Driving and rest times

Who it applies to

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 applies to the carriage of goods by road with vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight (trailer included) and to the carriage of passengers in vehicles with more than nine seats, driver included. It applies across the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland; beyond that area the AETR agreement applies, with equivalent rules.

The limits in one table

Rule	Limit	Exception or detail
Daily driving	9 hours	10 hours, twice a week
Weekly driving	56 hours	Week runs Monday 00:00 to Sunday 24:00
Driving over two weeks	90 hours	Total over two consecutive weeks
Break	45 minutes after 4h30 of driving	Can be split into 15 min + 30 min, in that order
Daily rest	11 hours in one block	9 hours up to 3 times between weekly rests; or 3h + 9h
Weekly rest	45 hours	24 hours when reduced, with compensation by the end of the third week that follows

Breaks: the order matters

After 4h30 of accumulated driving, a 45-minute break is compulsory. It can be split in two, but only in this order: first a break of at least 15 minutes, then one of at least 30 minutes. Thirty and then fifteen does not count.

During the break the driver cannot do any work. Loading, unloading, handling paperwork or doing maintenance is not a break — it is work.

Daily rest and the 24-hour rule

The daily rest must be completed within 24 hours of the end of the previous rest. That is where the maximum working span of a day comes from:

• with a regular 11-hour rest → a 13-hour span;
• with a reduced 9-hour rest → a 15-hour span.

The reduced rest can be used at most three times between two weekly rests and, unlike the reduced weekly rest, does not have to be compensated.

Weekly rest

The weekly rest must start no later than the end of six 24-hour periods counted from the end of the previous weekly rest. In any two consecutive weeks a driver needs two regular weekly rests, or one regular and one reduced.

When it is reduced, the shortfall against the 45 hours must be taken in one block, attached to a rest of at least 9 hours, before the end of the third week that follows.

You do not sleep the 45-hour rest in the cab. Since the Mobility Package, the regular weekly rest must be taken in suitable accommodation, paid for by the employer. The reduced weekly rest and the daily rest can still be taken in the vehicle, provided it has a suitable bunk and is stationary.

The 4-week rule

For international carriage of goods only. It allows two consecutive reduced weekly rests to be taken outside the Member State where the company is established, provided that in any four consecutive weeks there are at least four weekly rests, at least two of them regular.

Carriage counts as international when the two consecutive reduced rests start outside the employer’s Member State and outside the driver’s country of residence. The next weekly rest must be preceded by the compensation for both reduced rests, taken in one go — never split by driving or other work.

It does not apply to passenger transport. Drivers carrying passengers remain under the two-week rule.

Ferry and train

When accompanying the vehicle on a ferry or a train, the driver may interrupt a regular daily rest or a reduced weekly rest at most twice, for a total of one hour, provided there is access to a sleeper cabin, bunk or couchette.

For the regular weekly rest the derogation is tighter: it only applies if the journey is scheduled for 8 hours or more and the driver has a sleeper cabin. Even then, no part of that rest may be spent in the vehicle before boarding or after disembarking.

Driving done during the interruption does not count towards the daily driving period before and after the rest, but it does count towards the weekly and two-week limits. Record it with the tachograph’s ferry or train symbol.

Return of the driver

The company must organise the work so that the driver can return to the operational centre or to their home every four weeks — or every three weeks, if two consecutive reduced weekly rests have been taken.

Double manning

In multi-manning, each driver must take a daily rest of at least 9 hours within each 30-hour period. For the first 60 minutes the second driver’s presence is optional; after that, they must be on board.

The 45-minute break may be taken in the moving vehicle, provided the driver on break does not assist the one driving.

Working time — the other set of books

On top of driving times, Directive 2002/15/EC applies and limits working time: driving, loading and unloading, maintenance, administrative formalities and assisting passengers. In Portugal it sits in Decree-Law 84/2026, in force since 12 July 2026, which replaced Decree-Law 237/2007 and brings working time, the tachograph and the fines into a single text.

Rule	Limit
Average weekly working time	48 hours (4-month reference period)
Maximum in one week	60 hours
Continuous work	6 hours maximum
Breaks with more than 6 hours of work	30 minutes in the day (blocks of 15 min or more)
Breaks with more than 9 hours of work	45 minutes in the day (blocks of 15 min or more)
Night work — the day touches the 0:00–5:00 window	10 hours of work maximum per 24 hours after the rest

Period of availability — waiting whose duration is known in advance — does not count towards the 48 hours or towards the 10 hours of night work. Open-ended waiting that was not announced is working time.

Records and tachograph

At a roadside check the driver must produce the records for the current day and the previous 56 days. That includes the driver card, the record sheets if an analogue tachograph is used, and manual entries for periods the device did not record.

If the device breaks down, it must be repaired as soon as possible and, where the vehicle cannot return to base, within one week. Keep printouts and workshop receipts.

Exceptional situations

A driver may depart from the driving limits, to the extent necessary, to reach a suitable stopping place that allows the safety of people, the vehicle or its load to be secured. In that case the reason must be written by hand on the record sheet, on a printout or in the duty roster, no later than on arrival.

Since the Mobility Package there is also the option of extending driving to reach home or the operational centre and take the weekly rest:

To take	Extension	Condition
Weekly rest	+1 hour	Exceptional and unforeseen circumstances
Regular weekly rest	+2 hours	An uninterrupted 30-minute break immediately before

The extra time must be compensated by an equivalent rest, taken in one block together with another rest, before the end of the third week that follows. The derogation does not allow the 90 hours of driving over two consecutive weeks to be exceeded.

If the 45-minute break has already been taken and the daily limit has not been reached, no further 30 minutes are needed before the extension. If the daily limit has been reached, they are.

How enforcement grades an offence

Annex III to Directive 2006/22/EC grades infringements. That is what sets the level of the fine and whether the vehicle can be immobilised.

Rule	Minor	Serious	Very serious
Daily driving (9 h)	9h–10h	10h–11h	≥ 11h
Daily driving (10 h)	10h–11h	11h–12h	≥ 12h
Weekly driving (56 h)	56h–60h	60h–65h	≥ 65h
Two weeks (90 h)	90h–100h	100h–105h	≥ 105h
Driving without a break (4h30)	4h30–5h	5h–6h	≥ 6h
Regular daily rest (11 h)	10h–11h	8h30–10h	< 8h30
Reduced daily rest (9 h)	8h–9h	7h–8h	< 7h
Reduced weekly rest (24 h)	22h–24h	20h–22h	< 20h
Regular weekly rest (45 h)	42h–45h	36h–42h	< 36h

Where the offence happened matters. A Member State may penalise infringements of Regulation 561/2006 committed in another country. Infringements of the tachograph rules committed in another Member State, however, cannot be fined where they are detected — they are notified to the country of establishment through ERRU (Court of Justice judgment in case C-906/19).

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