Deadlines & dates

    Tachograph obligation from 1 July 2026: all deadlines at a glance

    The smart tachograph was not introduced in one step but in stages, across several phases of the EU Mobility Package. 1 July 2026 is the last and, for light commercial vehicles, the most important phase.

    Timeline

    The key deadlines

    1. 15 June 2019 — mandatory for new registrations (GEN1)Since this date all newly registered vehicles above 3.5 tonnes have been delivered with the first-generation smart tachograph (GEN1) as standard.
    2. 21 August 2023 — mandatory for new registrations (GEN2)Since this date all newly registered vehicles above 3.5 tonnes have been delivered with the second-generation smart tachograph (GEN2) as standard.
    3. 31 December 2024 — replacement of analogue and older digital devicesExisting vehicles above 3.5 tonnes in international transport fitted with an analogue or first-generation digital tachograph had to be retrofitted with a Smart Tacho GEN2 V2 by this date.
    4. 31 December 2024 — extended record-carrying obligationSince this date drivers must carry records of working, driving, availability and rest times for the current day and the preceding 56 days.
    5. 18 August 2025 — end of the GEN1 transition periodVehicles above 3.5 tonnes in cross-border transport still fitted with the first generation (GEN1) of the smart tachograph had to be converted to a Smart Tacho GEN2 V2 by this date.
    6. 1 July 2026 — extension to vehicles from 2.5 tonnesFrom this date the obligation to install and use a Smart Tacho GEN2 V2 also applies to vehicles and vehicle combinations with a permissible gross weight above 2.5 up to 3.5 tonnes used in cross-border commercial transport or in cabotage.
    What remains unchanged

    National transport is unaffected

    For purely national transport, this EU-wide rule changes nothing in principle (exception: Norway). The respective national provisions (in Germany the Driving Personnel Regulation) remain decisive there.

    Why act now

    Workshops are already running at high capacity

    The deadline has passed — workshops are correspondingly busy. Anyone who has not yet started retrofitting risks acute scheduling bottlenecks and, in the worst case, the vehicle being taken off the road at the next inspection. Details on how to proceed are in our urgent action plan.

    Back to the overview: legal change 2026.

    Does one of these deadlines affect you?

    Find out which vehicles are actually affected.

    Go to Vans & light commercial vehicles