eFTI: electronic freight information becomes the norm
Adopted 2026-06-14 · ≈ 1 min read · 
edited by Dirk Baaijen
From 9 July 2027 all EU authorities must accept electronic freight transport information (eFTI), exchanged via certified platforms. What the eFTI Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 means for carriers, forwarders and shippers — and how to prepare now.
Download the regime cheat sheet (PDF) ↓
In freight transport, a stack of mandatory information travels with every shipment: consignment notes, permits, dangerous-goods data, waste-shipment documents. Until now authorities could insist on seeing these on paper. The eFTI Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/1056) reverses that.
What eFTI requires
At its core is an acceptance duty on government: where a business chooses to provide statutory freight information electronically, competent authorities must accept those electronic data — provided they are exchanged via a certified eFTI platform and a certified service provider. Roadside inspectors, customs, port and labour inspectorates can then no longer demand a paper original when a compliant digital version is available.
The timeline
The acceptance duty applies from 9 July 2027. Until then the EU is completing the framework: delegated and implementing acts set the common data set, the requirements for platforms and the certification scheme. Working on paper remains permitted, but the direction is unambiguous: digital becomes the standard, and those who are ready save time at checks and across the chain.
What it means for you
Two questions determine your position:
- **Can you provide statutory freight information electronically in an
eFTI-compliant way?** That requires structured data, not a PDF of a consignment note.
- **Do you work with a certified eFTI platform — or are you preparing for
one?** Exchange that does not run via a certified platform falls outside the acceptance duty.
Want to know which EU regimes besides eFTI affect your organisation — the Data Act, EMSWe, the AI Act, NIS2 — and where your readiness stands? Take the Transport & Logistics scan.
Sources
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/1056/oj
Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 (eFTI): authorities must accept electronic freight information, exchanged via certified eFTI platforms.
Read next
eFTI: Electronic Exchange of Freight Transport Information
Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 requires Member States to accept digital freight documents on certified eFTI platforms during inspections from 9 July 2027, establishing the legal basis for paperless freight transport across all EU transport modes.
eFTI and dangerous goods (ADR): what changes?
Under eFTI (Regulation (EU) 2020/1056), ADR freight information is also covered. From 9 July 2027, authorities must accept it electronically via certified platforms. Paper remains allowed. What this means for transporting dangerous goods.
eFTI vs eCMR: what is the difference?
In short: the eCMR is one digital document (the electronic consignment note); eFTI is the broader EU framework for all statutory freight information that authorities must accept electronically. They complement each other. What that distinction means for your digitisation plan.