DeCA mandatory in 2026: what changes on 5 October

When does the DeCA become mandatory?

Spain's Sustainable Mobility Law (Ley 9/2025), in its eighth transitional provision, established that the control document had to become digital ten months after the law entered into force. The law entered into force on 5 December 2025, so the obligation starts on 5 October 2026, a date confirmed by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

Who is affected?

Everyone involved in public road freight transport subject to the control document regulated by Orden FOM/2861/2012: contractual shippers, effective carriers (companies and self-employed drivers) and, in practice, the agencies that manage their paperwork. If your company operates domestic transport legs inside Spain, the obligation applies regardless of where the business is established.

Which transports are included?

The obligation reaches the transports that were already required to carry the administrative control document; Orden FOM/2861/2012 itself lists the exempted cases in its articles. In short: if your transport already required a paper control document, from 5 October 2026 it must be generated digitally. If you are new to the document, start with what the DeCA is.

What the PDF must look like

The Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026 (the technical resolution published in the BOE) requires the file to be a native digital PDF, generated from the application's structured data (scans and images are not valid), with a maximum size of 5 MB. The application must record the date and time of creation, and the document must be created before the transport service effectively starts.

Each DeCA embeds a QR code with a unique web address specific to that document. The URL must use HTTPS (TLS 1.2 or higher) and allow inspection officers to download the PDF directly for the whole duration of the transport service.

Can the driver carry it on paper?

Yes. What must be digital is the generation of the document. The driver may carry an electronic copy on a mobile device or a printed copy, as long as it bears the QR code. No electronic signature is required as a general rule: the resolution states this explicitly, although a signature may be needed when the document is also used for contractual purposes.

Retention and modifications

Generated files must be kept for at least one year. The DeCA's data may be modified during the service, but with traceability: either the PDF is modified marking the previous data as invalid, or a new PDF is generated while the original file is preserved. In both cases, the date and time of the modification are recorded.

Can a consignment note replace the DeCA?

Yes. Orden FOM/2861/2012 allows another valid transport document to serve as the control document if it contains all the mandatory data of its Article 6, and the technical resolution accepts formats such as consignment notes, the ADR transport document or waste documentation, provided they meet the electronic document requirements.

How to prepare before 5 October

1. Identify which transports in your operation require the control document.
2. Gather your master data: clients (shippers), carriers, vehicles and trailers.
3. Choose a tool that generates the native digital PDF with QR and inspection URL, such as DeCAya.
4. Define who creates the DeCA for each transport and how it reaches the driver.
5. Run real tests before the deadline so the first inspected DeCA is not your first DeCA.

How DeCAya helps

DeCAya generates compliant DeCAs in seconds: a native digital PDF with its QR code and HTTPS inspection link, reusable clients and vehicles, driver sharing, document history and traceable modifications. It is built around the technical requirements published in the BOE and launches ahead of the 5 October 2026 deadline.