Do I have to declare my driver's posting?
Answer a few questions about the trip (between 4 and 7, depending on the case) and we'll tell you whether you need to submit the posting declaration (IMI) before the driver sets off, with the legal basis for each answer. Free and no registration.
Want the full detail of every rule? Read the complete guide to the posting declaration (IMI) · How much is at stake if you don't declare? Calculate the fine.
The complete decision tree, at a glance
These are exactly the rules the test applies (company established in Spain, per Directive (EU) 2020/1057 and the European Commission's official Q&A):
1. Is the driver employed or self-employed?
Self-employed (own account) → EXEMPT — Directive 2020/1057 only covers employees [art. 1(2); Q&A Q7]. Watch out: false self-employment can be reclassified by inspectors, and drivers assigned by a temp agency (ETT) are covered.
Employed → continue with the vehicle.
2. What is the vehicle's maximum authorized mass?
More than 3.5 t → within the rules; continue.
Between 2.5 and 3.5 t (international transport) → within the rules; since 1 July 2026 this is beyond dispute and requires a v2 smart tachograph; continue.
Less than 2.5 t → GREY AREA — outside Directive 2020/1057, but the host country may apply its general posting regime (Directive 96/71); it must be checked country by country.
3. Freight or passengers?
Freight → continue with what the driver does in the country (points 4 to 8).
Passengers (bus/coach) → skip to point 9.
4. Transit: only passing through the country, without loading or unloading
EXEMPT — refuelling, resting or stopping does not break transit [art. 1(5); recital 11 of Directive 2020/1057].
5. Empty trip: it depends what it's for
Linked to a bilateral operation with Spain (going to load to bring back to Spain, or has just unloaded what it carried from Spain) → EXEMPT [scenarios 12-13 of the Commission's Q&A].
Is about to start a cabotage or a cross-trade operation → DECLARE — the empty leg counts as that operation and the driver is posted from the moment they enter the country [scenario 14].
Empty return to Spain → EXEMPT — there is no posting.
6. Bilateral transport: the operation begins or ends in Spain
Every consignment note ES→X or X→ES (X can even be a non-EU country) → EXEMPT [art. 1(3); scenarios 1-3]. Several bilateral operations can be chained in the same trip.
Extra loads/unloads along the way: allowed without declaring only if the 1+1 rule is met (one extra on the way out and one on the way back) or 0+2 (none on the way out and two on the way back), without loading AND unloading in the same country, and only with a v2 smart tachograph. The third extra activity and any beyond it ARE POSTING (only those) [art. 1(3), paragraphs 3-6; Q&A Q3-Q5; scenario 9].
7. Cross-trade: transport between two countries, neither of them Spain
DECLARE — the driver is posted in the loading country and in the unloading country (not in those they merely pass through). One posting declaration on the RTPD portal per driver and per country [Commission's Q&A; scenarios 4-5 and 11]. This includes operations between a Member State and a third country.
8. Cabotage: domestic transport within another country
DECLARE — posted from when they go to load until they unload [art. 1(7); scenario 10]. Also remember the cabotage limits under art. 8 of Regulation 1072/2009: a maximum of 3 operations in 7 days and a 4-day gap before repeating in the same country.
8 bis. Combined transport (the road leg)
If the road leg itself connects Spain with another country → EXEMPT [art. 1(6)].
If the road leg runs entirely within a single foreign country → GREY AREA — the Directive does not say so expressly, but Member States (e.g. Denmark) treat it as cabotage; we recommend declaring.
9. Passengers (bus/coach)
Bilateral service (picks up in Spain and drops off abroad, or vice versa; excursions with origin and destination in Spain) → EXEMPT [art. 1(4)].
An additional 1 pick-up and/or 1 drop-off is also allowed in the countries crossed, with a v2 smart tachograph and without providing any domestic service in that country → EXEMPT.
Domestic service in another country (cabotage) or any non-bilateral service → DECLARE.
Two things that ALWAYS apply, whatever the test says:
① Even if you are exempt from the IMI declaration, the A1 certificate must be arranged whenever you work in another country: it is a separate social security obligation (Regulation 883/2004). Practical rule: exempt from declaring ≠ exempt from A1.
② Each posting declaration is valid for up to 6 months on the RTPD portal (postingdeclaration.eu) and is renewable. It is not 12 months.
Frequently asked questions about this test
Is the result reliable?
The test is verified against Directive (EU) 2020/1057, the European Commission's official Q&A (DG MOVE) with its 15 freight scenarios and the RTPD portal manual. Even so it is indicative: only the Court of Justice of the EU interprets the Directive with binding effect, and the grey areas (non-bilateral combined transport, light vans) are explicitly flagged in the result.
What about vans?
Those under 2.5 t fall outside Directive 2020/1057, but the host country may apply its general posting regime (Directive 96/71): check it country by country. Those of 2.5 to 3.5 t in international transport are fully covered since 1 July 2026 and need a v2 smart tachograph.
What about self-employed drivers?
They are not covered by the Directive and do not submit a declaration. Watch out for false self-employment (reclassifiable by inspectors); drivers assigned by a temp agency (ETT) are covered.
How often is the declaration renewed?
Each declaration is valid for up to 6 months on the RTPD portal and is renewable. The "12 months" figure that circulates comes from the long-term posting threshold of Directive 96/71, which also almost never applies to drivers because the posting ends when they leave the country and periods do not accumulate.
If I'm exempt from the IMI declaration, am I exempt from the A1?
No. The A1 is a separate social security obligation and applies whenever the driver works in another country, including in exempt bilateral operations and transits.