are born from ordered data (shipper, carrier, origin, destination, goods, weight, plate, date), moving them to a platform will be a connection; if they are born from a hand-filled PDF, it will be retyping them.

    • Always use the same names and NIF for your customers and suppliers, without variants.
    • Keep the vehicle and trailer plate in each service.
    • For dangerous goods, keep the UN number and the quantity, not just the text of the document.
  4. Choose a certified platform, when there is one

    Step 04: Choose a certified platform, when there is one

    eFTI platforms have to meet the functional requirements of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2243 and be certified by a conformity assessment body. Before contracting, ask for the certificate of the platform and of the service provider, and check which Spanish national requirements it covers (the DeCA in particular).

    • Ask whether the platform reads the data from your program through a connection or whether you will have to retype them.
    • Ask how the information is shown on screen if the authority requests it in text format (art. 4.4).
    • Ask about the unique shipment identification link that is given to the authority (art. 9.1.e).
  5. Meanwhile, keep using the PDF DeCA

    Step 05: Meanwhile, keep using the PDF DeCA

    Until you choose eFTI, in an inspection the driver shows the DeCA with its QR, as until now. Once the platform is contracted, it is advisable to run the first test with a normal domestic service before taking it to dangerous goods or cabotage.

    • Keep the DeCA for the period set by Order FOM/2861/2012.
    • Tell your drivers how the shipment link will be shown in the inspection.
Result

When you finish you will have the list of documents in your services that fall within eFTI, your data organised to connect them and the questions to choose a certified platform, without having changed anything that serves you today in an inspection.

Frequently asked questions

The questions that come up
when you put it into practice.

Is eFTI mandatory for the carrier?

No. Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 obliges the authorities to accept information communicated electronically from a certified platform from 9 July 2027. The operator can keep showing the documents as until now; if it uses eFTI, it has to do so from a certified platform.

Is the DeCA covered by eFTI?

Yes. Spain notified Order FOM/2861/2012 (articles 1 and 3.1) as a national requirement, and it appears in annex I, part B, of Regulation 2020/1056 as replaced by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2025.

Is Cofactu an eFTI platform?

It is not a certified eFTI platform. Cofactu issues the DeCA and the consignment note (with ADR information) from structured data, which is what a certified platform will need in order to connect.

And the e-CMR?

The e-CMR is the electronic consignment note of the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention, a different contractual framework. eFTI regulates how regulatory information is shown to the authority; the two can coexist.

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