European transport licence registers: check a carrier by country

Choose the country where the actual road carrier is established. For example, a German forwarder hiring a Romanian carrier for a France-to-Belgium load starts with ARR in Romania. Germany is the buyer’s location; France and Belgium describe the route. Neither changes the issuing country of the Romanian operator’s licence.

If the documents name different companies, resolve that first. A parent company’s licence does not automatically establish authorisation for a subsidiary with another company identifier. A disclosed subcontractor needs its own check.

The table above gives the search identifier and a link to the official source. Use NIP in Poland, CUI in Romania, IČO in Czechia or Slovakia, and the company code in Lithuania. In France, distinguish the nine-digit SIREN of the legal entity from the fourteen-digit SIRET of an establishment.

VAT validation and licence lookup use different identifiers in some countries. In particular, do not derive a Lithuanian company code merely by removing LT from a VAT number. Ask for the registration details when the identifier you have does not fit the search.

Read the licence type, holder, number, current status and validity period. A passenger licence, intermediary listing or own-account document does not by itself answer whether the operator is authorised for your paid goods haul. Compare the live entry with the document supplied for the booking.

For ordinary international EU goods carriage for hire or reward with vehicles or combinations over 2.5 tonnes, the Community licence is generally required. Article 1(5) of Regulation 1072/2009 sets out exemptions. Domestic work, cabotage and routes involving non-EU countries need the relevant rules checked separately. A Serbian international-transport document is not an EU Community licence.

An operator licence and a vehicle’s certified copy answer different questions. ARR and LTSA have separate public searches for vehicle or copy information. In the Polish KREPTD company search, a published vehicle count does not identify which registration plate will arrive.

Under Article 4 of Regulation 1072/2009, the certified copy accompanies the motor vehicle and covers its coupled combination. A trailer can have a different registration or be registered in another country. Its insurance and registration may need checking, but a different trailer plate alone does not establish a licence mismatch.

Keep the company identifier, licence number, type, status, validity and check date with the order. A register result is a dated observation, not a guarantee that nothing will change before pickup.

If a search returns nothing, confirm the identifier and filters and make sure you used the correct country and goods register. A failed portal, an incomplete public record and an explicit expired licence are different situations. Record the unresolved point and obtain clarification from the operator or issuing authority before relying on it.