Road Transport Posting Declaration: Filing in the IMI Portal Step by Step

The declaration holds seven data items, covers a posting period of 1 day to 6 months and is followed by three documents in the cab and, on request, further documents within 8 weeks.

The declaration has applied since 2 February 2022, and the Commission's Q&A on the posting of drivers describes it as the only obligatory declaration system for drivers within the Directive. It is the drivers' counterpart of the national declarations that other posted workers in the EU receive.

What Is the Road Transport Posting Declaration?

An IMI declaration for road transport is a standard electronic notice, sent through the Road Transport Posting Declaration portal (RTPD), that tells the host Member State which driver of which operator is posted there, when and for which type of operation. The portal is the public interface connected to IMI and has been operational since 2 February 2022. The IMI scoreboard counted 21.3 million declarations by 88,000 operators for more than 1.7 million drivers in the reporting period from December 2024 to November 2025, and 72.8 million since February 2022 (IMI scoreboard, read 5 November 2026).

The declaration is the drivers' version of the general prior declaration of Article 9(1)(a) of Directive 2014/67/EU, filed in one EU portal instead of national systems. Declarations for other postings are covered in posting declarations in every country.

The Legal Basis: Article 1(11) and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179

Article 1(11) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 sets a closed list of the administrative requirements a host Member State may impose on posted drivers, derogating from Article 9(1) and (2) of Directive 2014/67/EU.

Directive (EU) 2020/1057 was adopted on 15 July 2020 (CELEX 32020L1057, OJ L 249, 31.7.2020, p. 49), entered into force on 1 August 2020 and applies from 2 February 2022. It sets specific rules for drivers with respect to Directives 96/71/EC and 2014/67/EU and does not amend the text of Directive 96/71/EC. In the EEA it has been in force since 12 July 2022 (Joint Committee Decision 188/2022).

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179 of 9 December 2021 (CELEX 32021R2179, OJ L 443, 10.12.2021, p. 68, in force since 30 December 2021) sets the functions of the public interface. Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 added the drivers' functions to the IMI Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012; the system itself is described under IMI for posting.

Who Must File and for Which Operations

The operator files: Directive (EU) 2020/1057 covers drivers employed by undertakings established in a Member State that post them under Article 1(3)(a) of Directive 96/71/EC, and the Commission's Q&A reads it as covering employed drivers only.

An operator files one declaration per driver and per host Member State. In multi-manning, the Commission's Q&A confirms one declaration per driver.

Cabotage is posting under Article 1(7) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057. Bilateral operations, transit and the bilateral legs of combined transport are not posting (Article 1(3) to (6)). From 1 July 2026 Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 covers goods vehicles above 2.5 t in international transport or cabotage (Article 2(1)(aa), inserted by Regulation (EU) 2020/1054), and the Commission's Q&A reads the Directive as reaching vehicles above 3.5 t "or as from 1 July 2026, 2,5 tonnes". The rules on which operations count are explained under posting of drivers.

Third-Country and UK Operators

Operators established outside the EU are not required to use the EU portal, and national rules apply to them (Q16 of the Commission's Q&A). The portal is also open to UK operators according to the same Q&A. Directive (EU) 2020/1057 is not part of the EU-Swiss Free Movement of Persons Agreement (Q10), and this page states no channel for Swiss operators.

Germany shows how the channels split by origin. According to the Zoll page on posting notifications, checked on 5 November 2026, hauliers established in the EU or EEA declare their drivers in IMI, UK hauliers may use IMI or the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn (the German customs notification portal), and hauliers from other third countries use the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn. The full German procedure is set out under posting notification in Germany.

What Data the IMI Declaration Contains

Article 1(11)(a) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 lists seven data items for the declaration, within the closed list of administrative requirements that Article 1(11) sets. The table gives the seven points in the Directive's order.

The national additions rest on § 18(2) AEntG for the German date of birth and on § 19a LSD-BG for the Austrian date of birth, social insurance number and nationality. They are not among the seven EU items.

How to File a Road Transport Declaration in IMI Step by Step

File one declaration per driver and per host Member State in the RTPD portal, at the latest when the driver starts the posting, after creating an EU Login account and an RTPD operator account. The posting compliance checklist lists every obligation before, during and after a posting; the eight steps below cover the driver declaration only.

1. Create an EU Login account and then an RTPD operator account, the access route that the DG MOVE posting rules page describes as of 5 November 2026.
2. Check that the operation is a posting: cabotage is, while bilateral operations and transit are not (Article 1(3) to (7) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057).
3. Enter the seven items of Article 1(11)(a) for the driver.
4. Set the posting period within the limit of 6 months.
5. Submit the declaration in the RTPD portal at the latest at the commencement of the posting.
6. Download or print the declaration so that the driver carries a copy.
7. Amend, renew or withdraw the declaration when the posting changes, which keeps it up to date as Article 1(12) of the Directive requires.
8. Answer document requests through the portal within 8 weeks.

Declaration Period, Amendments, Renewal and Withdrawal

One declaration covers a posting period of at least 1 day and at most 6 months (Article 2(1)(4)(b) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179). A longer posting needs a renewal, which the operator files in the portal.

Article 2(1)(4) and (5) of the Implementing Regulation let the operator amend, download or print, renew and withdraw declarations and respond to document requests. Article 1(12) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 requires the operator to keep the declaration up to date.

Documents the Driver Carries in the Cab

A posted driver carries exactly three documents under Article 1(11)(b) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057: a copy of the IMI declaration, evidence of the transport operations, and the tachograph records with the country symbols. The table shows what each document proves.

The A1 is not one of the Article 1(11)(b) documents; which social security legislation applies to the driver is a separate question.

Roadside Checks on Drivers Outside a Posting

For a driver who is not posted, a roadside check may cover only the evidence of the international carriage, such as an e-CMR, and the tachograph records (Article 1(11), last subparagraph, of Directive (EU) 2020/1057).

Document Requests After the Posting: 8 Weeks via IMI

After the posting, the operator sends the documents a host authority requests through the IMI public interface within 8 weeks of the request (Article 1(11)(c) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057). The documents are the evidence of the transport operations, the tachograph records, the documentation on the driver's pay for the posting period, the employment contract or an equivalent document, the driver's time-sheets and proof of payments. Requests may cover postings in the preceding 12 months, and the operator may upload documents in one or more stages (Article 3(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179).

How Long IMI Keeps Declarations and Documents

Declarations stay stored in IMI for 24 months (Article 1(13) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057). The closure of document requests and the deletion of uploads follow the periods in the table above.

Which National Systems the IMI Portal Replaces

Since 2 February 2022 the RTPD portal is the only obligatory declaration system for drivers within Directive (EU) 2020/1057, and the Commission's Q&A names SIPSI, MILOG, LIMOSA, MELDLOKET, UTIK and LSDB as national systems no longer used for them. National systems still apply to other posted workers and to operators outside the Directive, according to Q15 and Q16 of the Commission's Q&A.

For all other postings, the Commission proposed on 13 November 2024 a regulation (COM(2024) 531, procedure 2024/0301(COD)) for a voluntary opt-in public interface connected to IMI. The European Parliament adopted its first-reading position on 20 October 2026, and the proposal awaits the Council's first-reading position as of 5 November 2026. The project is described under EU e-declaration for posting.

Beyond the Declaration: Pay, Duration, the A1 and Fines for Drivers

The declaration is the reporting duty only, and five neighbouring rules decide what else an operator owes for a posted driver, each on its own page.

• Host pay: Directive (EU) 2018/957 applies to road transport from 2 February 2022; see posted worker remuneration.
• Labour-law clock: for Article 3(1a) of Directive 96/71/EC, a driver's posting ends when the driver leaves the host State in international carriage, and periods are not cumulated (Article 1(8) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057); see long-term posting.
• Social security clock: the A1 certificate shows which State's social security legislation applies. For drivers this is usually decided under Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 with the 25 % indicator of Article 14(8) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009, explained under working in two or more Member States. The declaration never replaces an A1, and an A1 never replaces the declaration.
• Fines: Member States set them, and Article 5(1) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 lets them also sanction consignors, freight forwarders, contractors and subcontractors that knew or ought to have known; see posting penalties.
• General declarations for workers other than drivers: Article 9(1)(a) of the Enforcement Directive 2014/67/EU.

The labour-law clock (12 months, or 18 months with a motivated notification) and the social security clock (anticipated duration of up to 24 months under Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004) stay separate.

Road Transport Posting Declaration Questions

Five questions cover the filing of driver declarations in IMI.

What is an IMI declaration?

An IMI declaration is the posting declaration an operator files for each posted driver in the Road Transport Posting Declaration portal, the public interface connected to IMI, at the latest at the commencement of the posting (Article 1(11)(a) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057). It has applied since 2 February 2022 in the EU and since 12 July 2022 in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Does each driver need a separate declaration?

Yes: an operator files one declaration per driver and per host Member State under Article 1(11)(a) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057, and the Commission's Q&A on the posting of drivers confirms one declaration per driver also in multi-manning.

Do hauliers from outside the EU use the IMI portal?

No: according to the Commission's Q&A on the posting of drivers (Q16), operators established outside the EU are not required to use the EU portal, and national rules apply to them. UK operators may use it, and in Germany hauliers from other third countries use the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn (Zoll, checked 5 November 2026).

Does the IMI declaration replace a driver's A1?

No: the declaration reports a posting under Directive (EU) 2020/1057, while the A1 shows which State's social security legislation applies under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, and neither replaces the other. The A1 is not one of the three cab documents of Article 1(11)(b) of the Directive.

Is there a PDF version of the IMI declaration?

The declaration is filed online in the public interface connected to IMI, and the operator can download or print it there (Article 2(1)(4) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179), so the driver can carry the copy that Article 1(11)(b) of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 requires.