What changes on 1 July 2026
Regulation (EU) 2020/1054, part of the Mobility Package, inserted point (aa) into Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006. The rules now apply to the carriage by road, from 1 July 2026, of goods in international transport operations or in cabotage operations, where the maximum permissible mass of the vehicle, including any trailer or semi-trailer, exceeds 2.5 tonnes.
Two things decide whether a van falls in scope: the mass figure, counted together with any trailer or semi-trailer, and the type of operation. A 3.5 t van that only delivers inside its own country of registration is not described by point (aa). The same van on an international run, or on a cabotage operation in another country, is.
Who is exempt: the own-account exemption
The same Regulation inserted Article 3 point (ha) into 561/2006. It exempts vehicles with a maximum permissible mass, including any trailer, above 2.5 t but not above 3.5 t, used for the transport of goods, where both of these conditions are met:
- the transport is not for hire or reward, but on the own account of the company or of the driver; and
- driving is not the main activity of the person driving the vehicle.
Decision checklist
Go through the questions in order for each vehicle. The table only points to the wording of the text; it is not legal advice, and a doubtful case should be clarified with the competent authority.
| Question | What the text says |
|---|---|
| 1. What is the maximum permissible mass, including any trailer or semi-trailer? | Point (aa) applies when it exceeds 2.5 t. Below that, it does not. |
| 2. Is the carriage of goods an international transport operation or cabotage? | Point (aa) covers international transport operations and cabotage operations. |
| 3. Is the transport for hire or reward, or on own account? | The exemption in Art. 3(ha) needs transport that is not for hire or reward but on own account. |
| 4. Is driving the main activity of the driver? | The exemption also needs driving not to be the driver's main activity. |
| 5. Is the mass above 3.5 t? | Art. 3(ha) covers only vehicles up to 3.5 t. |
What it means in practice
A van that is inside point (aa) and not exempt comes under the EU driving-time and rest-time rules of 561/2006. The same Regulation requires the Commission to adopt implementing acts on the tachographs for these vehicles, and it amended Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 so that vehicles operating in a Member State other than their registration State must be retrofitted with a smart tachograph, by deadlines tied to those implementing provisions. Read the deadlines in the current texts before planning a retrofit.
Where a digital tachograph is used, data must be downloaded regularly. Under Regulation (EU) No 581/2010 the maximum period between downloads is 90 days for the vehicle unit and 28 days for the driver card, counting only days with recorded activity. Under Article 10(5)(a) of 561/2006 the undertaking keeps the downloaded data for at least 12 months and must make it accessible to an inspecting officer on request.
At a roadside check the driver must be able to produce records for the current day and the preceding 56 days (Article 36 of 165/2014, as amended, applying from 31 December 2024). How to do the downloads without visiting a workshop is covered in our remote tachograph download guide.
Vans registered in Moldova
Article 2(3) of 561/2006 says the AETR applies instead of the Regulation to international road transport operations undertaken partly outside the EU, Switzerland and the EEA. For vehicles registered in the EU or in an AETR contracting party, this is for the whole journey. The Republic of Moldova acceded to the AETR on 26 May 1993 (UN Treaty Collection).
Recital (34) of 2020/1054 states that transport undertakings from third countries should be subject to rules equivalent to the EU rules when operating in the EU, and that the Commission should propose solutions to be negotiated in the context of the AETR Agreement. In other words, the EU text itself treats the AETR side as a matter of separate negotiation.
For that reason we do not state here whether a Moldovan-registered van must carry a tachograph. A Moldovan carrier should ask the competent Moldovan authority and read the official AETR text published by UNECE. More on the topic is in our guide on AETR and the tachograph in Moldova.
How Tafi GPS helps
If a van is fitted with a tachograph and a Teltonika FMB640, FMC650 or FMM650 tracker, Tafi GPS downloads driver card and vehicle unit files over the mobile network. VU downloads are authenticated with the company card, which stays in the office in a reader connected to a Windows PC running the free Tafi Card Authenticator. Files are archived per driver and per vehicle, and the office sees which downloads are done and which are due.
The same trackers give live tachograph data: current activity of driver 1 and driver 2, remaining daily and weekly driving time, and the next required break or rest. Downloaded activity is checked against Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 (driving, breaks, daily and weekly rest), and each finding goes through a confirm or dismiss review. AETR-specific rules are not modelled, and the company keeps its own legal responsibility.
Light-vehicle trackers such as the FMB150, FMC150 and FMM150 family give GPS tracking and CAN data (fuel level, odometer, rpm, engine hours on supported vehicles), but no tachograph download. See the compatible devices. Try the free 7-day demo or contact us.