Pursuant to Section 7a (1) of the Road Freight Transport Act (GüKG), the company is obliged to take out and maintain liability insurance covering the statutory liability for damage to goods and damage caused by delay pursuant to the Fourth Section of the Fourth Book of the Commercial Code during transport operations where the place of loading and unloading is within the country.
The insurance obligation applies to those who wish to engage in commercial road freight transport with motor vehicles (Hein/Eichhoff/Pukall/Krien, Güterkraftverkehrsrecht, 3. Band Section 7a No. 2). Road freight transport is defined in Section 1 (1) of the GüKG as the transport of goods by motor vehicles with a permissible total weight of more than 3.5 tons, including trailers, for business purposes or in return for payment.
The obligation exists both for resident Contractors with regard to domestic transports and for EU/EEA Contractors performing commercial road freight transport in cabotage transport. The obligation also applies to transports in international combined transport, provided that the arrival or departure to/from the railroad station/port constitutes inland or cabotage transport.
In case of transports by rented motor vehicles, the insurance certificate must be issued to the carrier (renter). A certificate issued to the motor vehicle owner (lessor) is not valid.
The company is free to choose the insurer. A resident company may also obtain insurance abroad.
The minimum insurance sum is 600,000 euros per loss event. The agreement of a maximum annual indemnity, which may not be less than twice the minimum sum insured, and a deductible are permissible.
The following claims may be excluded from the insurance:
Claims for damages committed intentionally by the company or its representative,
Claims for damage caused by natural disasters, nuclear energy, war, warlike events, civil war, civil unrest, strike, lockout, acts of terrorism, acts of high authority, seizure or confiscation by a state-recognized power,
Claims arising from freight contracts involving the carriage of precious metals, jewels, precious stones, means of payment, foreign currencies, securities, stamps, documents, and certificates.
Pursuant to Section 7a (4) of the GüKG, the company must ensure that supporting evidence of valid liability insurance meeting the requirements of Paragraph 1 is carried during carriage. The driving personnel must carry this insurance certificate during transport and present it to authorized inspectors for inspection upon request.
The exemption under Section 2 (1) No. 4 of the Road Freight Transport Act (GüKG) also covers transports by third parties who have no connection with passengers, if the transport service is carried out under an authorization issued in accordance with the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) and the journey is not predominantly for the carriage of goods.
Cabotage is commercial road freight transport with the place of loading and unloading being in a country, the so-called Host Member State, by a company who has neither a registered office nor an establishment in that country.
Since May 14, 2010, uniform cabotage regulations have applied throughout the EU (Art. 8 et seq. Regulation (EC) No. 1072/2009). In this context, Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 permits cabotage transport operations by a carrier established in an EU/EEA state following an international transport operation only after the vehicle has been fully unloaded. In this case, the same motor vehicle must be used for the cabotage transports as was used for the international transport.
In addition, cabotage transportation may be performed within three days of entry into the territory of a Member State by an unloaded vehicle. This presupposes that an international carriage to another Member State has previously taken place, that the total of three cabotage transport operations has not yet been exhausted and that the total of the 7-day period has been complied with (second subparagraph of Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009).
The scope of the regulations applicable to cabotage transports also includes vehicles with a permissible total weight of up to 3.5 t, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No. 1072/2009. Since Contractors covered by the exemption under Art. 1(5)(c) (motor vehicles or motor vehicle combination up to 3.5 t permissible total weight) may also carry out cabotage transport operations in accordance with Art. 8(5) of the regulation, the same conditions apply to these vehicles as to vehicles with more than 3.5 t permissible total weight.
Cabotage regulations applicable to Northern Ireland as early as January 1, 2022, and to the entire United Kingdom as of May 1, 2022:
The number of permitted kaboat deliveries for EU entrepreneurs has been reduced from 3 to 2 within 7 days of the entry of the loaded vehicle. At the same time, authorizations for cabotage transport within 3 days of entry of the unladen vehicle and access rights for parts of a transport as part of combined transport within the UK will be revoked.
Bilateral authorizations are single trip and time authorizations (annual authorizations) that have been bilaterally agreed upon on the basis of agreements between Germany and the country in question. They are issued in accordance with Section 8 (GüKGrKabotageV--Ordinance on International Road Freight Transport and Cabotage Transport) dated December 22, 1998, latest version, to Contractors domiciled in Germany.
These permits are contingent owner permits and are valid only for the company named in the document. They are not transferable. They may contain conditions and requirements such as the requirements for the use of commercial vehicles assigned to a certain emission class.
A distinction is made here between authorizations for
interchange and transit traffic and for three-country
transport without passing through the home country.
Bilateral authorizations generally apply only to interchange and transit traffic.
So-called three-country transport, i.e. transports between two countries by a company based in a third country, in this case Germany, is only possible if the home country (Germany) is crossed by the usual route.
Three-country transport without passing through the home state is only possible with special bilateral authorizations, which Germany has concluded with some countries.
Bilateral authorizations for Azerbaijan, Belarus (Belorussia), Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan Tajikistan, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania are issued by the Authorization Office of the Federat Office in Berlin, which is organizationally assigned to the Schwerin field office. These bilateral authorizations must be applied for in writing with the Berlin Authorization Office using the following application form.
Furthermore, bilateral authorizations for Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Israel, Northern Macedonia, Morocco, Montenegro, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, Kosovo, Austria, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Hungary, and Bulgaria are issued by the Goverment of the Upper Palatinate in Regensburg.
Article 4(2)(c) of Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009 provides that a person in their capacity as transport manager may manage the transport activities of no more than four companies with a combined fleet of no more than 50 vehicles. Activities of this person for own-account transport companies are not to be considered. With regard to the vehicle fleet, only vehicles that are (also) used in commercial road freight transport and not exclusively in own-account transport are to be considered.
According to § 16 of the German Vehicle Registration Ordinance (FZV), transfer journeys are journeys that serve primarily to transfer a vehicle to another location. They are possible with short-term license plates according to Section 16 (2) of the FZV.
The transfer of brand-new or used motor vehicles on their own wheels, including accessories, if any, permanently belonging to the motor vehicle to be transferred, shall not be considered as the carriage of goods by motor vehicles within the meaning of Section 1 (1) of the Road Freight Transport Act (GüKG-Güterkraftverkehrsgesetz).
If, on the other hand, other goods are carried on the vehicle to be transferred - possibly other vehicles as well - the carriage of these other goods is subject to the Road Freight Transport Act (GüKG-Güterkraftverkehrsgesetz). The same applies if a trailer to be transferred is towed on its own wheels by a motor vehicle that is not itself being transferred but is being used in road freight transport.
However, if a motor vehicle to be transferred pulls a trailer that is also to be transferred, the transfer of the entire vehicle combination on its own wheels is not considered to be the carriage of goods by motor vehicles.
These comments are limited to the situation under the law on the carriage of goods by road on German territory. The legal situation in the event of transfer to another country is governed by the respective agreement concluded. Information about this can be requested from the respective embassy.
Similarly, licensing issues are outside the scope of responsibility of the Federal Logistics and Mobility Office. Information in this regard can be requested from the road transport licensing authorities, i.e. the lower transport authorities.
No. Freelancers and self-employed persons are not included in the definition of “personnel who have been made available to the company under a contractual obligation”.
oCEMT authorizations generally authorize the performance of commercial road transports where the places of loading and unloading are located in two different CEMTMember States (CEMT - Conférence Européenne des Ministres des Transports - European Conference of Ministers of Transport, www.internationaltransportforum.org).
You can find out which countries these are from the footnote in the
Merkblatt für Inhaber von CEMT-Genehmigungen
They do not authorize internal transport in a CEMT of Transport Member State, nor do they authorize transports between a CEMT Member State and a non-Member State.
Since the EU license is to be used for transports between EEA states (all EU states and Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland) and between EU states and Switzerland, the CEMT authorization is of particular importance for transports between EEA states or Switzerland and a so-called third country (a state that is neither an EEA state nor Switzerland) or between third countries. However, this is only the case if the third countries are members of the CEMT.
CEMT authorizations are available as annual and short-term authorizations and for relocation transport as CEMT relocation authorization. CEMT--annual permits are generally only issued in Germany if vehicles that comply at least with the "EUROIV safe" standard of the CEMT are used (see CEMT-Issuing Directive).
Companies with their headquarters in Germany are eligible to apply.
Most transports to third countries (especially if they start or end in Germany) can also be carried out with bilateral authorizations (issuing offices: Federal Logistics and Mobility Office, Berlin Authorization Office for northeastern and eastern European states, Caucasus and Central Asia and the goverment of the Upper Palatinate in Regensburg for southeastern European, North African states and some states in the Middle East).
For transports that cannot be carried out with bilateral authorizations, it is possible to apply for CEMT short-term authorizations at the Federal Logistics and Mobility Office, Berlin Authorization Office with the following application form: “Application for CEMT--European Conference of Ministers of Transport short-term authorizations".
These authorizations are basically intended for transports between two CEMT member states for which no other authorization quotas have been arranged between Germany and the other states; in particular for transports in three-country transports without passing through Germany. This must be credibly demonstrated in the application and, if possible, supported by documentation.
CEMT annual authorizations are generally only awarded in a public tender process for the coming year. Application forms must be submitted to the field office of the Federal Logistics and Mobility Office responsible for you in September of the previous year and then completed and submitted there in full by October 1 of the previous year at the latest.
Only in special cases with detailed justification can CEMT annual authorizations also be issued in the current year within the context of a quota that may still be available. These must be applied for in writing to the Federal Logistics and Mobility Office, Berlin Authorization Office, using the application form "Application for CEMT--European Conference of Ministers of Transport - authorization(s) issued during the year" with the following documents: copy of the EU license/authorization, copy of the business registration or re-registration, copy of the extract from the Commercial Register (if applicable, also those of the companies involved) and the detailed justification, which should be supported by documentation if possible.
Should it concern relocation transports, applications for CEMT relocation authorizations can be submitted at any time to the Federal Office for Goods Transport, Berlin Authorization Office using the following application form "Application for CEMT--European Conference of Ministers of Transport relcation authorization(s)".
All applications must be accompanied by copies of the following documents:
- Copy of the EU road freight transport license/authorization
- Copy of the last business registration or re-registration
- Copy of the complete extract from the Commercial Register (if the company is listed in the Commercial Register). If capital shares of other companies are entered in the “Legal relationships” column, an excerpt from the Commercial Register must also be enclosed for these companies
- If requested: Justification of the application and supporting documents
Further documents may be requested during the processing of the application.
Authorizations are not vehicle specific.
For more information, please refer to the information sheets and guidelines below:
In road freight transport law there are no regulations for the responsibility of loading and unloading.
In principle, the shipper has to load, stow, secure, and unload the goods in a manner safe for transport in accordance with Section 412, Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 of the German Commercial Code (HGB). Contractual regulations, agreements, trade customs, or regional traffic customs can, if necessary, lead to loading or unloading being taken over by the carrier (or its driver), contrary to the statutory rule. Further information can be obtained from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). With regard to liability issues, it depends on the particular case; the BALM (Federal Logistics and Mobility Office) cannot provide any information here, as it is a question of private law. The question of how the driver is insured in the event of loading or unloading can be answered by the Employer’s Liability Insurance Association.
If the driver performs the loading and unloading activity, it should be noted that - according to the regulations for driving and rest periods - this is considered “other work” and does not count towards rest periods.
Furthermore, it is noted that in addition to the company, the driver in particular is responsible for securing the load in accordance with Section 22, Paragraph 1 and Section 23, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 of the German Road Traffic Regulations (StVO).
StVO Section 22 Loading
(1) The load, including load securing devices and loading equipment, must be stowed and secured in such a way that it cannot slip, topple over, roll back and forth, drop down or generate avoidable noise, even during emergency braking or sudden evasive action. The recognized rules of technology must be observed.
StVO Section 23 Other duties of the vehicle driver
(1) The driver is responsible for ensuring that their vision and hearing are not impaired by the occupants, animals, cargo, equipment, or condition of the vehicle. The driver must ensure that the vehicle, the tow, the hitch as well as the load and the crew are in accordance with the regulations and that the traffic safety of the vehicle does not suffer due to the load or the crew. They must also ensure that the prescribed license plates are always clearly legible. Prescribed lighting devices must be present and operational on motor vehicles and their trailers,
as well as on bicycles, even during the day, but otherwise only if it is expected that the vehicle will still be in traffic when lighting is necessary (Section 17(1)).
The performance of commercial road freight transport (road freight transport for third parties) requires an authorization in accordance with Section 3 of the Road Freight Transport Act (GüKG) Road freight transport is the transport of goods by motor vehicles with a permissible total weight exceeding 3.5 tons, including trailers, for business purposes or in return for payment.
The transport of agricultural contractors (companies that provide agricultural services and work for third parties on behalf of farmers or agricultural cooperatives) regularly does not fall within the scope of the exception according to Section 2 (1) No. 7 of the Road Freight Transport Act (GüKG) and therefore requires an authorization. The transports carried out by them are regularly not carried out for the own purposes of an agricultural enterprise or for an agricultural enterprise within the framework of neighborhood assistance or a machinery ring. The involvement of tradesmen in neighborhood assistance is not permitted. Neighborly assistance is also not present if the assistance actually becomes a trade. Any activity that is calculated to last for a certain period of time and is aimed at generating economic benefits is considered to be commercial.
Transports that are performed before or after work are also subject to the authorization requirement. Whether the transport is the main purpose of the contractor’s assignment or merely serves to support a work order – e.g. transport of slurry from the farm to the field and the immediate subsequent spreading of the slurry – is irrelevant. A privileged treatment of companies which, in addition to agricultural services and work, also provide commercial transport services, which could in principle also be provided in this form by other market participants, is neither intended by the legislator nor does this appear to be necessary.
The Community licence applies to commercial cross-border road haulage between all EU/EEA states. In accordance with the “Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Carriage of Goods and Passengers by Rail and Road”, the Community licence also applies to commercial cross-border road haulage between the EU states and Switzerland. In addition, it authorises the EU/EEA states to conduct temporary cabotage operations. For German transport companies, the Community licence is considered a permit in accordance with Section 3 of the German road haulage act under the conditions specified in Section 5 of the German road haulage act.
For further information, see German road haulage act and in Regulation (EC) 1072/2009.
The Community licence shall be requested at low-, medium- or high-level road traffic authorities or District administrations.
With regard to the act on access to professions in public road transport, please refer to the remarks under the topic of business creation.
In accordance with Section 1 (1) of the German road haulage act (GüKG - road haulage is the transport of goods by motorised vehicles, in return for payment or free of charge, with a permissible gross weight greater than 3.5 tons, including trailers.
In accordance with Section 3 of the GüKG, commercial road haulage is subject to authorisation unless otherwise provided for in the directly applicable European Community Law. Authorisation is granted to an operator whose company is based in Germany for a period of up to ten years.
If you wish to become self-employed in the field of commercial road haulage, you, as an operator, may apply for the state authorisation, permit or licence at the competent authority responsible for the place of business. There, you will also receive more detailed information on the requirements that must be fulfilled to grant the authorisation.
In addition to the reliability check – i.e. no ban on engaging in commercial activities, no violations of the trade, commerce and industry regulation act (evidenced by excerpt from the commercial central register), no tax liabilities, no previous convictions (excerpt from the central criminal register) and proof of financial capacity etc –, the permit is subject the applicant’s ability to prove their professional competence to operate such a business. As a rule, such proof is provided by an examination with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Information on the structure and scope of the examination and further information on business creation may be found on the website of the competent Chamber of IHK.
If your transports are carried out for your own purposes and if the requirements according to section 1 No. 2 GüKG are met, it is considered transport for own account. Such transport does not require a permit and is only reportable. For further information, refer to the question "What is transport for own account?".
In accordance with section 7 (a) of the GüKG, the operator is obligated to take out and maintain a liability insurance covering delays and damage to goods in accordance with Section 4 of the fourth book of the German Commercial Code during transports for which the place of loading and unloading is located in Germany.
In accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EC) 1072/2009, cross-border traffic on Community territory is subject to a Community license – if the driver is a citizen of a third country – – in conjunction with the driver's driver attestation.
The Community licence is issued to any commercial road haulage operator established in a Member State and entitled to carry out the international carriage of goods in accordance with Article 4(1) of that Regulation. It is issued for renewable periods of up to ten years. Operators whose place of business is in the Federal Republic of Germany are granted the Community licence by the competent authority responsible for the place of business.
In addition to the community license, a CEMT- or bilateral permit may be issued for international transport.
Yes, commercial road haulage involving motorised vehicles up to 40 km/h is subject to authorisation and thus to the regulations of the German Road Haulage Act.
Transport by commercial international road freight transport requires an authorization if the transportation of goods is carried out by motor vehicles whose permissible total weight, including the basic mass of trailers, exceeds 3.5 t-tons, or if the transpor is not exempt from the authorization requirement (see Article 1 (5) c of Regulation (EC) 1072/2009 (see also own-account transport).
For international road freight transport, the EU license, CEMT authorization, CEMT relocation authorization or bilateral authorization may be considered
For international road freight transport to the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU), a so-called “certificate of registration” is required. For this purpose,
the "Instructions for transports to the Eurasian Economic Union (EaWU)" must be observed.
Pursuant to Section 7 (3) of the Road Freight Transport Act (GüKG), the company must ensure that during transport via commercial road freight transport an accompanying document or other supporting evidence is carried, in which the transported goods, the place of loading and unloading and the customer are indicated. The driving personnel must carry the accompanying document or other supporting evidence in accordance with sentence 1 during the transport and hand it over to the authorized inspectors for inspection upon request or make it available in another suitable manner.
No particular form is prescribed for the accompanying document or other supporting evidence. Other supporting evidence may also be provided in the form of an electronic reading device. However, it is necessary in any case that the information required by law can be determined from the supporting evidence. If the supporting evidence is provided in electronic form, it must be ensured that the data can be made accessible to an inspector in a suitable form, for example, by looking at the electronic data of a reading device.
The prescribed data are the minimum requirements. Information in the accompanying document that merely indicates the larger area served does not satisfy the requirements of Section 7 (3) of the GüKG. In addition to the transported goods, the supporting evidence must clearly show the customer, and not only the reference to different shippers, as well as the exact place of loading and unloading. Exception: transport of postal items within the meaning of Section 4 No. 5, 1 Postal Act.
The aforementioned requirements for accompanying documents apply to domestic transports in Germany and to international transports on the German part of the route. Regarding the regulations abroad, please contact the respective embassies of the countries.
Combined transport is the transport of goods in a truck or in loading units (e.g.--for example swap bodies, containers, or semi-trailers) where the transport is carried out by rail or inland waterway or sea vessel for the major part of the total distance and by motor vehicle for the other part, which is as short as possible, and furthermore, when changing modes of transport, not the goods themselves but the loaded loading units are transhipped or the loaded motor vehicles are carried on the railroad wagon or on the ship.
In combined transport, a distinction is made between accompanied and unaccompanied combined transport. In accompanied combined transport, the loaded motor vehicle is transported with the help of ships (RoRo
or on the railroad car (rolling road). The driver usually accompanies the motor vehicle. In unaccompanied combined transport, only the loading units (e.g. containers, swap bodies, semi-trailers) are transhipped. The loading process takes place at terminals, which are, for example, railroad stations that have facilities of the necessary type of handling for combined transport. The transport of the goods to the transshipment terminal (pre-carriage) or to the consignee (on-carriage) is carried out by motor vehicle
Any company with its registered office within a Contracting State to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which fulfills the condition for access to the profession and access to the market for the transport of goods between the Contracting States, may perform national or international pre-carriage and/or onward carriage by road, which are part of combined transport, within the framework of combined transport between the Contracting States in accordance with Directive 92/106 EEC-European Economic Community.
In combined transport that does not comply with Directive 92/106 (e.g. from a non-EEA-European Economic Area country), the cabotage regulations of Regulation (EC) 1072/2009 apply to domestic pre- and post-carriage.
Deviating from the regulations of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations, the permissible total weight for vehicle combinations in combined transport may be 44 t-ton. The regulations of the 53rd Exemption Ordinance to the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO) smust be observed. In addition, exceptions to Sunday, public holiday, and vacation driving bans apply to combined transport. Motor vehicles used exclusively for pre-carriage and onward carriage in combined transport may be exempted from motor vehicle taxation
In principle, in combined transport, the transport must take place by road within the country between the point of loading or unloading and the nearest suitable railroad station or an inland port or seaport located within a radius of no more than 150 km as the crow flies. The nearest suitable railroad station shall be the railroad station which has facilities of the necessary type of combined transportation, from which combined transportation of the corresponding type and direction is regularly performed, and which has the shortest road connection, customary in traffic, to the place of loading or unloading. Upon request, the Federal Logistics and Mobility Office may designate another railroad station as the nearest suitable railroad station, provided that this serves to promote combined transport. This railroad station provision of the Federal Logistics and Mobility Office only has an effect in terms of road freight transport law. There is no binding effect with regard to the use of motor vehicles with a higher permissible total weight, the prohibition of Sundays and public holidays, and tax law. Exemptions under road traffic law must always be applied for from the relevant state traffic authorities.
No. Certificates of professional competence issued before the entry into force of Regulation (EC) 1071/2009 do not have to be exchanged (see also Art. 21 para. 2 Regulation, (see also Art. 21 para. 2 Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009). However, in the case of an international activity of the qualified person, it is recommended to exchange the certificate of professional competence for such a certificate according to the new model.
