Cabotage

Cabotage is a national transport operation carried out for hire or reward for a limited period of time within the territory of the Community and the EEA countries and by use of vehicles with a maximum authorised weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes, trailers included.

• Cabotage operations may be undertaken only in connection with an international transport operation.
• The cabotage operation shall be carried out using the same towing unit that was used in connection with the international transport operation.
• When the final destination of the international transport operation is Denmark and all the goods from the said operation have been unloaded, three cabotage operations may be carried out. The three cabotage operations shall be carried out within seven calendar days from the completion of the international transport operation.
• When the final destination of the international transport operation is a Member State other than Denmark, a maximum of one cabotage operation may be carried out within three days following the crossing of the border to Denmark. The said cabotage operation shall be carried out within three calendar days from the conclusion of the international transport operation.

Cabotage with goods DKK 173,64.

The road part of combined transport unless the roadpart on its own consists of bilateral transport operations  DKK 173,64.

Cabotage with passengers 178,72.

Yes. The international transport operation is a condition for the cabotage journey and shall be of such nature that it is not primarily designed in a way that allows for use of the cabotage rules. Furthermore, the said operation shall be terminated prior to the commencement of the cabotage journey.

Yes. The transport in Denmark by foreign road hauliers of empty containers, empty semi-trailers and return packaging (pallets, flower cages or similar) is regarded as transport of goods and, thus, a cabotage operation.

It should be noted that the transport in Denmark of empty containers, empty semi-trailers and return packaging in connection with an international transport operation to Denmark is not considered to be a cabotage operation. For instance, if a transport operation of goods from Germany to Denmark is undertaken, the empty container, following delivery of the goods, can be driven to the destination under the road carriage contract.

The above scenario shall be regarded as two cabotage operations as a cabotage operation may consist only of either one or more loading or unloading points. In the above scenario, there are one or more loading and unloading points.

Documentary evidence shall exist when the vehicle is stopped by the authorities. Upon request by the said authorities, the driver is required to present the documentation in question.

Electronic forwarding of documentation to the vehicle is accepted. However, procurement of the documentary evidence may not result in the police control being substantially delayed. The documentary evidence is as follows:

• Documentation of the international transport operation (no matter in which Member State the said transport operation was completed).
• Documentation of each of the subsequent cabotage transport operations carried out in Denmark. The documentary requirement also applies to transport operations carried out with empty semi-trailers, empty containers and returnable packaging in Denmark.
• If the vehicle has been present in Denmark for four days prior to the international transport operation, documentary evidence shall be presented for all journeys made during the period in question.

• You can read about the rules on cabotage in Regulation (EU) 1072/2009 of 21 October 2009 on the common rules for access to the international road haulage market
• In addition, the Danish Road Traffic Authority has also produced a guide on cabotage. You can find the guide under the paragraph titled “Cabotage”