eFTI for shippers in Belgium: what changes before 9 July 2027

From 9 July 2027, competent authorities in every EU Member State must accept regulatory freight information made available electronically through a certified eFTI platform. For Belgian shippers, the preparation task is to distinguish that authority-access route from everyday carrier bookings and CMR paperwork: eFTI remains voluntary for businesses, and paper remains allowed.

What changes before 9 July 2027?

Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 applies from 21 August 2024 and covers road, rail, inland waterway and air transport. The date to put in your preparation plan is 9 July 2027, when the obligation for competent authorities to accept information through the certified eFTI route takes effect. These are different milestones, not conflicting start dates.

The common data set in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2024 and the authority access procedures in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1942 entered into force on 9 January 2025. The Commission also identifies Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2243 as setting functional requirements for eFTI platforms.

According to the Commission’s eFTI timetable, platforms can prepare from January 2026, and authorities may start accepting data from then. The remaining specifications are planned by December 2026. Treat preparation, possible early acceptance and mandatory authority acceptance as separate stages when discussing a supplier’s readiness.

What the electronic route requires

The business decision is whether to use eFTI, not whether to meet a blanket deadline to remove paper. Under the eFTI regulation, business use is voluntary. If you choose the electronic route for the regulatory freight information concerned, the following requirements matter:

• The information must be made available through a certified eFTI platform.
• It must be machine-readable.
• It must have a unique electronic identifying link, or UIL.
• On request, it must be available in human-readable form on the operator’s device, on the spot.

Use that list when reviewing a proposed solution. Ask the provider to explain its certification status, how the UIL is supplied and how the information can be displayed when requested. Do not treat an emailed attachment or a shipment screen as evidence that these requirements are met.

Each Member State builds an eFTI gate to route authority requests to platforms. The authority access procedures therefore concern a defined route between authorities and platforms, rather than simply sending a document to an email address.

Keep eFTI separate from CMR and e-CMR

eFTI is not a document, and it does not replace the CMR or e-CMR. The e-CMR is the electronic consignment note; eFTI is the channel through which authorities read the data. Keep those descriptions separate in your requirements and in conversations with carriers.

A useful supplier question is: “Are you describing the consignment note, the authority-access channel, or both?” Follow it by asking which part of the proposed service addresses each requirement. Avoid accepting “electronic transport documents” as a complete explanation of an eFTI offering.

For your own preparation, review the CMR workflow separately from the eFTI decision. Who prepares the information? Who checks it? What will the operator show on request? These are practical questions to resolve with your carrier and prospective platform provider. Our guide on how to fill in a CMR in Belgium is a separate starting point for reviewing the consignment-note task.

Belgium: distinguish signature from ratification

Belgium signed the Additional Protocol to the CMR on the electronic consignment note on 27 May 2008. The protocol is dated Geneva, 20 February 2008. According to the UN Treaty Collection status, Belgium has not ratified it.

Keep that status distinct from the EU eFTI timetable. Belgium’s signature is not ratification, and the eFTI acceptance date should not be presented as a date when e-CMR replaces the CMR.

For a Belgian shipper assessing a proposal, ask the supplier to address those subjects separately. Request a clear explanation of the consignment-note arrangement and a separate explanation of the certified eFTI route. This keeps your purchasing discussion focused without treating either “electronic” or “EU deadline” as an answer to every document question.

Prepare around the information you actually handle

Start with a review of a shipment from booking through to proof of delivery. Identify the information your team enters, the information it receives from the carrier and the information it expects to present if requested. Use the review to formulate questions, rather than assuming every existing document must be replaced.

Next, discuss responsibilities with your carriers and any prospective eFTI provider. Ask who would make information available through the platform, how the UIL would reach the person who needs it and how that person would display human-readable information. Request a demonstration of the proposed process.

Keep the preparation proportionate to your decision. If you retain paper, do not describe July 2027 as a compulsory business switchover. If you choose eFTI, check the proposed route against the platform and access requirements rather than relying on a general promise of digitalisation.

Where nocargo fits in the shipment workflow

nocargo handles booking and shipment tasks with the carriers you already work with. You add those carriers, and a price request goes by email to the address you enter. Carriers do not create an account: they answer through a private link or reply to the email, and nocargo reads the reply onto the order.

You can compare offers, book in one click, print the CMR and labels from the order, and track the shipment through to proof of delivery. That is a different scope from demonstrating certified eFTI access for authorities; do not treat these booking features as proof of eFTI certification.

nocargo is software, not a freight exchange or broker, and takes no margin on freight. Review the plans and pricing for that operational workflow, while assessing any proposed eFTI arrangement against its own requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Must Belgian shippers stop using paper on 9 July 2027?

No. Using eFTI is voluntary for businesses, and paper remains allowed. The deadline concerns competent authorities: they must accept regulatory freight information made available electronically through a certified eFTI platform.

Is eFTI the same as e-CMR?

No. e-CMR is the electronic consignment note. eFTI is the channel through which authorities read regulatory freight data; it does not replace the CMR or e-CMR.

Has Belgium ratified the e-CMR Additional Protocol?

According to the UN Treaty Collection status cited here, Belgium signed the protocol on 27 May 2008 but has not ratified it.

Does emailing shipment information meet the eFTI requirements?

Email alone is not the eFTI route described in the regulation. That route requires a certified eFTI platform, machine-readable information, a unique electronic identifying link and human-readable information available on the operator’s device on request.