Regulation Update · Part 10 of 5 in this series
A weekly explainer on new and amended transport and logistics regulation across the EU, drawn from our document repository.
eFTI Authority Access: What Article 3 of Regulation 2024/1942 Requires
9 September 2026 · EN · NL · DE · FR
Why This Matters Now
Since 21 August 2024, competent authorities across the EU have had a legal right to request electronic freight transport information (eFTI) directly from certified platforms, rather than asking drivers to hand over paper printouts. Two years on, many transport operators still don't know exactly what that right entails, or which article of EU law governs it.
The Rule: Article 3 of Regulation 2024/1942
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1942 is the technical companion to the main eFTI Regulation (EU) 2020/1056. It does not deal with which data must be carried, that's covered elsewhere, it deals with how an inspector, customs officer or police officer actually gets hold of that data once it sits on a certified eFTI platform instead of in the cab.
Article 3 of the Regulation sets out the procedure a competent authority must follow when it wants to consult eFTI information during a roadside check or administrative control: the authority identifies itself electronically, submits a structured access request through the interface linking its national system to the eFTI platform, and the platform must make the requested data available without undue delay. Annex I to the Regulation defines the technical message structure used for these requests, so that a Dutch inspector can query a platform certified in Poland using the same electronic format a German customs officer would use.
Crucially, this access right runs through national enforcement systems, not through the driver's phone. A driver can still show the QR code or login screen, but the underlying legal mechanism is authority-to-platform, structured under Article 3, not authority-to-driver.
What It Means in Practice
For owner-drivers, this shifts the burden of proof away from the cab. If your consignment is registered on a certified eFTI platform, an inspector is entitled to query that platform directly rather than demanding you produce paperwork on the spot. That protects drivers from being penalised for a document they simply don't have with them, provided the underlying data is properly registered.
For planners, it means platform certification and correct registration of shipments matter more than ever: if an authority's Article 3 request comes back empty or incomplete because the eFTI record was never properly created, the fine lands on the operator, not the platform.
For customs staff and back-office compliance teams, it means building, or verifying, the technical link between national enforcement systems and certified eFTI platforms is not optional. Regulation 2024/1942 makes that link the legal channel through which roadside and administrative checks are supposed to run, alongside the traditional paper and screen checks that remain valid during the transition period.
What To Check Next
Ask your eFTI platform provider one direct question: can our platform respond to an Article 3 access request from a competent authority within the timeframe the Regulation expects, and has that link actually been tested with a national enforcement system? If the answer is vague, that's the gap to close before the next roadside inspection, not after.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What does Regulation 2024/1942 regulate?
It sets the common procedures and technical rules for how competent authorities access eFTI (electronic freight transport information) registered on certified platforms, including the link with national enforcement systems. It complements Regulation 2020/1056 without changing which data must be carried.
What does Article 3 of the Regulation require?
Article 3 defines the procedure an authority must follow to request access to eFTI data during a check: electronic identification, a structured access request through the interface linking national systems to the platform, and a requirement for the platform to provide the data without undue delay.
Since when has this access right applied?
The Regulation applies since 21 August 2024, the same date the main eFTI Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 became applicable across the EU.
What should transport operators check now?
Confirm with your eFTI platform provider that the technical link to national enforcement systems required under Article 3 has actually been tested, not just theoretically supported, so that authority access requests during roadside checks are answered without delay.
Source document: eFTI Authority Access (Reg. 2024/1942) →