Cabotage is domestic transport operated by a foreign carrier. EU 1072/2009 and the Road Package set the framework: a maximum of three cabotage journeys within seven days, four days' grace period, return-to-base requirements for vehicle and driver, and rules on posting and remuneration. It is actively checked at the roadside.
Introduction
Cabotage is when a transport company from one country operates domestic transport in another country — for example when a Polish-registered truck, after delivering goods in Denmark, takes a Danish domestic load before driving home. The rules must balance two concerns: free movement in the EU and protection against cheap labour undercutting national transport ('pirate transport'). The framework is EU regulation 1072/2009, tightened with the Mobility Package from 2020.
What is cabotage — and what is it not?
Cabotage requires that an international transport with cargo has first been carried out into the country. If the lorry arrived empty, or the international journey was made solely to enable cabotage, the condition is not met. Cabotage may also not be based on CEMT or transit permits. Combined transport (combihauling — road + rail/ship) follows partly its own rules and should not be confused with cabotage.
3-in-7 rule
4-day waiting period
To prevent 'systematic' cabotage — where a vehicle essentially runs regular domestic transport in another country — the Road Package introduced a cooling-off period: when the permitted cabotage trips are used (or the 7 days have elapsed), the same vehicle must not perform new cabotage in the same country for a period of 4 days. The vehicle must therefore leave the country and cannot simply take a new international trip in and continue cabotaging right away.
| Ratio | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Number of cabotage trips per international trip | at most 3 | 1072/2009 art. 8 |
| Time window after international reading | 7 days | 1072/2009 art. 8 |
| Waiting period (cooling off) in the same country | 4 days | Vejpakken, EU 2020/1055 |
| Return of vehicle to home country | every 8th week | Vejpakken, EU 2020/1055 |
| Driver's return home | every 4 weeks (3 with two reduced weekly breaks in succession) | Vejpakken, EU 2020/1054 |
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