What the administrative control document is
The administrative control document (documento de control administrativo) is the document that must accompany every consignment in for-hire road haulage in Spain. It proves to inspectors who contracted the transport, who is carrying it and what is being carried, and it is one of the sector's basic documentary obligations.
It is neither a tax nor a customs document: it is a land transport control document. Its existence and content derive from the Spanish legislation organising transport, covered below, and its detailed rules are in Orden FOM/2861/2012.
The legal basis: LOTT, ROTT and Orden FOM/2861/2012
The obligation rests on three linked pieces of legislation, from highest to lowest rank: the Act that organises the sector (LOTT), its implementing Regulations (ROTT) and the ministerial order that specifically regulates the control document.
| Legislation | BOE reference | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|
| Ley 16/1987, de 30 de julio, de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres (LOTT; Land Transport Organisation Act) | BOE-A-1987-17803 BOE No. 182, 31/07/1987 |
Framework Act that organises land transport and sets out the sector's obligations. |
| Real Decreto 1211/1990, de 28 de septiembre, Reglamento de la LOTT (ROTT; Royal Decree approving the Regulations implementing the LOTT) | BOE-A-1990-24442 BOE No. 241, 08/10/1990 |
Implements the LOTT through regulations, including transport documentation obligations. |
| Orden FOM/2861/2012, de 13 de diciembre, del documento de control administrativo (Ministerial Order on the administrative control document) | BOE-A-2013-154 BOE No. 5, 05/01/2013 |
Specifically regulates the control document: scope, exemptions, minimum content and retention. In force since 05/07/2013. |
Orden FOM/2861/2012 applies to for-hire road freight transport (Art. 1) and is the one that sets out, in practice, what the document must contain and who is exempt.
What data it must contain
Article 6 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 sets the minimum data the control document must include:
- Identification of the contractual shipper and the actual carrier.
- Origin and destination of the transport.
- Nature and weight of the goods.
- Special movement permit, where applicable.
- Date of the transport.
- Vehicle registration number(s).
In addition, the document is issued in two copies (Art. 8) and must be kept for at least one year (Art. 9).
Can the consignment note serve as the control document?
Yes. Article 2.2 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 provides that the consignment note or other supporting documentation serves as the administrative control document as long as it contains all the data in Article 6.
In practice, this means you do not always need an additional document: if your consignment note already includes the contractual shipper and actual carrier, origin, destination, nature and weight of the goods, special permit (if applicable), date and registration numbers, that same consignment note works as the control document.
Which consignments are exempt
Article 2 of Orden FOM/2861/2012 exempts several cases from the control document obligation. Among others:
- Transport that does not require an operating licence (título habilitante).
- Removals.
- Transport of accident-damaged or broken-down vehicles.
- Parcel services.
Outside these exempt cases, for-hire road haulage needs the control document (or a consignment note that meets Article 6).
New in 2026: the switch to the electronic DeCA
The big change came with Ley 9/2025, de 3 de diciembre, de Movilidad Sostenible (Sustainable Mobility Act; BOE No. 291 of 4 December 2025), which entered into force on 5 December 2025. Its eighth transitional provision (disposición transitoria octava) states that the control document must be necessarily digital once ten months have passed since that entry into force, which takes us to 5 October 2026. That electronic document is the DeCA.
The digital requirement applies to domestic (national) transport. International transport is governed by its own documents (the CMR consignment note and its electronic version, the eCMR).
For the details on the date, who it applies to and how to comply, see DeCA mandatory from 5 October 2026. To avoid confusing the DeCA with the international consignment note or the European framework for electronic information, read DeCA vs eCMR vs eFTI; and if you need to validate your software, check the technical requirements for the DeCA and its QR code.
Official sources
- Ley 16/1987, de 30 de julio, de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres (LOTT) (BOE-A-1987-17803). boe.es
- Real Decreto 1211/1990, de 28 de septiembre, Reglamento de la LOTT (ROTT) (BOE-A-1990-24442). boe.es
- Orden FOM/2861/2012, de 13 de diciembre, del documento de control administrativo (BOE-A-2013-154). boe.es
- Ley 9/2025, de 3 de diciembre, de Movilidad Sostenible (BOE-A-2025-24545). boe.es