Electronic Administrative Control Document (DeCA): New Digital Requirement for Freight Transport in Spain

What Is the Electronic Administrative Control Document (DeCA)?

The DeCA is the electronic version of the Administrative Control Document. Its implementation requires companies to manage this document digitally, replacing paper-based processes such as printing, handwritten signatures, physical archiving, and manual document retrieval.

Spain's Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility defines the DeCA as the Electronic Administrative Control Document applicable to domestic road freight transport. This requirement is part of the country's broader effort to digitalize transport operations and interactions between businesses and public authorities.

When Will the DeCA Become Mandatory?

The DeCA will become mandatory in Spain on October 5, 2026, for domestic road freight transport.
This date is particularly important for shippers, carriers, logistics operators, and companies handling large shipment volumes, as they must have systems capable of generating, storing, and making the electronic document available to authorities when required.

Who Must Comply with the DeCA Requirement?

The requirement applies to public road freight transport operations in Spain. In practice, it affects the main parties involved in the transport process, particularly:

Contractual shipper: The party that contracts the transportation service and is responsible for retaining its copy of the control document. In many cases, the shipper will also be responsible for generating the document directly from its business systems.

Actual carrier: The company or individual physically transporting the goods. The carrier must have access to the document throughout the transport operation and be able to present it to authorities during roadside inspections.

Logistics operators and companies with high shipment volumes: Organizations managing large numbers of daily shipments should review their document management processes to automate the generation, signing, storage, and retrieval of the DeCA. Digitalization is especially valuable in environments involving multiple carriers, distribution centers, warehouses, or complex logistics networks.

Differences between the DeCA, eCMR, and the Consignment Note

The digitalization of transport documentation often creates confusion because several documents coexist under different legal frameworks and serve different operational purposes.

• DeCA: The Electronic Administrative Control Document. It applies to public road freight transport within Spain and serves an administrative purpose by supporting regulatory inspections conducted by the authorities.
• CMR and eCMR: The CMR is the consignment note used for international road freight transport between countries that are parties to the CMR Convention. The eCMR is its electronic version. Unlike the DeCA, the eCMR is not Spain's administrative document for domestic transport but rather an international transport document with evidentiary value in cross-border operations.
• National consignment note: The national consignment note is a contractual document that serves as proof of the transport agreement, the carrier's receipt of the goods, and other contractual elements of the transport operation. Although it may contain information similar to the Administrative Control Document, the two documents serve different legal purposes.

How Will the Electronic Administrative Control Document Be Verified?

Electronic management of the DeCA requires that the document be readily accessible or submitted during inspections. To support this, authorities are expected to use systems that enable digital access to the documentation.

Possible verification methods include scanning a QR code that links directly to the original document stored on the company's digital platform or electronically submitting the document through procedures established by the Spanish Administration.

As a result, companies must ensure not only that the document is generated electronically but also that it remains available, secure, tamper-proof, and easily accessible whenever requested during an inspection.

Benefits of the Electronic Administrative Control Document

Beyond regulatory compliance, the DeCA offers several advantages for logistics and transportation companies.

• Reduced paperwork and manual tasks: Digital document generation eliminates printing, paper copies, physical filing, and manual document handling.
• Fewer administrative errors: By integrating with internal systems, data only needs to be entered once and can be reused across multiple processes, reducing transcription errors and duplicate information.
• Improved traceability: The DeCA enhances document tracking throughout each transport operation, providing greater visibility into document availability, status, and retention.
• Faster response during inspections: Digital access enables companies to provide the required documentation immediately, minimizing the risks associated with lost, incomplete, or inaccessible documents.
• Preparation for the eFTI framework: Digitalizing the Administrative Control Document helps companies transition toward structured data management, interoperability, and electronic communication with public authorities in line with evolving European regulations.

How to Prepare for the DeCA Requirement

The introduction of the DeCA requires companies to review their document management processes well in advance. Compliance should go beyond simply meeting legal requirements and should consider the impact across the entire transport operation.

1. Analyze current transport workflows: Review how the Administrative Control Document is currently generated, who is involved in issuing it, how it is delivered to the carrier, how it is stored, and how it is retrieved during inspections.
2. Identify the systems involved: Determine which systems contain the information needed to generate the DeCA, such as ERP, TMS, WMS, shipping applications, carrier portals, or document management platforms.
3. Automate document generation: Automation minimizes manual work, reduces errors, and ensures the document is generated at the appropriate stage of the shipping process.
4. Ensure electronic signing, storage, and retrieval: Where required, the solution should support electronic signatures, secure document retention, and immediate retrieval or submission during inspections.
5. Enable interoperability with logistics partners: The DeCA must fit into supply chains involving shippers, carriers, logistics providers, and other stakeholders. The chosen solution should enable seamless collaboration without adding operational complexity.

EDICOM, Your Technology Partner for Document Digitalization

EDICOM helps organizations digitalize, integrate, and automate the exchange of electronic documents with customers, suppliers, logistics providers, and public authorities.

Through EDI solutions, trust services, electronic signatures, document traceability, and seamless integration with enterprise systems, organizations can build a more efficient, secure, and future-ready document management strategy that meets the latest transportation and logistics regulatory requirements.

The introduction of the DeCA marks another important milestone in the digital transformation of freight transportation in Spain. By preparing in advance, companies can turn a regulatory requirement into an opportunity to streamline operations and optimize their logistics processes.