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

From 9 July 2027, competent authorities across the EU must accept regulatory freight information made available electronically through certified eFTI platforms. For Irish shippers, this is not a deadline to abandon paper: using eFTI remains voluntary, and it does not replace the CMR or e-CMR.

What changes on 9 July 2027

Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 applies from 21 August 2024 and covers road, rail, inland waterway and air transport. The distinction is between the regulation’s application date and the later obligation on authorities to accept information through the eFTI system.

From 9 July 2027, competent authorities in every Member State must accept regulatory freight information that operators make available electronically through a certified eFTI platform. The European Commission’s eFTI overview sets out that acceptance deadline.

For a logistics manager, the practical question is therefore not simply whether shipment information is digital. It is whether the information intended for authorities is being made available through the certified eFTI route. Keep that question separate from how you request freight prices, book a carrier or prepare transport documents.

Paper remains an option, but eFTI has specific requirements

Businesses do not have to use eFTI. Paper remains allowed, so the acceptance deadline should not be treated as a compulsory switch for every shipper and every shipment.

If you choose to share regulatory freight information electronically under eFTI, the regulation requires a certified eFTI platform. The information must be machine-readable and have a unique electronic identifying link, or UIL. On request, it must also be available in human-readable form on the operator’s device on the spot.

An email or a link used to arrange a shipment should not, by itself, be treated as meeting those requirements. When assessing a proposed eFTI service, ask how each requirement will be met rather than relying on a general description such as “digital freight documents”.

• Ask for evidence of the platform’s eFTI certification.
• Ask how the required information will be made machine-readable.
• Ask how the UIL will be provided and used.
• Ask how the operator will display human-readable information on request.
• Agree with the carrier who will handle each practical step.

What to watch before the acceptance deadline

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. These are part of the framework behind the later acceptance obligation.

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2243 sets functional requirements for eFTI platforms. The Commission plans the remaining specifications by December 2026. Its timetable also provides for platforms to prepare, and authorities to start accepting data, from January 2026. That earlier possibility is distinct from the obligation applying across Member States from 9 July 2027.

Each Member State builds an eFTI gate to route authority requests to platforms. The authority access rules cover that part of the system.

When speaking to a supplier, separate what is available now from what is planned. Ask which certified platform is involved and how authority access will work. A proposed service should be assessed against the eFTI requirements, not only against its planned launch date.

Ireland: keep e-CMR and eFTI separate

Ireland acceded to the Additional Protocol to the CMR on the electronic consignment note on 20 December 2019, as recorded in the UN treaty record. That is the Ireland-specific e-CMR fact to keep distinct from the EU-wide eFTI timetable.

e-CMR is the electronic consignment note. eFTI is not a document: it is the channel through which authorities read the data. It does not replace either the CMR or e-CMR.

For an Irish shipping team, make these separate items in discussions with carriers and software suppliers. Ask how the consignment note will be handled, then ask how regulatory information will be made available to authorities if you choose eFTI. Do not assume that an answer about e-CMR also answers the eFTI question.

Use the Ireland CMR guide as a separate reference when reviewing your document workflow.

Review the workflow with your existing carriers

Start with a shipment workflow you already use. Map the price request, the carrier’s response, the booking, the transport documents and the information you would want to make available through eFTI. Treat this as a preparation exercise, not as a new legal checklist.

Then discuss responsibilities with the carrier. Who would supply information to the certified platform? Who would have access to the UIL? How would the operator show the human-readable information when asked? Resolve those questions before deciding how to use eFTI.

Keep commercial communication separate from the authority-access process. Your carrier price request by email concerns arranging the shipment; the eFTI decision concerns how regulatory freight information is shared with authorities.

Where nocargo fits in the shipment process

nocargo lets shippers add the carriers they already work with. A price request goes by email to the address the shipper enters. 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. See booking and documents for that workflow.

Those functions should be assessed separately from eFTI certification. Do not treat a booking link, a printed CMR or shipment tracking as proof that the eFTI requirements have been met. For preparation before 9 July 2027, keep the distinction clear: booking manages the shipment; a certified eFTI platform provides the route for regulatory information to authorities.

Frequently asked questions

Must an Irish shipper stop using paper on 9 July 2027?

No. Using eFTI is voluntary for businesses, and paper remains allowed. The deadline requires competent authorities in every Member State to accept regulatory freight information made available through a certified eFTI platform.

Does eFTI replace the CMR or e-CMR?

No. e-CMR is the electronic consignment note. eFTI is the channel through which authorities read regulatory freight data; it is not a replacement document.

Is emailing freight information enough to use eFTI?

No. Electronic sharing under eFTI requires a certified platform, machine-readable information and a unique electronic identifying link. Human-readable information must also be available on the operator’s device on request.