Digital and smart tachograph: what it records
CABINA Editorial Team
What the digital tachograph records, what the second version of the smart tachograph (G2V2) adds and which vehicles must have it, using verified data only.
Machine translation, not verified [NV].
The digital tachograph records the activity of the vehicle and the driver, and its latest version, the second-version smart tachograph (G2V2), adds position and remote-control functions, according to Regulation (UE) 165/2014 and the European Commission [V].
What every digital tachograph records
Every digital tachograph records distance and speed, time, position points, driver identity and activity, control and calibration data, and events and faults [V]. The smart tachograph also records whether the vehicle was used to carry goods or passengers [V].
The detailed list of places recorded by the smart tachograph (start of the working day, borders, loading and unloading) was read only in an unofficial copy: to be verified [NV].
How the G2V2 works
Only free satellite navigation services are used for position [V]. The second version detects border crossings via GNSS and transmits data to remote checks via DSRC [V].
Since when
According to the European Commission, the G2V2 is mandatory on vehicles first registered from 21 August 2023 [V]. This is the date set by Implementing Regulation (UE) 2021/1228 [V].
The tachograph is mandatory on new goods vehicles over 3,5 tonnes. Since 1 July 2026, light commercial vehicles of 2,5 to 3,5 tonnes carrying out international transport for hire or reward must also have a tachograph [V]. The Commission page, reopened on 29/10/2026, still states “From 1 July 2026” [V].
What is not verified
The replacement deadlines for tachographs already fitted in vehicles on the road, and their exact scope, are left out of this article: to be verified [NV]. G2V2 dates not confirmed by an official source are not cited here either. For a specific vehicle, the reference is an authorised workshop.
This article summarises official information and does not replace the text of the regulations or advice on specific cases.
Base Spanish not verified by a native speaker [NV].
CABINA Editorial Team
Sources
- European Commission, DG MOVE, “Tachograph”: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/social-provisions/tachograph_en, consulted on 29/10/2026 [V].
- European Commission, “Questions and answers on tachograph provisions of Mobility Package 1”: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/mobility-package-i/tachographs/questions-and-answers-tachograph-provisions-mobility-package-1_en, consulted on 26/10/2026 [V].
- Implementing Regulation (UE) 2021/1228, BOE: https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=DOUE-L-2021-81052, consulted on 26/10/2026 [V].
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (UE) 165/2014, consolidated text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0165-20240519, consulted on 26/10/2026 (read via extract).
Informational content, not advice. Always check the text of the source given; for your own case, consult a professional or the competent authority.