eFTI transport documents,
DeCA-ready for Spain
From 5 October 2026, every national road freight movement in Spain must carry an electronic administrative control document. CargoPay issues it from the data already on your shipment: a PDF generated from structured data, a QR code, and a permanent URL an inspector opens without signing in.
69 days until the obligation takes effect.
- Contracting loader
- Envases Levante, S.L.
NIF B96····· - Effective carrier
- Transportes Mérida, S.L.
NIF B06····· - Origin → Destination
- Valencia → Badajoz
- Transport date
- 05/10/2026
- Plates
- 1234 JKL / R5678 BCD
No account. No password.
In short
- The DeCA is mandatory for national road freight in Spain from 5 October 2026 (Ley 9/2025).
- It must be a PDF generated from structured data, under 5 MB, carrying a QR code and an HTTPS direct-download URL that needs no authentication.
- It must identify the contracting loader and the effective carrier by tax number, plus the eight fields of article 6 of Orden FOM/2861/2012.
What exactly is the DeCA?
The DeCA, or Documento electrónico de Control Administrativo, is the document that must cover every national road freight movement in Spain and that inspection services can demand at any check. It replaces the paper consignment note with a PDF generated from structured data, identified by a QR code that lets anyone open it on the spot.
Its legal basis is Ley 9/2025, and its technical requirements are set out in the Resolución of 5 June 2026 (BOE-A-2026-12784). The document's minimum content is fixed by article 6 of Orden FOM/2861/2012, as amended by Real Decreto 70/2019.
The rules also allow an important shortcut: the DeCA obligation can be satisfied by an existing transport document — a consignment note, an ADR document or a waste transfer document — provided it contains every article 6 data item and identifies both the contracting loader and the effective carrier. That is exactly the principle CargoPay's document is built on.
Who does it apply to, and from when?
It applies to all national road freight carried within Spain, cabotage included, from 5 October 2026. International transport falls outside the DeCA and continues to use the CMR consignment note.
Within the DeCA
- National transport within Spain
- Cabotage performed on Spanish territory
- The domestic legs of a larger operation
Outside the DeCA
- International transport, which uses the CMR consignment note
- Modes other than road transport
CargoPay issues both documents, so an operation with a domestic and an international leg is documented from the same shipment.
What data must the DeCA contain?
Article 6 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 sets eight mandatory fields, lettered a to h. CargoPay's document covers all of them from data you already enter when creating the shipment.
| Art. 6 | Mandatory field | How CargoPay covers it |
|---|---|---|
| a) | Contracting loader: name or company name, NIF and address | Printed in the parties table, with the loading company's tax number and full address. |
| b) | Effective carrier: name or company name and NIF | Printed in the transport table, alongside the carrier's tax number and contact details. |
| c) | Place of origin and destination of the consignment | Loading and unloading places, taken from the shipment's structured addresses. |
| d) | Nature and weight of the goods | Goods table with description, quantity, weight and volume for each line. |
| e) | Identification of any special circulation authorisation | Captured in the observations field when the vehicle requires a special permit. |
| f) | Date the transport is performed | A dedicated transport-date field, distinct from the record's creation date. |
| g) | Vehicle plates (tractor plus trailer or semi-trailer) | Tractor, trailer and second-trailer plates in the vehicles table. |
| h) | Observations, reservations or other indications by the parties | Free-text observations and special instructions field. |
What technical requirements do the rules impose?
The Resolución of 5 June 2026 goes beyond content: it defines how the file must be generated, how it must be published, and how it must be readable at the roadside. Here are the requirements and CargoPay's answer to each.
PDF generated from structured data
The document is composed directly from shipment data. It is never a scan or a photograph, which the rules declare invalid.
Maximum size of 5 MB
A single-shipment document runs to a few hundred kilobytes, far below the ceiling.
A unique URL per document, HTTPS with TLS 1.2 or above
Every issued document gets its own 64-character identifier and is served over HTTPS only.
The URL must not expire before the service ends
The link carries no expiry: it stays live for as long as the document is issued.
Direct download, no credentials, no manual interaction
The link opens the PDF immediately. There is no login screen, no sign-up and no intermediate step.
A QR code encoding the URL
The QR is printed in the document header with high error correction so it scans reliably from paper.
A creation timestamp and one for every later modification
Each document records its creation date, its last modification and its version number.
Modification with traceability
A corrected document is issued as a new document linked to the previous one, leaving the original intact.
A note on electronic signatures: the DeCA does not require one to be valid. Only where the document also serves a contractual purpose between the parties is a signature required, and then an eIDAS advanced electronic signature is the minimum. CargoPay includes a signing flow for those who need it.
How do you issue a DeCA in CargoPay?
In five steps, with nothing typed twice: the document is built from the shipment data you have already recorded.
Record the shipment
Origin, destination, goods and weight. If the shipment already exists in CargoPay, there is nothing to re-enter.
Assign carrier and vehicle
The effective carrier with its tax number, the driver, and the tractor and trailer plates.
Generate the document
CargoPay composes the PDF straight from the shipment's structured data. Never from a scan.
Issue it and get the QR code
On issue the document receives its permanent public URL, and the QR code is printed on the PDF itself.
Hand it to the driver
On a phone or on paper. At a check, the officer scans the QR and the document opens at once.
What happens at a roadside check?
The officer scans the QR code on the document and the PDF opens directly in their browser over HTTPS. There is no login screen, no account to create and no app to install: the rules demand direct download with no credentials and no manual interaction, and that is how it is built.
- The driver needs only the QR code, on screen or printed.
- The document lives on the server, not on the driver's phone.
- The link is unique per document and never appears in search engines.
- The link does not expire while the document is issued.
Scan → HTTPS → PDF.
Three seconds, zero friction.
Frequently asked questions about the DeCA
Reach 5 October already prepared
Issue your first document today and walk the whole flow, from shipment to QR scan, before the obligation takes effect.
Notice. This page summarises the applicable rules for information only and is not legal advice. References are to Ley 9/2025, the Resolución of 5 June 2026 (BOE-A-2026-12784) and article 6 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 as amended by Real Decreto 70/2019. For how they apply to your own operation, consult the official text in the BOE or your adviser.