Who makes the DeCA when transport is subcontracted

When a transport job passes through several hands, the DeCA (Documento electrónico de Control Administrativo) for that consignment (envío) is not a matter for the whole chain but for two companies: the one that physically performs the transport, which is the last in the chain (the effective carrier, or transportista efectivo), and the one that hires it directly (the contractual shipper, or cargador contractual). Both are obliged to formalise it, and the rules do not say which of them has to generate it. This is explained in questions 8 and 9 of the FAQ published by Spain’s Ministry of Transport (Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible), which apply the definitions in Order FOM/2861/2012 (Orden FOM/2861/2012).

The two parties in article 4

Article 4 of the Order obliges two parties to formalise the document:

• Effective carrier: the “holder of the authorisation under which the transport is materially carried out” (our translation).
• Contractual shipper: whoever “contracts the transport of the consignment directly with the effective carrier”, whether that is the actual shipper or another carrier, a cooperative, a transport agency, a freight forwarder, a warehouse-distributor, a logistics operator or anyone who habitually contracts transport or acts as an intermediary in contracting it.

The key word is directly. The contractual shipper is not necessarily the owner of the goods, but whoever sits just one link above the lorry making the trip.

What the Ministry says about subcontracting

Question 9 settles it with an example: “If a carrier (Carrier A) subcontracts another (Carrier B) for a given consignment, then the latter will be the effective carrier (Carrier B) while the former will be the contractual shipper (Carrier A)”.

And it adds that, beyond the consignment note (carta de porte) between the shipper (cargador) and the carrier (porteador) under Law 15/2009 (Ley 15/2009), “for the purposes of the DeCA, the responsibilities lie with whoever materially performs the transport, the last in the subcontracting chain, and whoever contracts them”. In other words, the parties to the commercial contract and the parties to the DeCA may not be the same; the difference between the two documents is covered in DeCA vs consignment note (in Spanish).

Both answers point out that digitalisation does not change the Order: the responsibilities “remain the same” as on paper.

An example with four companies

The Ministry only gives the example of two carriers. What follows is not an official example but our reading of article 4 and question 9 applied to a longer chain.

A factory in Valencia needs to send a full load to Zaragoza and entrusts it to a transport agency. The agency contracts the service with the company Transportes A, which has no lorry available and subcontracts it to Transportes B, a self-employed haulier who makes the trip with their own vehicle and their own authorisation.

• Effective carrier: Transportes B, because the transport is physically carried out under its authorisation.
• Contractual shipper: Transportes A, because it is the one that contracts directly with B.
• The factory and the agency appear neither as contractual shipper nor as effective carrier in the DeCA for that consignment.

If the agency had hired B without going through A, the contractual shipper would be the agency. And if the factory had hired B directly, it would be the factory.

If your case involves transhipments or several legs, the Ministry’s FAQ page has an enquiry form.

Who generates it: what the rules leave open

According to question 8, “in Order FOM/2861/2012 it is not specified who must materially produce the document, but it is established that both are obliged to formalise it”. In the example, either A or B can generate the DeCA, so it is advisable for them to agree on it between themselves. What will not do is each of them assuming the other is doing it: if the document does not exist, the Ministry’s webinar is clear (slide 9): “both penalised”.

Article 7.1 of the Order adds a nuance for the contractual shipper. Both are liable if the document is not carried on board, “unless the contractual shipper proves that the document was issued”, in which case it is exempted. For A, then, it is advisable to be able to show that the DeCA was issued. The Order does not say how this is proved. In our view, it helps that the technical resolution of 5 June 2026 (Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026) requires the file’s creation date and time to be recorded and stored as PDF metadata (section one, point 2, and section two, point 1), although it requires this for another purpose: ensuring that the DeCA is created before the effective start of the service.

Who answers for each item of data

Even if only one of them generates it, each party answers for its own data (articles 7.2 and 7.3 of the Order and the Ministry’s question 10):

• Contractual shipper: points a) to d) of article 6, that is, its own identification, the effective carrier’s, the origin and destination, and the nature and weight of the goods. It also answers for any observations it includes itself (point h).
• Effective carrier: points e) to g), that is, the special circulation authorisation where applicable, the date of the transport and the number plates. It also answers for its own observations.

In the example, A answers for the nature and weight of goods it has not loaded itself. In practice, that information has to reach it from the factory, via the agency. Each field is detailed in mandatory DeCA data (in Spanish).

Who keeps it

Article 9 of the Order requires both of them to keep an original or a copy for at least one year. Point 4 of section two (apartado segundo.4) of the Resolution of 5 June 2026 adapts this to the digital format: the contractual shipper and the effective carrier may each have their own repository, and “if the electronic files were generated by one of them, it is sufficient for the other to be able to download the files for one year”.

If B generates the DeCA, A does not need a copy in its own system, but it does need to be able to download it during that year. And vice versa.

How to organise it along the chain

1. Agree with your counterparty, consignment by consignment or by contract, who generates the DeCA.
2. The contractual shipper provides the identification of the parties, the origin, the destination and the nature and weight of the goods.
3. The effective carrier provides the date, the number plates and, where applicable, the special authorisation.
4. Whoever does not generate it must be able to download it for one year.
5. The driver receives their copy before the effective start of the service (section seven of the Resolution; see the DeCA roadside inspection).

Each party’s obligations are set out in DeCA for shippers and DeCA for transport companies (both in Spanish).

In DeCAya

DeCAya’s PDF keeps the contractual shipper’s box and the effective carrier’s box separate, gives each of them its own observations space and sets out the split of responsibilities between points a) to d) and e) to g). It also has an optional consignor (expedidor) field, for whoever hands over the goods when that is not the contractual shipper.