Cabotage – the rules for foreign lorries in Norway
Not recorded yet Host Jan Sindre Heltne
What cabotage is, and which rules apply to foreign lorries in Norway: three operations in seven days, the four-day cooling-off period, the documentation requirement, the rules for buses – and why the arrangement exists.
You have seen them: a Lithuanian lorry on the E6, carrying Norwegian goods, between two Norwegian towns. Many people assume that is illegal. As a rule it is not – but it is tightly regulated, and the rules are more precise than the debate tends to be.
This episode goes through what cabotage actually is, exactly where the line runs, and why the arrangement exists.
What cabotage is
The definition is shorter than you would think.
Cabotage is transport between two places in a country other than the one the operator belongs to.
Is cabotage: a Polish operator carries goods from Oslo to Bergen.
Is not cabotage: the same operator carries goods from Warsaw to Oslo. That is international transport, and it is free.
Also not cabotage: a Norwegian operator drives Oslo–Bergen. That is simply domestic transport.
The distinction is therefore not between Norwegian and foreign drivers. It is between international transport, which is free within the EEA, and domestic transport in a country you do not belong to, which is limited.
Three operations in seven days
The main rule is easy to remember, and it has three parts that must all be met.
The conditions for lawful cabotage
- There must have been an international journey firstThe cabotage follows from a journey into Norway with international goods. You cannot drive in empty and start taking domestic work.
- Up to three domestic operationsNo more, however short they are.
- Within seven daysThe clock starts when the international goods are unloaded in Norway.
- With the same vehicleThe quota attaches to the vehicle, not to the operator.
The cooling-off period
This is the most important change from the EU Mobility Package, which entered into force on 1 November 2022. Before it, an operator could in practice make a short run across the border and start seven new days.
Before and after the Mobility Package
Before
Seven days, over again
- Three operations in seven days
- Out of the country
- Back in – and three new operations
- In practice, continuous operation
From 1 November 2022
Four-day cooling-off
- Three operations in seven days, as before
- Then four days when the vehicle cannot do cabotage in Norway
- The cooling-off attaches to the vehicle
- Only then can new operations begin
The documentation
The rule is worth little without something to check it against, and this is where most cases are actually decided.
What must be produced
| Document | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Community licence | That the operator is entitled to carry out international transport in the EEA. |
| Driver attestation | For drivers from outside the EEA – that they are lawfully employed by the operator. |
| Consignment note for the inbound journey | That there really was an international transport, and when the goods were unloaded. |
| Consignment note for each operation | How many domestic operations have been carried out, and when. |
Buses are a different matter
Many people fall into a trap here, because passenger transport has an entirely different rulebook.
Goods against people
Goods
Counted in operations
- Three operations
- Seven days
- Four-day cooling-off
Passengers, occasional services
Counted in days
- No more than 20 continuous days
- No more than 30 days in a calendar year
- Regular services only as part of an international route
The fines
From 1 March 2024 administrative fines apply to a range of breaches. A missing driver attestation or licence documentation can bring a fine of up to NOK 60,000, and eight different cabotage breaches carry fines – among them exceeding the seven-day window, carrying out more than three operations, and incomplete documentation for the operations.
It is worth noting what this does to the incentives: an on-the-spot fine also reaches operators who are hard to pursue across borders after the fact.
Why the rules exist
This is the part missing from most discussions, and without it the rules are just arbitrary numbers.
Two concerns pulling opposite ways
For opening up
Empty return runs are waste
- A lorry that has delivered in Oslo is going back anyway
- If it runs empty, the trip is pure cost and pure emissions
- Free movement of services is a founding principle of the EEA
For limiting it
Wage levels are not equal
- Cost levels vary sharply between EEA countries
- Without a limit the domestic market can be taken over permanently
- Norwegian road freight has a generally applicable collective agreement
What is hard
Finally, the honest caveat: the rules are easier to write than to enforce.
Three practical problems
- Enforcement is by spot checkA vehicle has to be stopped for the paperwork to be examined, and the road network is long.
- History is hard to seeAt the roadside you see today's journey. Establishing how many operations have been run over the past seven days requires documentation that is supposed to be there – and that is the weakest link.
- Follow-up crosses bordersThe operator is registered in another country, with another inspectorate and another legal system.
What is worth taking with you
That cabotage does not mean “foreign lorry”, but domestic transport carried out by an operator based somewhere else.
That the limit is three operations in seven days, with the same vehicle, after a documented international journey in.
That the four-day cooling-off period is what separates temporary cabotage from permanent presence.
And that buses count days, not operations.
This is a general account of the rules, not legal advice on a specific case. For binding detail, the Norwegian professional transport legislation and the underlying EEA regulations apply. Rules and fine levels change, so always check current information with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
Main topics
- What cabotage actually is, and what it is not
- Three operations in seven days
- The four-day cooling-off period
- The documents that must be produced
- Passenger transport, which follows entirely different rules
- The fines
- Why the rules exist at all
- What is hard to enforce
Questions this episode answers
- What is cabotage?
- How many operations can a foreign lorry carry out in Norway?
- What is the four-day cooling-off period?
- What must the driver be able to document?
- Do the same rules apply to buses?
- What does breaking the rules cost?
- Why is cabotage allowed at all?
Key points
- Cabotage is transport between two places in a country other than the one the operator belongs to.
- Three domestic operations in seven days, with the same vehicle, after an international journey into Norway.
- After the last lawful operation comes a four-day cooling-off period before new cabotage can begin.
- Both the inbound international journey and each domestic operation must be documented.
- Passenger transport follows entirely different rules – 20 continuous days, and 30 days a year.
- The rules are a compromise between free movement of services and protection of the domestic market.
Sources and references
This is general information and not individual legal advice.
AI is used as a tool in producing the text here, and everything is read through before it is published. Errors can still occur.
Spotted an error? Please email us at post@sporretimen.no. How we work .
Do you want to hear this one?
This episode has not been recorded yet. Say if you would like to hear it, and we will know what should come first.