How many cabotage operations are allowed after unloading in the EU?

Up to 3 cabotage operations within 7 days of unloading the international load, in the same host country. The basis is Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 as amended by the Mobility Package. Every operation must end with unloading before the 7-day window closes.

What does the 4-day cooling-off period in cabotage mean?

Once cabotage in a given country is completed, the same vehicle may not perform new cabotage there for 4 days. The cooling-off is counted per vehicle and per country, regardless of whether the truck left the country in the meantime and returned with a new international load. Changing the driver does not open a new window.

Cabotage rules: 3 in 7 days, cooling off, UK

Cabotage is domestic carriage performed by a haulier established in another country. In the European Union, after unloading an international load you may perform up to 3 cabotage operations in the host country within 7 days, and once they are completed the same vehicle may not carry out new cabotage there for 4 days. A driver on cabotage falls under posting and the host country's minimum wage. The UK is not in the EU: cabotage by an EU haulier in Great Britain is governed by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement; check the limit in the agreement and on gov.uk.

How many cabotage operations can you perform after unloading in the EU?

Up to three within seven days of unloading the international load, in the same host country. The legal basis is Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 as amended by the Mobility Package, Regulation (EU) 2020/1055. What counts is the unloading of goods brought in from abroad: only then does the seven-day window open, and every cabotage operation must fit within it, unloading included. Four domestic jobs in a week is one too many, however short each of them is.

Once cabotage in a given country is completed, the same vehicle may not perform new cabotage there for 4 days. This is the cooling-off period. It does not depend on whether the vehicle left the country in the meantime and came back with a new international load; what counts is the vehicle and the country. In practice a fixed rotation of "unload in Germany, three domestic runs, new export loading and three more runs" will not work without a four-day break.

What does cabotage look like in the UK after Brexit?

Different, because the United Kingdom is not in the European Union and Regulation 1072/2009 does not apply there. Cabotage by an EU haulier in Great Britain is governed by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, known as the TCA. You check the number of permitted operations and the conditions in the current text of the agreement and in the guidance on gov.uk; we do not print a number here, because we do not state a limit without its source in the same sentence. The rule is simple: what is allowed in Germany is not necessarily allowed in England.

Whatever the country, a driver performing cabotage falls under posting and the minimum wage of the host country. Proof of legality is the set of CMR consignment notes: the one from the international carriage that opened the cabotage window, and one from each cabotage operation separately. Without the full set, a roadside check has no way of telling whether you are on your first operation or your fifth.

Cabotage after unloading step by step

Unload the international load. The consignee signs and dates the CMR; that date opens the 7-day window in the host country.
Check the cooling-off. Before taking a domestic job, you check that this vehicle has not completed cabotage in this country within the last 4 days.
Count the operations. Each domestic carriage is one operation; a maximum of three in the 7-day window, all unloaded before it closes.
Posting and minimum wage. You declare the driver's posting under the host country's rules and pay that country's minimum wage for the time on cabotage.
Full CMR set in the cab. The CMR from the international carriage and the CMR from each cabotage operation travel with the driver for inspection.
Leave or cool off. After the third operation or once 7 days have passed, the vehicle leaves with an international load or waits 4 days for new cabotage in that country.

Definitions

Cabotage: domestic carriage performed by a haulier established in another country, governed in the EU by Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009.
Cabotage operation: a single domestic carriage with loading and unloading in the host country; the limit is 3 operations in 7 days after international unloading.
Cooling-off period: the 4 days after cabotage is completed during which the same vehicle may not perform new cabotage in that country.
TCA (EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement): the agreement governing EU hauliers' access to the British market after Brexit, including cabotage.
Driver posting: bringing the driver under the minimum wage and working-condition rules of the country where cabotage or cross-trade is performed.
CMR (Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route): the convention on international carriage of goods by road; the CMR consignment note is the proof of each carriage at a cabotage check.

Checklist before a cabotage run

Date of unloading the international load known and entered on the CMR; the 7-day window is counted from it.
Number of cabotage operations by this vehicle in the current window checked; three at most.
4-day cooling-off after the last cabotage in this country checked for this vehicle.
Driver posting declared, host country minimum wage included in the payroll.
Full CMR set in the cab: international carriage and every cabotage operation.
For the UK: limit and conditions checked in the current EU–UK agreement and on gov.uk, not from memory.

When does the "3 in 7 days" rule not apply?

The 3-operations-in-7-days rule covers cabotage in European Union countries after unloading an international load. It does not apply in the United Kingdom, where the number of operations and the conditions are set by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement; there you check the current guidance on gov.uk. It does not apply either to bilateral transport or transit, because there is no domestic carriage in them. Cross-trade, meaning carriage between two countries other than the country of establishment, is not cabotage, but it does fall under posting. The limit is counted per vehicle, so changing the driver does not open a new window, and the 4-day cooling-off runs regardless of whether the vehicle has left the country. See also: After the run: signed CMR, POD and invoice for settlement with OTSL.

The OTSL role

When planning a partner's run, OTSL takes the cabotage limits into account so that a domestic return load "on the way" does not turn out to be illegal; if the window or the cooling-off does not allow it, the return run is planned differently. The service is described on road transport, and the UK lane on transport to the United Kingdom. Cabotage and cross-trade are covered in more depth in cabotage and cross-trade: rules and risks, and posting in Mobility Package: driver posting and minimum wage. Hauliers interested in working with us write via the contact form.