REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the issuance by Member States of temporary driver cards in accordance with Article 26(4) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014
Date: 2024-07-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: drivers, driving licence, driving period, labour shortage, road safety, road transport, working conditions

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.7.2024  COM(2024) 309 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the issuance by Member States of temporary driver cards in accordance with Article 26(4) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014  
 
 
Introduction 

The  tachograph  is  the  device  that  records  driving  time,  breaks  and  rest  periods  as  well  as 
periods of other work and availability of drivers engaged in the carriage of goods or passengers 
by road. The purpose of the tachograph is to enable controls of compliance with the set of EU 
rules aimed to prevent driver fatigue and to contribute to good working conditions of drivers, 
road  safety  and  fair  competition.  Tachographs  are  installed  in  certain  vehicles  used  for  the 
carriage of goods or passengers, falling within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 561/20061 on 
driving and rest times and registered in the EU2. The EU digital tachograph system is also used 
in the wider European & Central Asian area under the European Agreement concerning the 
work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport (‘the AETR’)3. 

The digital tachograph system functions primarily on the basis of the insertion of a tachograph 
card in the vehicle unit. Tachograph cards can be issued to drivers, control officers, companies, 
workshops, and fitters, each for their own purpose. One of the pillars of the EU tachograph 
system is the principle of interoperability between vehicle units and cards.   

Figure 1. The tachograph vehicle unit (VU) and types of tachograph cards (source: JRC) 

Driver cards are issued by Member States to drivers engaged in activities falling within the 
scope of Regulation (EU) No 561/2006. These cards store electronic data about the driver’s 
activity, including driving and rest time, speed, and distances travelled. The issuance process 
ensures that drivers hold a single and personal driver card to operate a vehicle with a digital 
tachograph. This system not only facilitates efficient monitoring of compliance with EU road 
transport  regulations  but  also  helps  safeguard  driver  welfare  by  enforcing  rest  periods  and 
reducing the risk of fatigue-related accidents. Driver cards are issued by the Member State in 
which drivers have their ‘normal residence’.  In certain cases and based on the definition of 
‘normal residence’ in Regulation (EU) No 165/20144, third-country drivers may not be able to 
immediately  prove  their  ‘normal  residence’  when  they  arrive  in  the  Union.  In  such  cases, 

1 Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the 
harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulations (EEC) 
No 3821/85 and (EC) No 2135/98 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 (OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, 
p.1). 
2 In accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, this applies to vehicles which are designed to 
carry more than nine persons including the driver, vehicles used for the carriage of goods where the mass of the 
vehicle exceeds 3,5 tonnes, and from 1 July 2026 to vehicles that carry goods in international transport or cabotage 
operations where the mass of the vehicle exceeds 2,5 tonnes.  
3 European Agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport (AETR) 
(OJ L 95, 8.4.1978, p. 1). 
4 Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 on tachographs 
in road transport, repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport and 
amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of 
certain social legislation relating to road transport (OJ L 60, 28.2.2014, p. 1). 

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Article 26(4) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 allows Member States to issue a non-renewable, 
temporary driver card valid for up to 185 days to drivers not normally residing in a Member 
State or in a State which is a Contracting Party to the AETR. This provision may support the 
efforts to address specific deficiencies in driver availability within the EU.  

This  report  presents  an  analysis  of  the  findings  based  on  Article  26(4)  of  Regulation  (EU) 
No 165/2014,  concerning  the  practices  and  experience  of  Member  States  in  the  issuance  of 
these temporary driver cards. The examination includes both quantitative and qualitative data 
collected from the Member States. Structured into several sections,  this report discusses the 
broader implications for the EU’s internal market and labour mobility. Section I details the data 
collection  procedure  used  by  the  Commission.  Section  II  details  the  legal  and  regulatory 
framework underpinning the temporary driver card, including how this provision has supported 
Ukrainian drivers in the immediate aftermath of the start of the war of aggression of Russia 
against Ukraine. Section III analyses data on the issuance and use of these cards. Section IV 
evaluates the impacts of these provisions on the transport sector and labour market dynamics, 
particularly  in  the light  of driver shortage and the consequences of the  Russian invasion of 
Ukraine.  

I. 

Data collection by the Commission 

This report on the application of Article 26(4) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 is based on 
national data on the issuance of temporary tachograph driver cards covering the period 2022-
2023. Between 2014 and 2022, the Commission monitored the application of this paragraph on 
a regular basis, with data showing that a negligeable amount of temporary driver cards were 
being issued. As a result, this is the first report of the Commission on the application of this 
provision, covering the period 2022-2023.  

Member States were invited to submit data covering the period 2022-2023 based on a short 
questionnaire sent by the Commission. The questions were divided into three categories: (i) 
general information about temporary driver cards issued, (ii) nationalities/country of normal 
residence  of  the  drivers  to  whom  the  temporary  driver  cards  were  issued  and  (iii)  potential 
impacts of the issuance of temporary driver cards on the labour market.  All Member States 
provided feedback to the data collection exercise upon invitation of the Commission.  

II. 

Legal and regulatory framework 

Tachograph driver cards are personal and unique, issued with a maximum period of validity of 
five years. These cards are issued by the competent authorities in the driver’s Member State of 
normal  residence,  ensuring  that  each  driver  is  uniquely  identified  and  compliant  with  EU 
standards. Similar issuance procedures are adopted by non-EU AETR countries, allowing their 
drivers to participate in EU road transport under equivalent safety and regulatory conditions. 
Article 26(4) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014  allows Member States to issue a temporary, 
non-renewable driver card valid for up to 185 days to a driver without normal residence in an 
EU  Member  State  or  in  a  State  which  is  a  Contracting  Party  to  the  AETR.  This  provision 
requires the driver to be in a labour law relationship with an undertaking established in the 
issuing  Member  State  and,  in  so  far  as  Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/20095  applies,  presents  a 
driver attestation.  

5 Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common 
rules for access to the international road haulage market (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 72). 

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This  mechanism  allows  Member  States  the  flexibility  to  support  driver mobility,  subject  to 
further  checks,  including  on  driver  qualifications.  This  also  allows  drivers  to  submit  a  new 
application once the conditions for establishing ‘normal residence’ within the meaning of the 
Regulation can be fulfilled. 

In 2022, upon request of several Member States, the Commission services provided guidance 
on  this  provision  which  allowed  for  the  exceptional  issuance  of  temporary  driver  cards  to 
drivers  with  normal  residence  in  Ukraine,  despite  Ukraine  being  a  Contracting  Party  to  the 
AETR6. This was tailored to accommodate the exceptional circumstances faced by Ukrainian 
drivers, facilitating their integration into the EU transport systems during a period of crisis, and 
based on the fact that Ukraine could not be considered a country of ‘normal’ residence while 
being faced with Russia’s war of aggression on its territory. 

III.  Overview of the issuance by Member States of temporary driver cards  

Over the period 2022-2023, 7 Member States issued temporary driver cards  to  drivers with 
normal  residence  in  a  ‘non-AETR’  country:  Czechia,  Estonia,  Croatia,  Lithuania,  Poland, 
Romania, and Slovenia. All other Member States reported either not providing the possibility 
to issue temporary cards, or not having issued any during this period.  

A total of 4 459 temporary driver cards were issued in 2022 and 20237. A big difference in the 
amount  of  temporary  driver  cards  issued  can  be  observed  between  these  countries,  ranging 
from 1 in Slovenia, 13 in Romania, 34 in Estonia, 256 in Croatia, 505 in Czechia, 1 320 in 
Lithuania, to 2 330 in Poland. Figure 2 illustrates the number of temporary driver cards issued 
per country over the period 2022-2023. 

Figure 2. Total number of temporary driver cards issued in the EU in 2022 and 2023, by issuing Member 
State 

2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

1802

781

539

528

279

226

19

15

CZ

EE

256

0

HR

2022

LT
2023

PL

8

5

RO

1

0

SI

6  See also https://transport.ec.europa.eu/ukraine/keeping-transport-running-smoothly/road-transport_en. 
7 Among these 4 459 temporary driver cards, 19 were inadvertently issued to drivers normally residing in a non-EU 
AETR country. 

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At the same time, the share of temporary driver cards among total driver cards issued remained 
low, with Lithuania having the highest share at 2.6%, followed by Poland at 0.6%, and Czechia 
at 0.3%. 

A closer examination reveals the prevalent countries of normal residence of drivers to whom 
these temporary driver cards were issued. India emerged as the most prevalent country, with a 
total  of 1 932 cards issued across  in  both  years.  The Philippines  followed behind,  with  654 
cards  issued,  while  Ukraine  accounted  for  540  cards.  Other  important  recipients  included 
drivers with normal residence in Zimbabwe (346), Kuwait (218), South Africa (158), Sri Lanka 
(144) and Pakistan (117). 

The  data  shows  significant  trends  in  the  countries  of  normal  residence  of  drivers  receiving 
temporary driver cards across the various EU Member States. For example, Ukrainian drivers 
were the largest recipients of temporary driver cards in Czechia and Estonia both years. Drivers 
with normal residence in India prominently received temporary driver cards in Lithuania and 
Poland,  being  the most issued  temporary  driver  cards  in  these  countries. The  Philippines is 
another notable source of drivers, with significant numbers of them receiving temporary driver 
cards in Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland. Drivers with normal residence in Zimbabwe were also 
issued a substantial number of cards in Poland. Figure 3 gives an overview of the number of 
cards issued to drivers based on their country of normal residence.  

Figure 3. Temporary driver cards issued in 2022-2023, by country of normal residence of the card holder

India (1932)

Philippines (654)

Ukraine (540)

Zimbabwe (346)

Kuwait (218)

South Africa (158)

Sri Lanka (144)

Pakistan (117)

Other (350)

Among the 350 “other” cards issued, the countries of normal residence were the following: 
Nepal (70), United Arab Emirates (51), Qatar (49), Kosovo* (32), Brazil (37), Tunisia (19), 
Uganda (12), Bangladesh (10), Saudi Arabia and Albania (9 each), Morocco (8), Belarus and 
Colombia (7 each), Egypt (5), Cuba and Rwanda (4 each), Iran (3), Botswana and Georgia (2 
each), Ghana, Paraguay, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Argentina (1 each)8.  

8  The  cards  issued  to  drivers  with  normal  residence  in  Albania,  Belarus,  Georgia,  and  Uzbekistan  were 
inadvertently issued by EU Member States.  
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 (1999) and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

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IV. 

Evaluation  of  the  impact  of  the  provisions  on  the  transport  sector  and  labour 
market 

Based on the analysis of the administrative practices associated with the issuance of temporary 
driver cards under Regulation (EU) No 165/2014, a distinct pattern of limited use and varying 
effects on national labour markets can be identified. This analysis encompasses responses from 
various Member States, including those Member States that have issued temporary driver cards 
and those that have not. 

The majority of countries that have issued temporary driver cards, including Czechia, Estonia, 
Lithuania,  Romania,  and  Slovenia,  reported  no  additional  national  legislative  conditions 
beyond  what  is  laid  down  in  EU  regulations  in  order  to  apply  for  a  temporary  driver  card. 
Similarly,  these  countries  do  not  issue  temporary  driver  cards  to  the  same  individual  on 
multiple  occasions.  The  impact  of  issuing  such  cards  on  the  national  labour  markets  was 
generally  described  as  negligible,  with  Estonia  noting  a  small  but  necessary  positive  effect 
mitigating driver shortages. Poland reported a positive impact on its labour market, particularly 
in addressing the acute driver shortage exacerbated by the war of aggression against Ukraine. 
This suggests that temporary driver cards can help support efforts to partially remedy labour 
shortages. 

Conversely,  countries  such as Spain and Ireland do not  issue temporary driver cards. Spain 
imposes strict residence and work permit requirements for any driver card issuance. Latvia has 
not received any applications for temporary driver cards but would not anticipate a negative 
impact on its labour market from such a measure keeping in mind the shortage of drivers on 
the market. 

Furthermore, the Commission has not received any indications that this provision has led to 
operational difficulties or caused problems within the Member States. This reflects a smooth 
integration  of  the  provision  within  the  existing  frameworks  and  the  apparent  absence  of 
negative impacts on the Regulation's objectives. 

Conclusion 

The possibility to issue temporary driver cards has appeared to help address specific labour 
market needs within the EU's transport sector without producing negative impacts. The findings 
indicate that while the uptake of this measure has been limited to seven Member States, a total 
of 4459 temporary driver cards were issued in 2022 and 2023. No Member State issued more 
than 2.6% of temporary driver cards among all driver cards issued over the same period. The 
analysis shows that drivers of normal residence in India, The Philippines, and Ukraine were 
the primary recipients of these temporary driver cards throughout the EU.  

The Commission is therefore of the view that the issuance of temporary driver cards is currently 
effective and does not produce negative impacts on the labour market. Member States can take 
advantage of this provision, which may facilitate their response to driver shortages, provided 
EU law, including EU labour and immigration law, are fully respected. The Commission will 
also  continue  to  use  the  social  dialogue  to  discuss  any  possible  policy  implications  of  the 
findings of this report.  

Finally, this provision has also helped support 540 Ukrainian drivers to continue their activities 
of  professional  driving  in  the  immediate  aftermath  of  the  start  of  the  war  of  aggression  by 
Russia against Ukraine. 

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