Transport Control Document: What It Is, When It Is Required and How It Works

The transport control document is one of the main administrative documents used in public road freight transport in Spain.

Its purpose is to record the essential details of each shipment and allow the authorities to verify during an inspection who contracted the transport, who is carrying it out, what goods are being transported and between which locations the operation is taking place.

It should not be confused with the consignment note. Although both documents may contain similar information and, in certain cases, the same document can fulfil both functions, their legal purpose is not the same.

The system also changes from 5 October 2026, when the administrative control document must be generated digitally for the transport operations covered by the rules.

In this guide, we explain what the transport control document is, when it is required, who must prepare it, what information it must include, which transport operations are exempt and what changes with the introduction of the digital DeCA.

What is the transport control document?

The transport control document is an administrative document required for certain public road freight transport operations in Spain.

Its main legal basis is Order FOM/2861/2012, which requires a control document to be prepared for each shipment in which a contract of carriage is carried out.

This means that its primary purpose is not to define the contractual terms between the parties, but to support the administrative control of the transport operation.

During transport, the documentation must accompany the goods so that it can be made available when requested by transport inspection services or enforcement authorities.

For continuous transport contracts, a separate control document must also exist for each individual shipment.

What is the transport control document used for?

The control document allows the essential details of a transport operation to be evidenced before the public authorities.

It makes it possible to identify the parties involved, check what goods are being carried and determine the origin and destination of the operation.

It identifies the contractual shipper and the carrier

The document must clearly identify the contractual shipper and the actual carrier.

This distinction is particularly important when intermediaries, freight forwarders, transport agencies, logistics operators or other companies are involved between the owner of the goods and the company physically carrying out the transport.

It identifies the transport operation

The document also records the origin, destination and date of the transport.

This allows the documentation to be linked to a specific shipment and to the service being carried out.

It identifies the goods being transported

The document contains information about the nature and weight of the goods.

This allows the authorities to match the documentation with the load actually being transported.

It facilitates transport inspections

As an administrative document, one of its main purposes is to ensure that the required information can be made available to transport inspection services.

For this reason, it is particularly important that the document is completed correctly and can be accessed during the transport operation.

When is the transport control document mandatory?

Order FOM/2861/2012 establishes the control document requirement for public road freight transport operations falling within its scope.

As a general rule, a document must be prepared for each shipment corresponding to a contract of carriage.

It is therefore not a single general document for a company, a vehicle or an entire route.

Documentation must be associated with each shipment whenever the applicable rules require it.

This obligation must also be assessed together with the exemptions provided for in the Order.

Which transport operations are exempt from the control document?

Not every road freight transport operation is subject to this requirement.

The legislation provides for several cases in which the obligation does not apply.

Transport operations that do not require an administrative authorisation

Transport operations are excluded where no prior administrative authorisation is required under road transport legislation.

Removal services

Removal transport operations are expressly included among the exemptions established by Order FOM/2861/2012.

Transport of broken-down or damaged vehicles

The transport of damaged or broken-down vehicles is also excluded when it is carried out using special vehicles designed for this purpose.

Certain parcel and distribution services

The rules also provide exemptions for certain parcel services and similar activities involving the collection or delivery of a small number of packages that can be easily handled by one person using the equipment available on board the vehicle.

Before preparing the document, companies should therefore check whether the specific transport operation falls within the scope of the applicable rules.

Who must prepare the transport control document?

The responsibility for documenting the shipment does not fall solely on the driver.

The legislation identifies two parties responsible for preparing the transport control document.

The contractual shipper

The contractual shipper is the individual or legal entity that contracts the transport of the shipment directly with the actual carrier.

This may be the effective shipper, but it can also be another carrier, a transport agency, a freight forwarder, a cooperative, a logistics operator or another company that regularly contracts or intermediates transport services.

The actual carrier

The actual carrier is the party that physically performs the transport under the relevant authorisation.

The contractual shipper and the actual carrier must therefore both be clearly identified in the documentation.

This distinction is also relevant for DeCA, as both parties must be expressly identified in the electronic document.

What information must the transport control document include?

Order FOM/2861/2012 establishes a series of essential details that must appear in the document.

Contractual shipper details

The document must include the name or company name of the contractual shipper, together with its tax identification number and address.

Actual carrier details

The carrier physically carrying out the service must be identified by its name or company name and tax identification number.

Origin and destination of the shipment

The document must state the place of origin and the destination of the transport operation.

These details make it possible to identify the route associated with the shipment.

Nature and weight of the goods

The nature of the goods being transported must be described and their weight must be indicated.

Where the characteristics of the load make it difficult to determine the exact weight, the rules allow another unit or measure to be used to quantify the goods.

Special authorisations where applicable

If the vehicle requires a special circulation authorisation, that authorisation must also be identified in the document.

Date of the transport operation

The document must indicate the date on which the transport corresponding to the shipment is carried out.

Vehicle registration number

The registration number of the vehicle used must be included.

Where an articulated vehicle combination is used, both the registration number of the tractor unit and that of the semi-trailer or trailer must be stated.

If the vehicle changes after the transport operation has started, this change must also be reflected in the control documentation.

Is there an official model for the transport control document?

A common question is whether all companies must use the same official form.

The legislation states that the transport control document is free-form.

This means companies can use the model, format or name that best suits their operations, provided that the document contains all the mandatory information.

What matters is therefore not the visual template used, but whether the documentation correctly contains all the information required by law.

This flexibility also explains why other transport documents can fulfil the role of the control document when they contain all the necessary information.

Can the consignment note be used as a transport control document?

Yes.

The rules allow a consignment note or other documentation proving the transport operation to serve as the administrative control document when it complies with the applicable legislation and includes all the required information.

This can avoid the need to create two separate documents containing almost identical information.

However, this does not mean that the consignment note and the control document are exactly the same thing.

The consignment note primarily has a contractual function, while the control document has an administrative function.

The legislation simply allows the same document to fulfil both functions when it meets the relevant requirements.

You can learn more about this distinction in our guide to the digital consignment note.

Who must carry the document during transport?

Traditionally, the rules require two copies of the transport control document to be issued.

One remains with the contractual shipper and the other is held by the actual carrier, which must have access to the documentation during the transport operation.

This ensures that both the party contracting the transport and the party carrying it out retain evidence of the operation.

With the mandatory digitalisation of the control document, the way this information is made available to the driver and inspection authorities changes, but the need to access the information during transport remains essential.

How long must the transport control document be kept?

The contractual shipper and the actual carrier must retain a copy of the transport control document for at least one year.

During that period, the documentation must remain available to the Road Transport Inspectorate.

The traditional rules allow the document to be retained on different media provided that all the required information remains intact and legible.

This retention requirement is especially relevant for companies handling a large number of transport operations, where managing thousands of paper documents can make later retrieval difficult.

What changes from 5 October 2026?

The main recent change affects the format of the document.

From 5 October 2026, the administrative control document required for public road freight transport operations covered by the rules must be generated digitally.

This electronic version of the administrative control document is known as DeCA.

Digitalisation does not remove the obligation to document the transport operation and does not completely change the information the document must contain.

What mainly changes is how the document is generated, stored, accessed and made available to the authorities.

DeCA must be created digitally through an IT system and must comply with the technical requirements established by the Resolution of 5 June 2026.

These include a native PDF format, a QR code, a unique access URL and specific requirements relating to availability and traceability.

For a detailed explanation of these requirements, see our guide on what DeCA is.

Does the transport control document have to be carried on paper from October 2026?

Not necessarily.

The fact that the control document becomes digital does not mean that paper can never be used during an inspection.

Once the DeCA has been correctly generated, the driver can access the documentation in several ways.

For example, the driver may use an electronic copy, a printed copy containing the corresponding QR code or the QR code itself as a separate file.

The important point is that the original document must have been generated correctly in digital form and that the authorities can access the required information.

Therefore, printing a digital document is possible, but scanning a document that was originally created on paper does not turn it into a valid DeCA.

Does the transport control document have to be signed?

A signature is not a general requirement for the validity of the administrative transport control document.

The Resolution of 5 June 2026 expressly clarifies that neither Order FOM/2861/2012 nor the rules governing these documents establish a general signature requirement for their administrative validity.

The situation may be different if the same documentation is also used to fulfil a contractual function.

In those cases, the signature requirements applicable to the contractual document may also apply.

This distinction is important to avoid confusing the requirements of the transport control document with those of an electronic consignment note or an eCMR.

How to digitalise transport control document management

The digital requirement represents a significant change for companies that still rely on paper documents, photographs sent by drivers or files spread across different systems.

The transition can also be used as an opportunity to review the entire transport document workflow.

Centralise transport data

Information such as the shipper, carrier, origin, destination, goods or vehicle registration number often already exists in a TMS, ERP or other management system.

Reusing this information reduces manual data entry and limits errors.

Make the documentation easy for drivers to access

The documentation must be accessible during transport.

The solution used should therefore allow drivers to access the required documents easily from their device.

Keep documentation linked to the transport service

Linking documents to each shipment makes them easier to locate later and avoids relying on scattered files.

It also simplifies document retention and retrieval in the event of an inspection or later check.

Integrate documentation with other digital processes

Digitalisation provides greater value when documentation is part of the same workflow as orders, routes, deliveries and supporting evidence.

With Kaira Driver, carriers can generate and manage their eCMR as part of their day-to-day operations and work with documentation that complies with DeCA regulations when the relevant requirements are met.

Frequently asked questions about the transport control document

What is the transport control document?

It is an administrative document used to record the essential details of certain public road freight transport operations. It must identify, among other things, the contractual shipper, the actual carrier, the route and the goods being transported.

Who must issue the transport control document?

The rules identify the contractual shipper and the actual carrier as the parties responsible for the document. Both must be correctly identified in the documentation associated with the shipment.

Can the consignment note be used as the transport control document?

Yes, provided that the consignment note includes all the information required for the transport control document and complies with the applicable rules. This allows the same document to fulfil both a contractual and an administrative function.

How long must the transport control document be retained?

The responsible parties must retain a copy for at least one year and keep it available to the Road Transport Inspectorate.

What changes with DeCA from October 2026?

From 5 October 2026, the administrative control document must be generated digitally for the transport operations covered by the rules. DeCA also introduces specific technical requirements for how the document is created, accessed and stored.