Setting up or running a haulage company in Germany from outside the EU
Your company is registered in the UK, Turkey, Ukraine or elsewhere outside the EU, and you want loads in Germany. Three rules shape the plan: a Community licence issued by the member state where your company is established, a minimum wage of EUR 13.90 an hour for drivers posted on cabotage and cross-trade runs, and a toll on motorways and federal roads for trucks above 3.5 t. This guide sets out each rule, who carries it and when, with a link to the official text.
What a carrier from outside the EU meets in Germany
Six obligations, who carries them and how long they run.
| Obligation | Rule | Who | When or how long | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community licence for a German company | Required for the commercial carriage of goods, issued by the Land authority after consulting the IHK and trade associations | Any company with its seat in Germany | Valid for at most 10 years | § 3 GüKG |
| Licence for a foreign carrier | Community licence for vehicles above 2.5 t, cabotage only within EU limits | Carriers not established in Germany | Each run in Germany | § 5 GüKG |
| UK hauliers | At most two additional operations in the EU, or a single cabotage operation | Carriers established in the United Kingdom | Within 7 days | § 6 GüKG |
| Posting declaration | Cabotage and cross-trade count as posting, declared through the public IMI interface | The carrier | At the latest when the posting starts; documents within 8 weeks of a request | Directive (EU) 2020/1057 |
| Minimum wage | EUR 13.90 an hour, EUR 14.60 from 1 January 2027 | Employers of drivers working in Germany, posted drivers included | Since 1 January 2026 | MiLoV5 |
| HGV toll (LKW-Maut) | Toll on motorways and federal roads above 3.5 t technically permissible maximum mass | Trucks above 3.5 t on those roads | Every tolled journey; 2026 rates not found | § 1 BFStrMG |
The sections below take each line in turn. Figures and dates are those in the official sources on 6 November 2026.
Setting up a haulage company in Germany
The licence comes from the federal state where the company is established.
Any company with its seat in Germany needs a Community licence (Gemeinschaftslizenz) to carry goods commercially. The licensing authority of the federal state (Land) where the company is established issues it for at most 10 years, and consults the regional chamber of industry and commerce (IHK) and the trade associations before it decides (§ 3(1), (5) and (8) GüKG).
We found no official processing time, and it depends on the Land. EU law sets the outer limit: a decision within 3 months of a complete file, extendable by 1 month (Regulation 1071/2009, art. 11(3)).
Licence from the Land authority
The company keeps its main records (accounts, staff, driving times, cabotage) at premises in Germany, registers its trucks there, runs the business from those premises and appoints a transport manager resident in the EU who actually directs the transport work (Regulation 1071/2009, art. 4 and 5).
Licence from that state
A company established in Latvia, for example, holds a licence issued by Latvia, and its trucks enter Germany under it. Germany then applies the cabotage limits, the posting rules, its minimum wage and its toll to the runs on its territory (§ 5 GüKG). Our page on the haulage licence route in Latvia covers that option.
A company registered outside the EU cannot hold the licence
Access to the profession requires an effective and stable establishment in a member state, and the Community licence is issued by the state of establishment (Regulation 1071/2009, art. 3, Regulation 1072/2009, art. 4). Before the first German load, a founder from outside the EU needs a company established in Germany or in another member state that meets the four EU conditions, including a transport manager who resides in the EU.
One German change to check. The current § 3 mentions the former national permit (Erlaubnis) only in a transitional provision. We have not read when the reform took effect or what happens to permits already issued. If a German company you plan to take over holds an Erlaubnis, ask the Land authority whether it still covers its trucks (§ 3 GüKG).
Driving into Germany under a licence from elsewhere
What a carrier established outside Germany may do there.
A carrier not established in Germany needs a Community licence for every vehicle above 2.5 t. Domestic German transport by such a carrier, called cabotage, is prohibited except within the limits set by EU law (§ 5 GüKG).
Cabotage limits in Germany
Up to 3 cabotage operations after an incoming international load, with the last unloading within 7 days. The same truck then does no cabotage in Germany for 4 days. The driver shows the CMR or e-CMR proofs during a roadside check, and German rules apply while the cabotage lasts (Regulation 1072/2009, art. 8 and 9).
The UK limit in German law
Carriers established in the United Kingdom may carry out at most two additional operations in the EU, or a single cabotage operation, within 7 days. Germany writes this into its own act, based on article 462 of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (§ 6 GüKG).
On 4 October 2024 the Court of Justice upheld the 4-day pause, the ban on taking the regular weekly rest in the cab and the driver's return every 3 or 4 weeks. It annulled the duty to bring the truck back to the operating centre every 8 weeks (CJEU press release).
Posting declarations and the German minimum wage
Cabotage and cross-trade in Germany are postings. Bilateral runs are not.
A run between the country where your company is established and Germany is bilateral transport, not a posting. Cabotage inside Germany and cross-trade, such as a load from Poland to Germany carried by a Latvian company, are postings. For each one, the carrier files a declaration through the public IMI interface at the latest when the posting starts, and supplies the documents on request within 8 weeks. These rules have applied since 2 February 2022 (Directive (EU) 2020/1057, art. 1).
Under Directives 96/71/EC and 2020/1057, a posted driver is paid at least the minimum wage of the host country (Eurostat, minimum wage statistics). In Germany that is EUR 13.90 an hour since 1 January 2026, rising to EUR 14.60 on 1 January 2027, under the fifth minimum wage ordinance of 5 November 2025, BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 268 (MiLoV5). Eurostat lists the German gross monthly minimum at EUR 2,343 on both 1 January and 1 July 2026 (Eurostat dataset earn_mw_cur).
Driver attestation
A driver who is a national of a country outside the EU needs a driver attestation issued by the member state where the carrier is established (Regulation 1072/2009, art. 5). For a Latvian company, that is Latvia. For a German company, Germany.
Price 2027 work at the new rate
Driver pay on postings to Germany must reach EUR 14.60 an hour from 1 January 2027. Build that into the rates you agree now for German cabotage or cross-trade that runs into 2027 (MiLoV5).
The HGV toll (LKW-Maut)
Motorways and federal roads, for trucks above 3.5 t.
Germany charges a toll on its motorways and federal roads for vehicles with a technically permissible maximum mass above 3.5 t. For a vehicle combination, the motor vehicle alone must exceed 3.5 t, so a lighter towing vehicle with a trailer is not caught (§ 1 BFStrMG).
Zero-emission trucks
Zero-emission trucks pay no toll until 30 June 2031 (§ 1 BFStrMG).
Craft businesses below 7.5 t
Vehicles of craft businesses below 7.5 t are exempt (§ 1 BFStrMG). Confirm with the toll operator before you count on it for a haulage fleet.
The 2026 toll rates sit in the annexes to the same act. We could not read them in an official source, so this page quotes no rate. Get the current rate from the toll operator before you price a German lane.
The EU rules behind the German ones
Germany applies the EU framework for road haulage: four conditions to enter the profession (an effective and stable establishment, good repute, appropriate financial standing and professional competence), capital and reserves of at least EUR 9,000 for the first vehicle and EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle above 3.5 t, a transport manager resident in the EU, and a Community licence valid for up to 10 years (Regulation 1071/2009, Regulation 1072/2009). Our guide to haulage rules across Europe compares them country by country.
From an EU base to the first German load
In the order a newcomer meets them. Only official deadlines are shown; where none is published, we say so.
Choose the member state of establishment
Germany, through the Land authority, or another member state. The Community licence comes from that state, and so does the driver attestation.
Licence decision
This is the EU ceiling. We found no published processing time for the German Land authorities.
Driver attestation
Requested from the member state where the carrier is established.
IMI declaration for cabotage and cross-trade
One declaration per posting through the public IMI interface. Bilateral runs need none.
Count the operations
Up to 3 operations, last unloading within 7 days, then 4 days without cabotage in Germany for that truck.
Send the posting documents
Keep them ready for every German posting.
Minimum wage rises to EUR 14.60 an hour
Applies to drivers employed in Germany and to drivers posted there.
Renew the licence
The Community licence is issued for a limited term and is renewable.
What the official sources do not settle
Several points remain open after our research: the 2026 HGV toll rates, the processing time of each Land authority, how the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM) runs its checks and which fines it applies, the date the former national permit (Erlaubnis) was phased out and the fate of permits already issued, and the evidence of financial standing a Land accepts. This page also does not cover carriers established neither in the EU nor in the UK, whose permits we did not research. Confirm each of these with the authority concerned or with a licensed adviser in Germany before you rely on it.
What Balt Partners coordinates
One contact in Riga for the German side of your haulage plans.
Lane-by-lane obligation map
Licence, cabotage counts, posting declarations, minimum wage and toll scope for each German lane you plan, with the deadlines in one calendar.
A Latvian SIA as your EU base
We form the Latvian company (SIA) with its bank account and accounting set-up: the EU establishment a Community licence starts from.
Filings in Germany
If you set up in Germany, we bring in a licensed adviser in Germany who prepares the file for the Land authority.
Posting checklist for drivers
Which runs count as posting, when each IMI declaration is due and which documents to keep ready for a request.
To compare Germany with the other countries on your routes, use our overview of transport company rules in Europe. If the EU base will be Latvian, our page on opening a Latvian subsidiary of a foreign company explains the company side.
Questions from non-EU carriers about Germany
Not as a company registered only outside the EU. The Community licence is issued by the member state where the carrier is established, so you first need a company established in Germany or in another member state, with a transport manager resident in the EU. A German company applies to the authority of its federal state.
The licensing authority of the federal state (Land) where the company is established. It issues the Community licence for at most 10 years and consults the regional chamber of industry and commerce (IHK) and the trade associations.
We found no official processing time, and it depends on the Land. EU law requires a decision within 3 months of a complete file, extendable by 1 month.
EUR 13.90 an hour since 1 January 2026, rising to EUR 14.60 on 1 January 2027. It applies to drivers posted on cabotage or cross-trade runs. Bilateral runs between the country of establishment and Germany are not postings.
Vehicles above 3.5 t technically permissible maximum mass, on motorways and federal roads. For a combination, the motor vehicle alone must exceed 3.5 t. Zero-emission trucks are exempt until 30 June 2031, and vehicles of craft businesses below 7.5 t are exempt.
Within narrow limits. German law allows a carrier established in the United Kingdom at most two additional operations in the EU, or a single cabotage operation, within 7 days.
Yes. Cabotage and cross-trade count as posting, and the carrier declares each posting through the public IMI interface at the latest when it starts. Documents must be supplied on request within 8 weeks.