The second-generation smart tachograph – what is new and by when

Three generations in brief

Development came in three steps. The digital tachograph (from 2006) replaced paper charts with a smart card and a digital record. The first-generation smart tachograph (from June 2019) added satellite positioning and remote communication with enforcement authorities.

The second-generation smart tachograph is the latest stage, introduced by Mobility Package I. It is also referred to as smart tacho 2 or SMT2, and it is the device that must now be fitted in vehicles used in international transport.

Older generations have not stopped working – but in vehicles used for international transport they are no longer enough.

What the second generation adds

Automatic recording of border crossings. The device itself records when the vehicle entered another state. That is the heart of the whole change – without it, the rules on cabotage and on posting of drivers were very hard to check.

More accurate and more robust positioning. The second generation uses authentication of the satellite signal, which makes spoofing the position substantially harder.

Recording of loading and unloading. The device logs the places where cargo was handled, which again relates to checking cabotage.

Remote communication with enforcement while driving. An enforcement authority can read selected data wirelessly from a moving vehicle and decide on that basis whether to stop it at all. For a company that follows the rules this is more of an advantage – fewer needless stops.

Retrofit deadlines – what has already passed

The rollout ran in stages and most of the deadlines are behind us.

31 December 2024 – vehicles in international transport that had an analogue or older digital tachograph must have a second-generation device.

18 August 2025 – vehicles that had a first-generation smart tachograph must move to the second.

1 July 2026 – the obligation extends to light commercial vehicles over 2.5 tonnes in international carriage of goods. From the same date these vehicles also fall within the driving and rest time rules.

So if you operate vehicles over 3.5 tonnes in international transport and have not yet dealt with retrofitting, this is not an approaching deadline but one that has already passed.

Who is affected and who is not

What is decisive is international transport. Vehicles operating exclusively domestically within one member state are not affected by retrofitting – they can carry on using the device they have.

In practice that creates two groups within one fleet. A car that occasionally crosses the border needs the second generation; a car that only delivers at home does not.

Watch the borderline case, though: if the same vehicle drives both at home and abroad, the more demanding use governs. You cannot have a device "for domestic journeys" and improvise for the foreign ones.

What a replacement means in practice

Retrofitting is not something you do yourself. Fitting and calibration are carried out by an approved workshop, and the vehicle stands idle for a while in the process.

Workshop capacity is limited and gets swamped before every deadline. That is a repeated experience from 2024 and 2025, and there is no reason to expect the 1 July 2026 deadline to be any different.

After the replacement, check two things: that data downloads work from the new device too (company card, 28- and 90-day intervals) and that the old DDD files are put away. The obligation to retain them for at least twelve months does not lapse when the device is replaced.

What to watch when planning

If the obligation only arises for you on 1 July 2026, you have three things to handle at once: fitting at an approved workshop, driver cards (issue takes on the order of two weeks) and a company card for downloading data.

Each has its own lead time and each is handled by a different place, so they cannot all be arranged at the last minute. For companies facing the obligation for the first time, we recommend starting with the company card – without it you cannot reach the data even once the device is fitted.

And a closing note, so no confusion arises: GPS tracking does not replace a smart tachograph. They are two systems with different legal standing that complement each other in practice.