Transport of goods by road - Community licence

Large businesses

SMEs

This document is currently being updated

The Community licence enables carriers to carry out the carriage of goods by road for hire in all of the European Economic Area and in Switzerland. The original licence must be kept in the company's headquarters. Certified true copies of the licence must be kept aboard the trucks/tractors.

In order to obtain a Community licence for the transport of goods by road, each transport operator or undertaking must first have received access to the profession by having been granted a business permit from the General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at the Ministry of the Economy.

The operator can then apply for access to the market by applying for a Community licence for international haulage of goods by road, granted by the Department of Mobility and Transport of the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.

Who is concerned

Any natural or legal person can apply for a Community licence for the transport of goods by road for hire or own account in any Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA).

Prerequisites

In order to carry out the occupation of road haulage operator, applicants must hold a business permit for road haulage or passenger transport operators and therefore have to:

provide proof of professional integrity;
provide proof of their financial capacity, i.e. prove that they have the necessary financial resources to correctly start up and ensure the proper management of their activity by providing a surety or guarantee from a banking or other financial establishment;
provide proof of their professional competence, i.e.:
- either have a certificate of successful completion of the final exam completing the training course attesting the knowledge acquired;
- or have proof of 10 years' professional experience with a carrier, acquired before 2009 (applies to the Community applicant who provides an EC certificate indicating his professional experience in another Member State as a manager of a transport company);
have a permanent establishment in Luxembourg.

How to proceed

Application for a Community licence

In order to carry out the international transport of goods by road, the applicant must first obtain a business permit granted by the General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at the Ministry of the Economy.

After obtaining an business permit, the carrier must send the original application for a Community licence, by post or by personal delivery, to the Department of Mobility and Transport (Licensing Desk) of the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.

For transports from or to countries other than those in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, a bi- or multilateral authorisation will be required in addition to the Community licence provided that Luxembourg has not concluded an liberalisation agreement with the country concerned.

Documents to be submitted with the application

The application for a Community licence for the international haulage of goods by road must be accompanied by the following documents:

the Gérant Technique (technical manager) form;
annex A: relevé du personnel (staff summary sheet);
annex B: relevé des véhicules loués (summary sheet of hired vehicles);

All documents, i.e. the application for the Community license and the 3 documents to be attached, must be duly completed and signed by the technical manager of the transport company before being sent to the Department of Mobility and Transport (Licensing Desk) of the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.

Annex A: the transport operator's staff summary sheet

The technical manager must list and certify all of the managing staff (manager(s) and partner(s)) as well as the transport operator's employees (drivers, administrative and maintenance staff) who are registered with the Luxembourg Joint Social Security Centre. The managing staff and employees registered with a foreign social security body must submit a copy of form A1 completed and certified by the social security body concerned.

Specific information for new businesses (first application): new businesses which submit the application for the first time have to present annex A certified by the Joint Social Security Centre.

In addition, the technical manager must certify that:

all staff listed in annex A is legally employed by the transport operator;
the contractual relationship between the transport operator and the staff is compliant with Luxembourg and EU legislation in terms of labour law and employment law;
the collective agreement is respected;
the staff is registered with the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (Administration des Contributions directes).

Vehicles registered in Luxembourg and belonging to the transport operator established in Luxembourg or made available to him under a hire or leasing contract can only be driven by the staff legally employed by the transport operator holding a Community licence. Failure to comply with this obligation is considered unfair competition by the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.

Annex B: vehicles hired by the transport operator

Vehicles belonging to the transport operator or made available to him under a leasing contract are directly checked by the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works in the national directory of road vehicles.

Moreover, the technical manager must certify that annex B includes all vehicles with a maximum authorised mass in excess of 2.5 t made available under a hire contract.

For vehicles made available to the transport operator under a hire contract, a copy of the hire contract or certificate and of the registration certificate ("grey card") must be attached to the request.

Moreover, transport operators established in Luxembourg cannot provide transport services with a certified copy of the Community licence or any other transport authorisation if they have not registered and presented for a technical inspection in Luxembourg all vehicles owned, hired or leased by them.

This obligation is mandatory and non-compliance will be regarded as an act of unfair competition by the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, which will compromise, at least in part, the transport operator's integrity and is likely to result in the full or partial administrative withdrawal of all transport authorisations.

Forms / Online services

Demande relative à la licence communautaire - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Fiche du gérant technique (M/GT) - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Relevé du personnel (M/A) - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Relevé du personnel supplémentaire affilié (M/A+) - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Relevé du personnel supplémentaire désaffilié (M/A-) - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Relevé des véhicules de location d'une MMA supérieure à 3.5 tonnes (M/B) - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Relevé des véhicules de location supplémentaires (M/B+) - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Relevé des véhicules de location remis au loueur (M/B-) - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Demande d’autorisation de transport exceptionnel

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Demande d'une attestation de conducteur - Transport international de marchandises par route

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Demande d'autorisation(s) CEMT

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Who to contact

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Ministry of the Economy
General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Department for Authorisations of Establishment)

Postal address :
B.P. 535 / L-2937 Luxembourg

Phone : (+352) 247-74 700

The telephone helpline is open Monday to Friday, from 9.00 to 12.00 and 13.00 to 17.00 (not on public holidays).

(+352) 247-74 700 info.pme@eco.etat.lu General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Department for Authorisations of Establishment)