DeCA vs eCMR vs eFTI: which electronic document you need

Three different things that get confused

DeCA, eCMR and eFTI get mixed up in articles, at trade fairs and in corridor conversations as if they were alternative routes to the same formality. They are not. They belong to three different layers: a mandatory national document, an international document and a European framework for accepting data. Confusing them leads to expensive decisions: thinking the eCMR covers you on domestic routes, or believing eFTI forces you to change your processes right now.

Here is the comparison in a table and, below it, the detail of each one with its legal basis.

DeCA: the national control document

The DeCA (Documento electrónico de Control Administrativo, electronic administrative control document) is the mandatory electronic version of the control document that accompanies every consignment in domestic for-hire road haulage in Spain. Its scope is national and it expressly excludes international transport.

It has been mandatory for companies since 5 October 2026. The obligation comes from Ley 9/2025 de Movilidad Sostenible (BOE-A-2025-24545), whose eighth transitional provision (disposición transitoria octava) states that the control document must necessarily be digital ten months after the Act's entry into force (05/12/2025). The technical specifications are set out in the Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026 (BOE-A-2026-12784), based on the control document of Orden FOM/2861/2012 (BOE-A-2013-154).

If you run domestic routes in Spain, this is the acronym that applies to you. The full guide is in DeCA mandatory since 5 October 2026 and the background to the change in the 2026 control document.

eCMR: the international consignment note

The eCMR is the electronic consignment note for international road haulage. It is based on the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention concerning the electronic consignment note, done at Geneva on 20 February 2008. Spain acceded in 2011 (instrument of accession dated 29 April, deposited on 11 May 2011) and the Protocol entered into force for Spain on 9 August 2011 (Instrument of Accession published in Spain's Official State Gazette, BOE No. 141 of 14 June 2011, BOE-A-2011-10283).

The Protocol provides that the electronic consignment note has the same evidential value and the same effects as the paper consignment note. It is voluntary: nobody is obliged to use it; it simply allows the international consignment note to be digitalised instead of being issued on paper.

That is why, on an international journey (even if part of the route runs through Spain), the instrument is the CMR consignment note or its electronic version, the eCMR — not the DeCA.

eFTI: the European framework

eFTI (electronic Freight Transport Information) refers to Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of 15 July 2020 on electronic freight transport information, applicable from 21 August 2024; the obligation on authorities to accept eFTI information starts on 9 July 2027 (Art. 5(1), 30 months after its 2024 implementing acts).

Its key point is that it requires authorities to accept regulatory information in electronic form when it is made available through a certified eFTI platform. For companies it is voluntary: the Regulation neither abolishes paper nor creates new information requirements. In other words, eFTI is not a document you issue: it is the guarantee that, if you provide your data electronically through the right channel, the authorities cannot demand paper from you.

You can read the text on EUR-Lex (CELEX 32020R1056) and in the BOE (DOUE-L-2020-81225). We cover it in more depth in our article on the eFTI Regulation.

So, what do I need?

It depends on your route, not on your preference:

• You run for-hire domestic transport in Spain → you need the DeCA. It has been mandatory for companies since 5 October 2026.
• You run international transport → your document is the CMR consignment note, which you can digitalise with the eCMR (voluntary, same effects as paper).
• You want to provide data electronically to the authorities → eFTI is the framework that requires authorities to accept it via a certified platform. It is not a document you swap anything for, but the guarantee of acceptance.

Most fleets mix routes: the DeCA for domestic work and the eCMR for international work can coexist in the same operation. What matters is that each consignment carries the right document for its scope.