DeCA will become mandatory from 5 October 2026
From 5 October 2026, a regulatory change affecting public road freight transport will come into force. This regulation will apply exclusively to domestic transport operations and will not affect shipments whose direct destination is a foreign country.
From this date onwards, the administrative control document that must accompany road freight transport operations within Spain will be required to be issued electronically, in accordance with the applicable regulations. This document is known as the DeCA (Electronic Administrative Control Document).
What does this mean for Agencia Nord customers?
For the transport services we manage on behalf of our customers, this change will not involve any additional administrative procedures on their part. The control document itself is not new: it has existed since 2013 and already forms part of the documentation associated with transport services. The main change is that, from 5 October onwards, paper versions will no longer be accepted and the document will have to be managed electronically.
When a customer requests a transport service from us, Agencia Nord manages the transport order and assumes the role of contractual consignor for the purposes of this regulation. Therefore, we are responsible for generating and managing the DeCA corresponding to each transport service.
As a result, our customers will not need to issue or sign the DeCA, subscribe to any application, or register on any specific platform.
What do we need from our customers?
In order for us to generate the DeCA correctly, it is essential that the information provided for each service is complete, accurate and truthful, and that it is supplied before the service is carried out. In particular, customers will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the following information:
- Nature of the goods.
- Number of packages or pallets.
- Weight of the goods (if the exact weight is unknown, an estimate is sufficient).
- Full address of the loading point.
- Full address of the unloading point.
Providing this information correctly is particularly important, as any error, omission or discrepancy attributable to the information supplied by the customer that may result in incidents, costs, penalties, delays or any other consequence arising from failure to comply with the obligations relating to the DeCA will be the customer’s responsibility. Where applicable, any resulting financial consequences will therefore be passed on to the customer.
What happens in the case of parcel services?
Collection and delivery services involving packages that can be handled by one person without mechanical equipment, which are considered parcel services, are exempt from the requirement to carry a control document and will remain exempt after 5 October.
However, when a shipment is grouped onto a pallet for line-haul transport, it no longer falls within this exemption and a control document becomes mandatory.
In these cases, we will issue the document automatically without our customers having to take any action. However, customers may notice documentation associated with shipments that did not previously require it.
How is Agencia Nord managing this change?
We are strengthening our internal procedures and communication channels with drivers and transport companies in order to identify and properly manage any incidents or discrepancies that may arise during loading.
Our aim is to ensure that this regulatory adaptation does not create any additional burden for our customers and that the transition to electronic documentation is integrated naturally into our day-to-day operations.