Question 1

What does DeCA stand for?

Accepted Answer

Documento electrónico de Control Administrativo (Electronic Administrative Control Document). It's the control document that must accompany goods in public road transport, issued in electronic format.

Question 2

Since when is the DeCA mandatory?

Accepted Answer

Since 5 October 2026 the control document must be issued in electronic format for domestic public road freight transport in Spain.

Question 3

Can I still use the paper control document?

Accepted Answer

From 5 October 2026 the required format is electronic. The obligation to document each shipment isn't new; what changes is the medium in which it must be issued and kept.

Question 4

Does the DeCA need an electronic signature?

Accepted Answer

No. None of the applicable regulations require an electronic signature for the DeCA to be valid as an administrative control document. The advanced signature is only needed if the document must also serve as a consignment note or eCMR with commercial evidentiary value.

Question 5

Is scanning the paper control document enough?

Accepted Answer

No. The Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026 requires the file to be generated natively and digitally from structured data, and expressly excludes scans of paper documents.

Question 6

How many copies must be issued?

Accepted Answer

Article 8 requires two copies: one is kept by the contracting loader and the other by the actual carrier, who must carry it on board the vehicle during transport.

Question 7

When is the DeCA mandatory?

Accepted Answer

From 5 October 2026 the control document must be issued in electronic format for domestic public road freight transport.

Question 8

Who does the DeCA obligation affect?

Accepted Answer

The obliged parties under article 4 of Orden FOM/2861/2012: the actual carrier and the contracting loader, including agencies, freight forwarders, cooperatives and logistics operators that contract the transport.

Question 9

Do I need an ERP or a TMS to comply with the DeCA?

Accepted Answer

No. The regulation governs the characteristics of the electronic file and of the application that generates it; it does not require integrating any management system.

Question 10

What happens if I don't issue the DeCA from October 2026?

Accepted Answer

Article 7.1 attributes responsibility for not formalising the control document to both the contracting loader and the actual carrier, and the same responsibility applies if it isn't carried on board the vehicle.

Question 11

How is a DeCA made?

Accepted Answer

You gather the eight data items in article 6 of Orden FOM/2861/2012, generate a native PDF with a QR code pointing to a unique download address, and hand it to the driver before setting off. One document is made per shipment.

Question 12

Is there an official DeCA template?

Accepted Answer

No. Article 5 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 declares the document free-form, adjustable to whatever model, format and name suits best. What the regulation fixes are the data items and, from 5 October 2026, the characteristics of the electronic file.

Question 13

Can I make the DeCA in Word or Excel?

Accepted Answer

You can use them to prepare the content, but on their own they don't meet the Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026: the file must be a natively generated PDF, with a QR code pointing to a unique web address accessible over HTTPS without authentication, and the application must log the creation date/time and any modification. A scan of paper is not accepted.

Question 14

Do I need to make a DeCA for every trip?

Accepted Answer

One per shipment. In continuous transport contracts there are as many control documents as shipments, under article 3.2 of Orden FOM/2861/2012.

Question 15

Who fills in the DeCA, the loader or the carrier?

Accepted Answer

It's a single document with data from both. Under article 7, the contracting loader is responsible for data a), b), c) and d), and the actual carrier for e), f) and g). Whoever includes remarks under letter h) is responsible for them.

Question 16

How much does it cost to make a DeCA?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the tool. With El DeCA you can issue up to 15 documents a month for free, no card and no installation.

Question 17

How many mandatory data items does the DeCA have?

Accepted Answer

Eight, identified with letters a) to h) of article 6. Six are always required; letter e) only if there's a special traffic authorisation and h) only if a party asks for remarks to be recorded.

Question 18

What if I don't know the exact weight of the goods?

Accepted Answer

Article 6.d) itself covers that case: when the exact weight is hard to determine because of the loading circumstances, another type of measurement can be used, such as packages, pallets or cubic metres.

Question 19

Do I need to include the trailer's registration?

Accepted Answer

Only for an articulated combination. In that case both the tractor's and the semi-trailer's or trailer's must be recorded. For a rigid vehicle, one registration is enough.

Question 20

Can I add data that isn't in article 6?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Article 6 sets a minimum content ("at least") and article 5 declares the document free-form, so you can add order references, contacts or delivery conditions without issue.

Question 21

What do I do if I change trucks mid-transport?

Accepted Answer

Letter g) obliges the transport company to record that circumstance in the control documentation. No new document needs to be issued, but the change must be noted.

Question 22

Who is liable if the DeCA doesn't have the correct registration?

Accepted Answer

The actual carrier. Article 7.3 attributes responsibility for inaccurate or missing data under letters e), f) and g) to them, and the registration is letter g).

Question 23

Who is liable if the weight of the goods is wrong?

Accepted Answer

The contracting loader. The nature and weight of the goods is letter d), included among those article 7.2 attributes to the loader.

Question 24

Can the loader avoid the fine if the truck doesn't carry the DeCA?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if they prove the document was issued. Article 7.1 expressly exempts the contracting loader in that case. The actual carrier has no such exemption.

Question 25

Who is liable for the carrier's data on the DeCA?

Accepted Answer

The contracting loader. Even though it's the carrier's own data, letter b) is among those article 7.2 assigns to the loader, because it's the loader who contracts and must record who with.

Question 26

What happens if the vehicle is changed mid-transport?

Accepted Answer

Letter g) of article 6 requires that circumstance to be recorded in the control documentation, and it's up to the transport company to do so.

Question 27

How large can the DeCA's PDF be?

Accepted Answer

At most 5 MB, under the Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026. A text document with its QR code usually weighs a few tens of kilobytes, well under the limit.

Question 28

Does a scanned PDF count as a DeCA?

Accepted Answer

No. The Resolution requires the file to be generated natively and digitally by transforming structured data, and expressly excludes scans of paper documents.

Question 29

Must the DeCA's QR code work without logging in?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The web address must allow direct access with no authentication and immediate PDF download, over HTTPS with TLS 1.2 or higher.

Question 30

Do I need to register the domain where DeCAs are stored?

Accepted Answer

No longer. The Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026 removed the pre-registration of the domain required by the previous resolution, from 22 de mayo de 2023.

Question 31

How long must the DeCA's URL stay active?

Accepted Answer

The Resolution allows deactivating it seven days after the service ends. The one-year retention obligation for the document, under article 9 of Orden FOM/2861/2012, is separate and can be met on any medium.

Question 32

Do house removals need a DeCA?

Accepted Answer

No. Article 2.1.b) of Orden FOM/2861/2012 expressly excludes removal transports from the order's scope.

Question 33

Does courier delivery need a control document?

Accepted Answer

No, as long as it's the collection or delivery of a small number of parcels a single person can handle with the tools carried on the vehicle. If the load exceeds that, the exemption doesn't apply.

Question 34

Does a CMR replace the DeCA?

Accepted Answer

It can. Article 2.2 admits a consignment note or other documentation compliant with applicable legislation as a control document, as long as it contains all the data in article 6.

Question 35

Does complementary private transport need a DeCA?

Accepted Answer

It depends on whether it requires an operating title. Article 2.1.a) exempts transports for which prior authorisation from the Administration isn't required.

Question 36

Does the CMR replace the DeCA?

Accepted Answer

It can. Article 2.2 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 admits the consignment note as a control document as long as it contains all the data in article 6. If any is missing, it doesn't replace it.

Question 37

What's the difference between the DeCA and the CMR?

Accepted Answer

The DeCA is an administrative control document for domestic transport, required by the Inspectorate. The CMR is the international consignment note and proves the contract and the condition of the goods between the parties.

Question 38

Do I need a DeCA if I do international transport?

Accepted Answer

The obligation from 5 October 2026 refers to domestic public transport. For international transport the applicable document is the CMR under the Convention.

Question 39

Does the DeCA work as a consignment note?

Accepted Answer

No. The DeCA has an administrative nature under article 3.1 and isn't designed to prove the contract or the condition of the goods between the parties, which is the consignment note's function.

Question 40

How long must the DeCA be kept?

Accepted Answer

At least one year, available to the Road Transport Inspectorate, under article 9.1 of Orden FOM/2861/2012.

Question 41

Can I keep the DeCA only digitally?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Article 9.2 admits any medium as long as all the information required is kept intact and the data remains legible.

Question 42

Does the QR code need to keep working all year?

Accepted Answer

The regulation doesn't require it. The Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026 allows deactivating the web address seven days after the service ends. The one-year document retention obligation is separate and can be met on any medium.

Question 43

Who must keep the control document?

Accepted Answer

Both parties required to document the shipment: the actual carrier and the contracting loader. Each must keep their own copy.

Question 44

What does the regulation require instead of a signature?

Accepted Answer

That the application log the date and time the electronic file was created and, if applicable, the date and time it was modified.

Question 45

When do I actually need an advanced electronic signature?

Accepted Answer

When the document must also serve as a consignment note or eCMR with evidentiary value in a commercial claim. It isn't necessary for administrative control.

Question 46

Do I need a digital certificate to issue the DeCA?

Accepted Answer

No. No certificate or qualified trust service provider is required to issue the administrative control document.