Since 1 July 2026: the carriage of goods over 2.5 tonnes falls under the driving and rest time rules.
But only: for international transport or cabotage. Purely domestic transport stays at 3.5 tonnes.
The trailer counts towards that 2.5 tonnes.
Result: a tachograph, a driver card, and every driving and rest time rule.
What actually changed, word for word
The regulation on driving and rest time sets out what it applies to in Article 2. A new point was added:
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.
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, Article 2(1)(aa). Accessed 26 August 2026.
The old point stays exactly as it was: the carriage of goods over 3.5 tonnes falls under it regardless, whether you cross a border or not.
Two things that trip people up
The trailer counts. The text says including any trailer, or semi-trailer. Drive a 2.4-tonne van and hook on a trailer, and you're comfortably over the line. Look at the combination, not just the towing vehicle alone.
It's only about international transport and cabotage. Stay within your own country's borders on domestic runs with your van, and nothing changes, the 3.5-tonne line still applies. Cross the border once with a loaded van over 2.5 tonnes, and you fall under the rules for that trip.
Why you then need a tachograph too
The tachograph duty sits in a different regulation, but it hangs directly off the first one:
Tachographs shall be installed and used in vehicles registered in a Member State which are used for the carriage of passengers or goods by road and to which Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 applies.
Regulation (EU) No 165/2014, Article 3(1).
Fall under the one and you fall under the other. There's no separate threshold for the tachograph, it follows automatically. And with it comes the driver card and everything that goes with it.
What applies to you now
The core rules, all from the same regulation:
| Daily driving time | maximum 9 hours, may extend to 10 but not more than twice a week |
| Weekly driving time | maximum 56 hours |
| Any two consecutive weeks combined | maximum 90 hours |
| Break | after 4.5 hours' driving, at least 45 uninterrupted minutes, or 15 followed by 30 |
| Daily rest | within every 24 hours since the previous rest; 9 to 11 hours counts as a reduced daily rest |
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, Articles 6, 7 and 8.
There's also a recording duty many people overlook: time spent driving for commercial activities that fall outside this regulation has to be recorded as other work. Manually, on a record sheet, a printout, or via the manual entry function on the device.
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, Article 6(5).
What you'll want to know next
If you're in this system for the first time, these are the three things that go wrong most often:
- The 56-day rule, because it doubled at the end of 2024 and most sources still quote the old figure.
- Entering the country code, the mistake made most often.
- Driver card lost or stolen, because Belgium and the Netherlands differ quite a bit here.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport, Article 2(1)(aa), and Articles 6, 7 and 8. Consolidated version of 31 December 2024. EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 on tachographs in road transport, Article 3(1). Consolidated version of 31 December 2024. EUR-Lex
Quoted verbatim from the consolidated English version on EUR-Lex, accessed 26 August 2026. Member States can apply exemptions for certain transport types; those sit in Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation 561/2006 and differ by country.
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