Vans and light commercial vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes engaged in international commercial transport now fall under EU tachograph requirements, following the entry into force of the extended Mobility Package I rules on 1 July 2026. Operators running mixed fleets that include vans in this weight class need to treat this as an immediate compliance requirement, not a future planning item, since the obligation already applies to current cross-border operations.
This extension closes a gap that had existed for years. Heavy goods vehicles above 3.5 tonnes have operated under tachograph and driver hour rules for decades, while vans in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonne range, widely used in courier, parcel, and light freight operations, remained largely exempt. That exemption ends wherever the van is used for international transport for hire or reward.
What the Tachograph Actually Records
A tachograph is a device that logs driving time, speed, distance travelled, and rest periods for a given vehicle and driver, and this record forms the basis for verifying compliance during roadside inspections. The vehicles now brought into scope must be fitted with a Smart Tachograph 2, the current generation of the device, which builds in stronger security and automated data capture compared to earlier versions.
The core function has not changed with the new rules: the tachograph exists to demonstrate that a driver’s hours behind the wheel and rest periods meet regulatory limits. What has changed is which vehicles must carry one. A van operator who previously managed schedules without a driver card or tachograph now needs both, along with the internal processes to support them.
Which Vehicles and Operations Are Affected
The scope of the new requirement is specific rather than universal, and understanding the exact boundary avoids both unnecessary compliance spend and accidental non-compliance.
- Weight range: vehicles and vehicle combinations with a permissible gross vehicle weight between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes
- Operation type: international commercial goods transport, including cabotage operations carried out for hire or reward
- Exclusions: vans used exclusively for domestic transport, or for own-account transport rather than commercial haulage, remain outside this particular extension
A single vehicle can move in and out of scope depending on how it is used. A van that operates domestically for most of the month but occasionally crosses a border for a commercial delivery falls under the tachograph requirement for that international leg. Operators with mixed-use fleets need visibility into which trips trigger the obligation, rather than assuming an entire vehicle class is either fully exempt or fully covered.
Driving Time and Rest Period Obligations
Driving time and rest period rules for vans in scope follow the same framework that already governs heavy goods vehicles under Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006. Daily and weekly rest requirements apply in full, and the Smart Tachograph 2 records this activity automatically, removing reliance on manual logs that are easier to falsify or simply forget.
For a van driver moving into this regulatory framework for the first time, the practical change is procedural. Route planning now needs to account for mandatory rest breaks in a way it may not have previously, and dispatchers assigning international jobs need current visibility into a driver’s remaining available hours before confirming a booking. Getting this wrong does not just risk a penalty at a roadside check; it risks a driver being pulled from service mid-route.
Cabotage and Posting Rules Under the Wider Mobility Package
Cabotage operations, where a vehicle performs national transport within a member state following an international leg, carry specific limits under Mobility Package I, and these limits now extend to vans in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonne range performing such operations for hire or reward. The number of cabotage operations permitted within a defined period is restricted, and tachograph data provides the enforcement record that verifies compliance.
Posting rules add a further layer. A driver posted to another member state must receive remuneration at least equivalent to the host country’s applicable minimum, and simplified posting provisions exist for light commercial vehicles even as the underlying obligation remains. The Smart Tachograph 2 records border crossings automatically, which gives enforcement authorities a direct way to verify both posting compliance and driving time compliance from a single data source during a roadside check.
Preparing a Fleet for the Transition
Operators bringing vans into tachograph compliance face two separate tasks: fitting the hardware and adjusting operational processes around it. Neither can be treated as optional, and both carry lead times worth planning around.
- Confirm which vehicles in the fleet fall within the 2.5 to 3.5 tonne threshold and identify which of those regularly perform international or cabotage work
- Arrange installation of Smart Tachograph 2 devices ahead of scheduled international routes, since retrofitting under time pressure increases both cost and risk of delay
- Issue driver cards to affected van drivers and confirm they understand how driving time and rest period rules apply to their routes
- Review dispatching and route planning processes so that rest period requirements are built into scheduling rather than discovered during a roadside inspection
Fleet management platforms like AREALCONTROL area capable of remote tachograph data download reduce the administrative load this transition creates, since driver hour records for vans and heavy goods vehicles can sit inside the same system rather than requiring separate handling by vehicle class. AREALCONTROL’s platform supports this kind of consolidated compliance record, which matters particularly for operators running combined fleets of vans and trucks under the same operation.
What This Means for Fleet Compliance Going Forward
The extension of tachograph rules to light commercial vehicles reflects a broader regulatory direction: vehicle weight class is becoming less relevant to compliance obligations than the nature of the transport operation itself. Operators who treat this van-specific change as an isolated update risk missing the pattern, since further scope adjustments within the Mobility Package framework remain a realistic possibility.
The immediate priority is straightforward. Fleets with vans in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonne range performing international or cabotage work need tachograph hardware installed, driver cards issued, and scheduling processes adjusted now that the rule is in force, not pending. Building this into an existing fleet management system, rather than managing van compliance separately from truck compliance, keeps the administrative burden proportionate to the actual regulatory change.
