Can this truck still take a domestic load?
Three operations in seven days, then four days out of the country. Get it wrong and the fine lands on the operator, not the driver. Put in your real dates and get a straight answer.
Where and how
Time the international load finished unloading — that is when the clock starts.
Cabotage already done
One operation is one domestic load, however many drops it has.
The load you are offered
When you would pick it up. Leave as-is to check right now.
The rules this uses
- After unloading an international load, up to three cabotage operations in the following seven days — anywhere in that member state.
- Entering empty from another member state allows one operation only, within three days of crossing.
- When the operations are finished, the same vehicle may not do cabotage again in that country for four days.
- Every cabotage operation is posting: an IMI declaration before the job, and the host country's minimum wage for those days.
- Transit and bilateral transport are not cabotage and are not posting — an empty run through a country costs you nothing from the quota.
- The vehicle must return to the operator's country of establishment within eight weeks; the driver within four.
Cabotage questions that cost money
What counts as one cabotage operation?
One transport contract — one loading, however many unloading points it has, or several loadings to one unloading point. Three separate consignments for three customers is three operations even if they run the same day.
Does an empty run out of the country reset the seven days?
No. Leaving does not restart the quota. The seven-day window runs from the international unloading, and once you have used it, the four-day cooling-off applies to that country whether you are in it or not.
What is the cooling-off period exactly?
Four days during which the same vehicle cannot perform cabotage in the same member state. It starts when the cabotage period ends. You can still drive through the country, do bilateral work, or do cabotage in a different member state.
Do I need a posting declaration for cabotage?
Yes, always. Cabotage and cross-trade are posting under the Mobility Package: submit the IMI declaration before the job starts, pay the host country's minimum rates for those days, and keep the records available for the driver to show.
What happens if we go over?
Fines are per operation and land on the operator, not the driver. In Germany and France they run into thousands of euros, and repeated breaches count against your Community licence good-repute standing.
Does transit count against the quota?
No. Driving through a country loaded for somewhere else is transit, and an international load into or out of your own country is bilateral. Neither touches the three-in-seven count, and neither is posting.