Regulation Update · Part 8 of 3 in this series
A weekly explainer on new and amended transport and logistics regulation across the EU, drawn from our document repository.
eFTI Common Data Set: What Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024 Actually Requires
12 August 2026 · EN · NL · DE · FR
Why This Matters Right Now
For most transport professionals, "eFTI" still sounds like a distant EU acronym. It is not. The clock is now running: from 21 August 2027, competent authorities across the EU must accept electronic freight transport information instead of insisting on paper. What actually gets accepted on that date is defined today, in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024, which lays down the eFTI common data set. If your CMR, ADR or waste-shipment paperwork does not map to that data set, no app or platform can make it "eFTI-compliant" for you.
The Rule: Articles 2 and 3, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024 supplements the eFTI Regulation, (EU) 2020/1056, by fulfilling a mandate the Commission was given under Article 7 of that Regulation: define, in detail, which data elements economic operators may exchange electronically with enforcement authorities.
Article 2 of the delegated regulation establishes the common eFTI data set itself: a single, EU-wide catalogue of data elements, set out in the Annex, covering every piece of information that transport, logistics and customs legislation already requires on paper today, from consignment note details to dangerous goods information and waste shipment notifications.
Article 3 then breaks that catalogue down into data subsets. Each subset corresponds to one specific legal requirement listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2020/1056, such as the CMR consignment note, the ADR/RID transport document for dangerous goods, or a waste shipment notification. In other words: a driver carrying a load of dangerous goods does not need to produce the entire eFTI data set, only the subset tied to the ADR/RID transport document requirement.
This is the part that gets misunderstood most often: Delegated Regulation 2024/2024 does not invent new data to collect. It takes obligations that already exist in sector legislation and translates them into a standardised, machine-readable structure, so that the same information can travel electronically instead of on paper.
What It Means in Practice
For owner-drivers, this changes nothing about what information you must carry, only how it can eventually be presented. Once your transport management or proof-of-delivery platform maps its fields to the eFTI data elements and subsets defined in the Annex to Regulation 2024/2024, the same consignment data you already capture can, in principle, satisfy a roadside check electronically.
For planners, the practical task is upstream: check whether the software you use to generate CMR notes, dangerous goods documentation or waste shipment paperwork is being built, or already supports, export in the eFTI data subset format, rather than only a proprietary PDF or portal layout.
For customs and compliance staff, the data subset structure is the useful bit: it tells you exactly which fields an inspector will expect for a given movement type, since each subset is tied one-to-one to an existing legal document requirement, not a generic "eFTI form".
Your Next Step
Ask your transport software or proof-of-delivery provider one direct question: does the platform export consignment data in the structure defined by the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024, split by data subset, or only in its own internal format? With the 21 August 2027 acceptance deadline for authorities now just over a year away, that answer determines how much integration work is still ahead of you.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024 regulate?
It defines the eFTI common data set and data subsets under the EU eFTI Regulation (EU) 2020/1056. Article 2 sets out the full catalogue of data elements economic operators may exchange electronically with authorities, and Article 3 splits that catalogue into subsets tied to specific legal document requirements, such as the CMR consignment note or ADR transport document.
Does the eFTI common data set create new reporting obligations for transport companies?
No. It does not add new information duties. It takes data requirements that already exist under sector legislation listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2020/1056, such as CMR, ADR/RID or waste shipment rules, and translates them into a standardised electronic structure so the same information can be exchanged digitally instead of on paper.
What is the difference between the eFTI data set and eFTI data subsets?
The common data set (Article 2) is the complete EU-wide catalogue of all possible data elements. Data subsets (Article 3) are the relevant portions of that catalogue tied to one specific legal requirement, for example a dangerous goods transport document. Operators only need to supply the subset matching their document, not the entire data set.
When must authorities start accepting eFTI-based data instead of paper?
Under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/1056, competent authorities across the EU must accept information made available electronically, structured according to the eFTI common data set, from 21 August 2027. That deadline is now just over a year away.
Source document: eFTI common data set — Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024 →