e-CMR and eFTI 2027: what changes for UK–EU road freight

Every international road shipment has travelled with the same piece of paper since 1956: the CMR consignment note. Signed at loading, carried in the cab, signed at delivery, then posted back or photographed so the haulier can finally invoice. Two things are changing that: e-CMR – the electronic version of the same document – and the EU’s eFTI regulation, which from 2027 obliges authorities to accept transport information electronically.

What e-CMR is

e-CMR is the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention, adopted in 2008 and in force since 2011. It changes nothing in the consignment note itself – the same 24 boxes, the same liability of sender, carrier and consignee – it simply allows the document to be drawn up, signed and exchanged electronically, with electronic signatures from all three parties. A paper CMR and an e-CMR have the same legal force.

The Protocol has been ratified by more than 35 countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Czechia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The practical limitation: e-CMR is valid for carriage between two countries that are both parties – if the truck transits a country that is not, the driver still needs paper.

What eFTI is and why 2027 matters

Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 on electronic freight transport information (eFTI) was adopted in 2020 and solves the other half of the problem: the authorities. Even with an e-CMR, a roadside check or a customs office could until now insist on paper. eFTI obliges the authorities of every member state, from 2027, to accept transport information in electronic form submitted through certified eFTI platforms. Businesses are not obliged to go electronic – but authorities can no longer refuse electronic documents.

For UK operators the effect is indirect but real: every UK–EU movement enters the EU, and EU-side checks will increasingly expect data on a screen rather than a folder in the cab. The scope is wider than the CMR – waste shipments, dangerous goods (ADR), cabotage and combined transport documents are all covered.

What forwarders and hauliers gain

• Invoice on the day of delivery. The signed box 24 is available the moment the consignee signs, not a week later by post. On 30-day payment terms that is a genuine cash-flow improvement.
• No lost or illegible documents. One file, identical for every party, with a record of who filled in and signed what, and when.
• Fewer disputes. Reservations in boxes 18 and 24 carry a time stamp and a signature – the basis of every shortage or damage claim.
• Faster checks. The officer reads the data on a screen instead of leafing through paperwork at the roadside or the border.

How to prepare now, at no cost

1. Stop handwriting CMRs. A legible, structured consignment note with identical data on all four copies is the first step towards an electronic one. Our free CMR generator does exactly that – the 24 boxes as on the form, company data from the VAT number, a PDF with all four copies, labels in English plus Polish, German, Dutch, French and more.
2. Clean up your company master data. Senders, consignees and carriers with exact addresses and VAT/EORI numbers – the same data that will later go into an e-CMR.
3. Number and archive. Every consignment note numbered, linked to the order and the invoice, in a digital archive rather than folders in the trucks.
4. Choose a system that will become e-CMR. Once documents are a process – order, CMR, delivery, invoice in one place – switching on electronic signatures is a setting, not a project. For companies issuing consignment notes every week that is what Nucra does: it keeps the companies, numbers every CMR, links it to the order and the invoice and signs it electronically.

Frequently asked questions

Is e-CMR mandatory?

No. The paper CMR remains valid. eFTI obliges authorities to accept electronic documents; it does not oblige businesses to issue them.

Can I use e-CMR between the UK and the EU?

Yes, where the destination and every transit country are parties to the Protocol – the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany all are. Check the current UNECE list before relying on it for a specific lane, and carry paper when in doubt.

Who signs an e-CMR?

The same three parties as on paper – sender at loading, carrier on taking over, consignee on delivery – with electronic signatures through the platform.

Need a truck for the load as well? Request a quote and prepare the consignment note in the generator before the vehicle arrives.