Cabotage – 3 operations in 7 days and a 4-day cooling-off period
After an international carriage, you may carry out a maximum of 3 domestic operations within 7 days. After that, the vehicle must wait 4 days.
Cabotage is domestic carriage of goods in a country where your employer is not established, for example with a Belgian truck from Lyon to Marseille.
The basic rule
| Rule | Content |
|---|---|
| Condition | You enter the country with a laden international carriage |
| Number | After unloading that carriage, a maximum of 3 cabotage operations |
| Time limit | The last cabotage operation must be unloaded within 7 days after unloading the international carriage |
| Entering unladen | If you enter a country unladen after an international carriage elsewhere, you may carry out a maximum of 1 cabotage operation there, within 3 days of entering (and within the 7 days) |
The cooling-off period (since 21 February 2022)
After your last cabotage operation, the same vehicle may not carry out any cabotage in that country for 4 days. These 4 days begin at 00:00 on the day after the last unloading.
Example: you unload your last cabotage operation in France on Tuesday at 16:00. The cooling-off period runs from Wednesday 00:00 until Saturday 24:00. From Sunday, the vehicle may carry out cabotage in France again, after a new international carriage.
International carriages to and from that country are still permitted during the cooling-off period.
Documents in the cab
You must be able to show clear evidence of:
- the international carriage with which you entered the country;
- each cabotage operation you carried out afterwards.
For each operation, the document (usually the CMR or e-CMR) must show: the details and signature of the consignor, the carrier and the consignee, the place and date of loading and unloading, a description of the goods and the registration plate of the vehicle.
Cabotage = posting
During cabotage, you are posted in that country. You are then entitled to at least the pay of that country and your employer must submit a posting declaration. See the chapter Pay, posting and social rights.
Vans
Since 21 May 2022, a company carrying out international carriage or cabotage with vehicles above 2.5 tonnes needs a Community licence. The cabotage rules then also apply to those vehicles.