Understanding eFTI: what companies need to know now

The European eFTI Regulation changes how transport information can be exchanged between companies and public authorities. For the first time, it creates a uniform legal framework for digital transport data across the entire EU, with far-reaching implications for logistics, freight forwarding, shippers and platform providers. In this three-part series, we look at what eFTI means in practice, how companies should interpret the new legal framework, and what practical steps follow from it.

A new legal framework for digital transport information

Europe’s transport and logistics sector is facing an important step in its digital evolution: with the eFTI Regulation (EU) 2020/1056, the European Union is for the first time creating a binding legal framework for the digital transmission of transport-relevant information. The Regulation is primarily aimed at public authorities. From mid-2027, they will be required to accept electronic transport information, provided that companies make it available. For businesses, the digital route remains voluntary: paper documents remain permissible, and there is no point in time at which companies would be required to switch to digital processes.

Why the eFTI Regulation was introduced

The background to the Regulation is the lack to date of a consistent foundation for digital data exchange in European freight transport. Although there are already a wide range of digital solutions, there have been no binding standards to ensure interoperability across Europe. The eFTI Regulation therefore defines how transport data must be structured, via what types of platforms it can be provided, and what requirements apply to security, data quality and traceability. It does not create any new information obligations for companies. Everything that companies are legally required to provide today—such as under dangerous goods legislation, customs law, or when proving transport permits—remains unchanged. The Regulation governs only the permissible digital route.

This gives companies an additional, voluntary option. Anyone who wants to transmit transport information digitally in the future must use a platform certified under eFTI or work with service providers that provide such systems. The advantage lies in a standardised European data language. Documents that today are often carried in paper form or recorded manually multiple times can be stored in a structured manner. During an official inspection, this information can be retrieved digitally—without the need for physical documents. The prerequisite is that the data is provided in full in accordance with the intended data model, which closely aligns with existing sector-specific legislation.

Who benefits from eFTI?

Whether it makes sense to use this voluntary option depends heavily on the specific business model. Companies with many cross-border transports or extensive documentation obligations can benefit because digital processes speed up inspections and avoid media discontinuities. Those who mainly operate regionally or whose internal processes are still barely digitised are unlikely to feel increasing competitive pressure in the short term to engage more intensively with the eFTI Regulation. The legal framework is deliberately technology-neutral and guarantees that paper will continue to retain the same legal status.

How eFTI works technically

From a technological perspective, the route is via so-called eFTI platforms. These systems store transport information in a structured way and enable controlled retrieval by public authorities. Each platform must be certified and demonstrate that it meets European requirements for interoperability, access protection, data integrity and transparency. An important point: public authorities do not receive automatic access. Retrieval takes place only as part of an inspection or a legal review process and is fully logged—comparable to presenting a document on site, but in digital form.

The 2027 deadline: mandatory acceptance for authorities

In mid-2027, the key practical change takes effect: authorities in all EU Member States must accept electronic transport information. In Germany, this applies in particular to the customs administration, the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility, the state police authorities, and port and waterways authorities. From that point on, it will be ensured that a company that opts for the digital route can provide its data in a legally compliant manner throughout the European area. National special solutions will therefore lose importance as EU standards become binding.

This mandatory acceptance is a key building block of Europe’s digital strategy in the transport sector. The EU aims to make digital processes more reliable, more transparent and more interoperable. However, the decision whether a company uses this route remains entirely voluntary. Contrary to what is sometimes assumed, the eFTI Regulation is not an obligation to digitise, but an enabling framework. Paper remains usable as a form of information.

Opportunities in practice

Companies can keep their existing processes. Nevertheless, it is worth looking at the potential benefits. Especially in complex supply chains, with regularly recurring inspections or a high documentation burden, the option of digital transmission can bring relief. Once data is stored in a structured way, it can be integrated more easily into other systems, checked automatically and provided in a targeted manner. Liability risks from incorrect manual transfers can also be reduced.

At the same time, it should not be overlooked that introducing digital processes requires organisational and technical preparation. Companies need to assess which of their current documents correspond in content to the eFTI data models, whether their master data quality is sufficient, and how the relevant information could flow from transport management, warehouse or ERP systems into an eFTI platform. Training needs arise above all where strongly paper-based processes still dominate today or where complex regulatory data—such as in dangerous goods legislation—is processed.

Germany in the European context

Due to its central position in European freight transport, Germany is particularly strongly integrated into international transport chains. Existing national digitisation initiatives—such as those around the electronic CMR, the digitisation of port logistics, or projects in rail freight—will in future need to be more closely aligned with eFTI. For companies, this is an opportunity because duplicate structures could be reduced. At the same time, it is realistic that there will be a transition phase in which different systems coexist—depending on the maturity level of the respective industries and partners.

What companies should do now

From a company perspective, one thing above all is important: realistically assessing your own needs. Those who are rarely inspected or work with less complex documents will not, for the time being, derive any noticeable benefit from eFTI. Those who operate internationally, have many interfaces with authorities, or already work largely digitally could see early advantages because data exchange becomes more efficient and more standardised.
The greatest effect always arises when multiple actors in the transport chain work together and provide their data along a shared digital process.

A flexible framework for modern logistics

Ultimately, eFTI creates a flexible framework for modern logistics. Companies can use it, but they do not have to. The Regulation strengthens digital procedures without restricting analogue routes. It makes transport information more structured, compatible and controllable without limiting entrepreneurial freedom. For the authorities of the EU Member States, however, a clear obligation arises to enable the digital route. This removes a central obstacle to the digitisation of logistics: the previously missing Europe-wide legal framework for electronic transport information.

With this foundation, the eFTI Regulation is a building block for modernising European freight transport. Its aim is not obligation, but simplification. And that is precisely its practical strength: it gives companies the freedom to decide for themselves when and to what extent they want to use digital documents—and at the same time ensures that this decision will be recognised everywhere in Europe in the future.