CMR Additional Protocol · in force since 2011

The consignment note,
signed by everyone. On paper by no one.

The e-CMR is the CMR consignment note in electronic form. Shipper, drivers and consignee sign in order, from any phone, without an account and without an app — and the moment the consignee signs, you have the signed document and the proof of delivery in hand.

Issue my first e-CMR See how signing works
No account for signers Signed PDF and audit trail Trilingual EN · ES · RO
e-CMR-2026-000512 Signing in progress
  • Shipper Envases Levante, S.L. 08:14
  • Driver A. Petrescu · 1234 JKL 08:41
  • Consignee Waiting at unloading —
Each party is invited only when it is their turn.
Nobody signs out of order.

In short

  • The e-CMR is the CMR consignment note signed electronically, valid under the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention, in force since 2011 and joined by Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania, among others.
  • Signing follows a fixed order — shipper, then driver(s), then consignee — and each party signs in a browser with no account and no app.
  • The result is a signed PDF with an audit trail; when the document came from a shipment, that shipment is marked delivered automatically.

What exactly is an e-CMR?

An e-CMR is the CMR consignment note in electronic form. It carries the same content as the paper note — the parties, the loading and unloading places, the goods and their weight, the vehicles, the reservations — and it plays the same role: it is the evidence of the contract of carriage, of the condition in which the goods were taken over, and of their delivery. What changes is that everyone signs on a screen, and there is only ever one document.

Its legal basis is the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention concerning the Electronic Consignment Note, adopted in Geneva in 2008 and in force since 5 June 2011. Its parties include Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Romania. Between parties to the Protocol, an electronically signed consignment note has the same standing as one signed in ink.

It also puts you ahead of what is coming. Under Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 — the eFTI Regulation — authorities across the Union must accept transport information submitted electronically from 9 July 2027. Operators already working with electronic documents will meet that date without changing anything.

What does it change day to day?

The paper consignment note is not expensive to print. It is expensive to chase. Almost everything an operator loses to the CMR is lost between the moment the driver signs and the moment the signed copy reaches the office.

Paper CMR e-CMR
Three paper copies travel with the truck One document, one version, visible to every party at the same time
The signed original comes back with the driver, days later The consignee's signature lands the moment it is given
An illegible or lost copy means a disputed delivery A signed PDF and its audit trail, downloadable at any time
Reservations scribbled in a margin Reservations and special instructions recorded as data on the document
Proof of delivery chased by phone before invoicing Proof of delivery is the document itself, the minute the last signature arrives
The invoicing side matters most. Payment terms usually start from proof of delivery. With paper, that proof travels back with the truck; with an e-CMR it exists the second the consignee signs, which is the second you can invoice.

Who signs, and in what order?

Shipper first, then each driver, then the consignee. The order is fixed and enforced: a party is invited only once the previous one has signed, so the document can never be signed out of sequence. The carrier company itself does not sign — the drivers who take charge of the goods do.

Step 1

Shipper

Confirms what is being handed over: goods, weights, reservations and any special instructions.

Step 2

Driver

Takes charge of the goods at loading. With several drivers on the run, each signs in turn.

Step 3

Consignee

Signs at unloading. This signature is the proof of delivery that closes the transport.

No phone at the unloading dock? The driver's invitation also carries the consignee's signing link, so the consignee can review the document and sign on the driver's phone. The signature is still recorded in the consignee's name.

How are the signatures collected?

Two ways, and the right one depends on how the load was arranged. A spot load being organised right now is not the same as a contract shipment planned three weeks ahead, and the document should not pretend otherwise.

SpotSign

On-site, within hours

For spot loads and same-day pickups, when the shipper is reachable right now and the final details are still moving.

  • The shipper gets a link and a 6-digit access code, valid for 24 hours and usable once. Resend a fresh one whenever you need to.
  • They can still adjust goods, weights, hazardous and temperature flags and special instructions before signing — useful when quantities change at loading.
  • Their signature locks the content, and the drivers and consignee are invited in turn.

Email

Planned, over days

For contract loads and recurring shipments, where the details are settled before the truck is even assigned.

  • The document is locked when you send it, so fill in the final details first.
  • Each party is emailed only when their turn comes — shipper, then drivers, then consignee.
  • You are notified as each signature arrives, without asking anyone where the document has got to.

Rule of thumb: SpotSign for speed and flexibility, email for planned shipments with fixed details. Both collect the same signatures, in the same order, and produce the same signed document.

How do you issue an e-CMR in CargoPay?

In five steps, and if the job already exists as a shipment, the first one is a single click: the document is built from data you have already recorded.

1

Start from the shipment — or from a blank document

Create the e-CMR from a confirmed shipment and it arrives pre-filled with the parties, the route, the goods, the vehicles and the drivers, and stays linked to the transport order. When there is no shipment behind the job, fill in a blank document instead.

2

Check the parties and the goods

Shipper, carrier, consignee, drivers, vehicles and goods lines. Everything stays editable right up until signing starts. Each party needs its own email address — it is their signing identity.

3

Choose how signatures are collected

SpotSign for a load being arranged right now, email for a planned shipment with fixed details.

4

Send it out

The shipper is invited first, then each driver, then the consignee. You do not chase anyone: the next invitation goes out on its own as each signature lands.

5

Download the signed document

Once the consignee signs, the signed PDF and its audit trail are available to every party, and the linked shipment is marked delivered.

Someone declined? The document returns to an editable state and you are notified with the reason. Correct what was wrong and send it out again — nothing has to be rebuilt.

What do you get when everyone has signed?

A signed PDF, the audit trail behind it, and a transport that has closed itself. The consignee's signature is the proof of delivery, so there is nothing left to confirm by hand and nothing left to chase before invoicing.

A signed PDF

The complete consignment note with every signature, ready to file or forward to your accounts department.

An audit trail

Who signed, when, and against which exact version of the document. Downloadable alongside the PDF.

A QR code on the document

Printed in the header, so anyone holding the document can reach it without typing a reference.

The shipment marked delivered

An e-CMR created from a shipment moves that shipment to delivered on the last signature. Nothing to confirm by hand.

A confirmation to every party

Shipper, carrier and consignee each receive the completion email with their download link.

English, Spanish and Romanian

Every invitation, signing screen and notification reaches each party in the language of the platform.

Signatures are collected through a certified electronic signature provider. Each one is tied to the exact version of the document that was signed and recorded in the audit trail, which is why a signed e-CMR cannot be altered afterwards.

e-CMR or DeCA — which one do you need?

It depends on where the truck runs, not on which document you prefer. International movements are documented with the CMR consignment note; national transport within Spain has its own obligation from 5 October 2026. An operation with both legs needs both documents, and CargoPay issues them from the same shipment.

International → e-CMR

  • Cross-border road freight under the CMR Convention
  • Signed by shipper, drivers and consignee
  • Evidence of the contract of carriage and of delivery

This page.

Spain, national → DeCA

  • National transport within Spain, cabotage included
  • PDF from structured data, opened by QR at a roadside check
  • Mandatory from 5 October 2026 under Ley 9/2025
Read the DeCA guide

Frequently asked questions about the e-CMR

An e-CMR is the CMR consignment note in electronic form: the same document that accompanies a road freight shipment and records what was loaded, by whom, for whom and in what condition it arrived — except that it is signed on a screen instead of on three paper copies.

Yes, between countries party to the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention concerning the electronic consignment note, adopted in Geneva in 2008 and in force since 5 June 2011. Its parties include Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Romania.

No. Each party receives a link by email and signs in the browser, on any phone or computer. There is nothing to register, nothing to install and no password to remember. Only the company issuing the document needs a CargoPay account.

Shipper first, then each driver, then the consignee. Every party is invited only once the previous one has signed, so nobody can sign out of turn and the sequence on the document always matches the sequence of the transport. The carrier company itself never signs — its drivers do.

Yes. The driver's invitation also carries the consignee's signing link, so the consignee can review and sign on the driver's phone at the dock. The signature is still recorded in the consignee's name.

In SpotSign mode, yes. The shipper can adjust the goods lines, the weights, the hazardous and temperature-controlled flags and the special instructions right up to the moment they sign, which is exactly when quantities tend to change. From that signature onwards the content is locked. In email mode the content is locked the moment the document is sent out.

Nothing is lost. The document returns to an editable state and you are notified with the reason given. Correct whatever was wrong and send it out again.

Each party on the document is a separate signing identity and needs its own email address. Where one person genuinely covers two roles, an alias such as name+consignee@company.com is enough: it reaches the same inbox but counts as a distinct recipient.

No. They cover different movements. The DeCA is the document required for national road transport within Spain from 5 October 2026; the e-CMR covers international movements under the CMR Convention. CargoPay issues both, from the same shipment.

They are related but not the same. eFTI — Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 — is the European framework that obliges authorities to accept transport information submitted electronically, from 9 July 2027. The e-CMR is the consignment note itself. Working with electronic documents now is what makes that deadline a non-event.

Run your next load without the paperwork

Issue one e-CMR and walk the whole flow, from the shipper's signature to the signed PDF, before you commit a single lane to it.

Issue my first e-CMR See the Spanish DeCA too

Notice. This page summarises the applicable rules for information only and is not legal advice. References are to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR, Geneva 1956), its Additional Protocol concerning the Electronic Consignment Note (Geneva 2008, in force 5 June 2011) and Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 on electronic freight transport information. Whether an e-CMR may be used on a given route depends on the states involved having joined the Additional Protocol. For how this applies to your own operation, consult the official texts or your adviser.