Smart tachograph

Trucks, passenger-carrying vehicles, and smaller professional vehicles must have a tachograph on board. The tachograph registers information, including driving and rest times, speed, border crossings, and distance travelled. You must apply for a tachograph card to use a digital tachograph.

The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT) checks the tachograph’s data during inspections.

When is a tachograph mandatory?

Check if your vehicle must have a tachograph by answering the questions under 'Tachograph, mandatory or not?' (Tachograaf, verplicht of niet?, in Dutch) at the ILT. The questions concern the type of vehicle and the maximum weight including trailer and load.

For example, if your vehicle is used for the transport of goods and has a maximum weight of 2,500 kilograms, you are permitted to drive without a tachograph.

• national exemptions (in Dutch), for example for vehicles used for driving lessons, rubbish collection, or vehicles that stay within 5 kilometres of a facility (port, airport, railway terminal).
• international exemptions that apply to all EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

Registering without a tachograph

Even if there is no legal obligation for your vehicle to be fitted with a tachograph, you are still required by law to register your chauffeur's driving and resting times. You are free to choose how you do this. The ILT must be able to check if you comply with the Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet).

Which tachograph do I need?

All vehicles used for international transport must have a Smart Tachograph type 2, SMT2.

Do you use the vehicle for national transport only and is a tachograph mandatory for your vehicle? Then you must usually have a digital tachograph. Which tachograph is mandatory for you depends on the date on which your vehicle was registered for the first time.

• before 1 May 2006: an analogue tachograph or digital tachograph
• on or after 1 May 2006: a digital tachograph
• from 15 June 2019: at least a Smart Tachograph type 1 (2nd generation digital tachograph)
• from 21 August 2023: a Smart Tachograph type 2 (SMT2)

Tachograph cards

You need a tachograph card in order to use a smart or digital tachograph. You can apply for these cards (in Dutch) to Kiwa Register. If you are not a Dutch resident and do not have a Kiwa ID, you should contact Kiwa to obtain one.

There are different types of cards:

• driver's card to drive a Dutch company's vehicle that is equipped with a smart or digital tachograph (in Dutch)
• temporary driver's card for drivers from outside the EU/EEA working for a Dutch company (in Dutch)
• company card for transport entrepreneurs who use buses or trucks fitted with a smart or digital tachograph (in Dutch)
• workshop card (in Dutch) for installers of smart tachographs to install, repair, or calibrate digital tachographs

Downloading and storing data

Are you the employer? You must download the data from the digital tachograph to a company computer at least once every 90 days. You have to download the driver's card at least once every 28 days. You need to store the data for at least 1 year.

Registering border crossings

Are you a truck driver crossing a border within the EU? The Smart Tachograph type 2 automatically registers when you cross a border. If you have a different type of tachograph, you must enter the country code of the country you enter manually. You must do this at the border or at the first possible stop after crossing the border.