In-Transit Verification of the Digital Control Document (DeCA) for Road Transport: What Should You Keep in Mind?

The Digital Control Document (DeCA) for road transport represents a major advance in terms of efficiency, traceability, and safety.

However, it also generates doubts and concerns, especially due to the fear of sanctions in case the document does not comply with regulatory requirements when a roadside control takes place.

Since the Sustainable Mobility Act was passed, the regulatory framework has been clear: the Control Document may be issued in electronic format, but it must meet a series of technical and operational requirements to be valid for roadside inspections.

In this post we analyze the key aspects that must be taken into account to ensure that the Digital Control Document for road transport successfully passes any roadside check.

1. Generate the Digital Control Document (DeCA) in accordance with the ROTT

As we have already seen in previous posts, the digitalization of transport documents must comply with a series of requirements to be valid.

In the case of the Digital Control Document (DeCA), this digital transformation must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations of the Land Transportation Act (ROTT), taking into account the amendment of June 2026. This entails:

• Include the information specified in Article 6 of Order FOM/2861/2012.
• Convert this data, as soon as it becomes available and always before the service actually begins, into an electronic file, thereby generating an electronic administrative control document (DeCA). It is mandatory to record the date and time of creation, as well as any modifications.
• Store the generated electronic files in a repository, ensuring they are available for download during roadside inspections. The repository’s domain may be any domain and does not require prior notification.
• Each electronic file stored in that repository will have a unique and specific web address.
• The electronic files generated must include a QR code within the PDF itself that contains the document’s unique and specific web address.
• The files must be retained for at least one year.

Failure to comply with any of these points may result in the document being considered incorrect or incomplete at a roadside check, with the consequent risk of a penalty.

2. Learn about the enabled in-transit verification system: QR code

One of the main steps to avoid problems is to understand how in-transit verification is actually performed.

The ROTT, as amended in June 2026 by the adoption of the Resolution of June 5, 2026, issued by the General Directorate of Road and Rail Transport, establishes a single official method of verification by the Land Transport Inspection Services.

As we mentioned in the previous section, a QR code must be included in the DeCA PDF so that road transport enforcement officers can download the electronic file stored in the repository. This will be done by calling or invoking the URL, which must trigger the direct download of the electronic file in PDF format.

Available and accessible

It is not enough to have a QR. If the link is broken, requires credentials not available to the agent or does not show the correct document, the check will not pass.

In addition, it is important that the QR code be up to date and correspond exactly to the transport control document for the shipment currently in progress.

3. Put the driver in the center

One of the points included in the regulations governing the Control Document is that it must always be on board the truck accompanying the goods.

Therefore, it is important to put the driver at the center in the digitization of the Control Document.

In a roadside check, the driver is the person who interacts with the agents. If he cannot show the QR, does not know where to find it or does not have access to the document, the problem is not technological, it is operational, and can end in a sanction.

The regulations require the document to be available during transport, which implies:

• The driver must be able to access the Digital Control Document
• That it can display the QR code immediately
• Access should not depend on complex real-time procedures

Two Formulas for Displaying the QR Code

In fact, the regulations require that a copy of the DeCA be provided to the driver, allowing for two options:

• An electronic copy that can be displayed on a mobile device
• Printed copy on paper

In both formats, the copy must include the QR code.

Thus, during a roadside check, the driver must present the DeCA with the QR code, or, if that is not available, just the QR code.

If you bring a printed copy, any handwritten notes on it will not be taken into account.

FIELDEAS Track and Trace Digital Control Document in-transit verification flow

The document digitization module of FIELDEAS Track and Trace, Smart Docs Hub, takes all these regulatory considerations into account and also ensures that the Digital Control Document for road transport is fully valid in the event of a roadside inspection.

Thus, the verification workflow for in-transit shipments in FIELDEAS Track and Trace’s Smart Docs Hub is illustrated as follows:

• Generate the Control Document in a native digital format
• Upload the Digital Control Document to your own repository with a secure domain, and associate a URL with it.
• Generate the QR code associated with the Digital Control Document
• Share the document and the QR code with the driver, with or without the FIELDEAS Track and Trace app
• In the event of a roadside check, present the QR code to the officers, who will scan it to view its contents

Learn about all the regulatory aspects to consider in the post “What is a Digital Control Document (DeCA)? Regulations, Characteristics and Benefits”