The electronic route sheet in Spain: what it is, since when and how it is issued

The electronic route sheet (in Spanish, hoja de ruta electrónica) is the control document that every bus carries on a public passenger transport service, turned into a PDF with a QR code and a direct-download web address. Since 5 October 2026 the route sheet in Spain has had to be digital. The company itself generates it with the application it chooses, before the service starts, and the driver carries a copy with the QR code.

Here is what it is, which rules require it, what the file must meet, who issues it and how it is done in Bus Center, including what the program does and what it does not.

What it is and which rule requires it

The route sheet is the control document for public passenger transport by road, and what has changed is the format. It is governed by Order FOM/1230/2013, which requires all buses used for public passenger transport services to travel with their route sheet. The same order leaves out two specific cases, linked to regular services; we explain them in which buses carry a route sheet.

The move to the electronic format was set by Law 9/2025 on Sustainable Mobility (Ley de Movilidad Sostenible): its eighth transitional provision says that the route sheet governed by that order will necessarily be digital ten months after the law comes into force (our translation). The Ministry of Transport sets the date out in its frequently asked questions: the date of mandatory digitalisation is 5 October 2026, and no additional phase without penalties is planned.

The technical details are set by the Resolution of 5 June 2026 of the Directorate-General for Road and Rail Transport, which replaces the Resolution of 22 May 2023. The resolution calls these documents “electronic administrative control documents” (our translation), hence the acronym DeCA that you will see everywhere.

What the PDF and its link must meet

The file must be a native PDF, with a QR code inside that leads to its own web address, and that address must download the PDF directly, with no password. These are the resolution's requirements, one by one:

• The electronic files will be in PDF format with a size of no more than 5 MB, with the date and time of creation and of modification as metadata.
• Generation is natively digital: files obtained by scanning a paper document or from digitised images are not valid.
• The PDF itself includes a QR code with the unique, document-specific web address.
• The web address must start with “https://” and use TLS 1.2 or higher.
• When opened, the PDF downloads directly: a page that asks for credentials or one with download buttons is not valid.
• The link may carry security measures, but it cannot expire before the service ends.
• The file is always created before the effective start of the service, and the application records the date and time of creation and of each modification.

What the resolution asks of the QR code and the web address is covered in more detail in the QR on the route sheet.

Who issues it, and what is not needed

It is issued by the transport company, with its own application or a provider's. The Ministry explains it like this in its frequently asked questions: each company must have an application where the data is managed, either its own or by hiring a service provider. In passenger transport, all the data is the responsibility of the transport company.

Three things are not needed. There is no need to upload route sheets to any Ministry platform: the PDFs must be available in a repository so that the authorities can download them at a roadside check. The application does not have to be certified. And signing administrative control documents is not mandatory, because Order FOM/1230/2013 sets no signature requirements.

The domain where the PDFs are stored can be any domain and requires no prior notification. The obligation covers domestic transport, including cabotage; international transport uses the control documents of the agreements Spain has signed.

What data it contains

It contains the data set by article 2 of Order FOM/1230/2013. These are the name and tax ID (NIF) of the transport company and of whoever contracts the service; the origin, destination and date; the bus registration number; the name and NIF of the driver, and the nature of the service.

Two items depend on the type of service. For discretionary and tourist services, which are classes 1 and 4 of the order, the intermediate stops made during the journey must also be recorded. And when the discretionary service is a reinforcement of a general-use regular line, the service being reinforced must be identified; if it is a collaboration in a special-use regular transport, the transport collaborated in.

Several services can be grouped on the same route sheet, as long as the data of each is clearly identified. The full list, where each item comes from and what happens if one is missing is in the mandatory data on the route sheet.

What the driver carries

The driver carries a copy with the QR code, on a mobile phone or on paper, and must be given it before the effective start of the service. In an inspection the driver presents the route sheet with the QR code or, failing that, just the QR code.

If the driver carries the printed copy, handwritten notes are not taken into account. When an item changes, the only valid way to modify the route sheet is the one set by the resolution: add the new data to the same PDF, keeping the old data marked as not valid, or generate a new PDF with its new address and keep the original. In both cases, the modified or new PDF must reach the driver. We cover it in how to modify a route sheet that has already been issued.

How it is issued in Bus Center

In Bus Center the route sheet is issued from the service itself: a PDF with a QR code and a direct-download link. The document's data comes from the program when it is issued; the intermediate stops and the service being reinforced are declared by the office at that moment, because they are not held anywhere else.

It does not let you issue a half-complete sheet: if a mandatory item is missing, it says which one and why it is required. It never invents a NIF or the nature of the service. It is issued before departure and stays recorded with its date and time, the PDF does not exceed 5 MB and the QR link carries a random code that cannot be guessed.

A service that needs a route sheet does not move to “ready to depart” (listo para salir) until it has been issued; an exempt one moves on with its reason saved. The driver sees it in the mobile driver portal, with the same link that is in the QR code. And if the service changes after issue, the program warns you and a new version is produced. You can see it summarised in the route sheet section (in Spanish) of the home page.

What Bus Center does not do

Bus Center generates the document, but the obligation lies with the transport company. The rule does not require any particular program: Bus Center generates the document that is required.

Bus Center does not send the route sheet to the DGT (Spain's traffic authority), to the Ministry or to any platform, because the rule does not ask for it: the PDF stays available at its link to be downloaded at a check. It is not an approved or certified program. And it does not replace your adviser: it does not certify anyone's regulatory compliance. What it does do is refuse to issue the sheet if an item is missing.

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

• Preguntas frecuentes (FAQ) DeCA. Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible.
• Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026, de la Dirección General de Transporte por Carretera y Ferrocarril, por la que se establecen las características que deben reunir los sistemas y los documentos electrónicos de control administrativo exigidos en los transportes por carretera (texto consolidado). BOE.
• Orden FOM/1230/2013, de 31 de mayo, por la que se establecen normas de control en relación con los transportes públicos de viajeros por carretera (texto consolidado). BOE.
• Ley 9/2025, de 3 de diciembre, de Movilidad Sostenible (texto consolidado). BOE.