Public holidays 2027 in Europe: the truck driving ban calendar for every country

In 2027, a standing nationwide truck driving ban on public holidays applies in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Slovenia, while Spain and Romania restrict only named roads on selected holiday weekends and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark apply no holiday ban at all. Two 2027 dates set the tone: Corpus Christi falls on Thursday 2027-05-27 and New Year's Day falls on a Friday, both classic bridge weekends. Road freight moved 1,821 billion tonne-km in the EU in 2024, a record 25.7% modal share ( Eurostat ), and effectively none of it moves on a banned day. This guide sets out the 2027 dates country by country, the ban windows, the penalties, and how far ahead to plan.

Which EU countries ban truck driving on public holidays in 2027?

There is no EU-wide driving ban. Each member state writes its own rule, and the rules differ on three things: the weight threshold, the hours, and which holidays actually count. Three groups are worth separating.

A standing nationwide ban. Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Luxembourg prohibit heavy goods traffic on listed public holidays as a matter of standing law. If the date is on the list, the truck does not move.

Route-specific restrictions on selected holiday weekends. Spain and Romania close named motorways and national roads in defined windows around the busiest holidays. The restriction is enforceable, but it is a list of road sections, not a country-wide stop.

Little or no holiday restriction. The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland run no general public holiday HGV ban. Portugal sits close to this group for standard freight, with its binding holiday rules concentrated on dangerous goods.

The consequence is that a Rotterdam to Milan run crosses three regimes in one trip: free movement in the Netherlands, a full ban day in Germany, and an Italian window that opens mid-morning. The weakest link governs the schedule.

How do fixed and moving public holidays change the 2027 ban calendar?

Fixed holidays sit on the same date every year and rotate through the week. New Year's Day, 1 May, Assumption on 15 August, All Saints on 1 November and the Christmas days are all fixed. Their only variable is the weekday, and that is what turns a one-day stoppage into a three-day one.

Moving holidays are pinned to Easter. Western Easter Sunday 2027 is 2027-03-28, which puts Good Friday on 2027-03-26 and Easter Monday on 2027-03-29. From that anchor, Ascension falls on Thursday 2027-05-06, Pentecost on Sunday 2027-05-16, Whit Monday on 2027-05-17 and Corpus Christi on Thursday 2027-05-27. The EU institutions use the same anchor in their own 2027 public holiday decision , a convenient neutral cross-check.

Orthodox Easter runs on a separate cycle and falls on 2027-05-02, five weeks later. That matters for Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, where the holiday traffic peak and the route restrictions that follow it sit at the start of May rather than the end of March.

The 2027 spring cluster is unusually dense

Between 2027-05-01 and 2027-05-27 there are five restriction triggers in Central Europe: Labour Day on the Saturday, Ascension on the Thursday, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi on the Thursday, and in the Orthodox markets the Easter weekend of 2027-05-01 to 2027-05-03. Four weeks, five stoppages. Any lane crossing Germany, Austria, Poland or Romania in May 2027 needs capacity booked early.

Public holidays and driving bans by country (2027)

Weight thresholds below refer to gross vehicle weight (GVW), the maximum permissible laden mass of the vehicle or combination.

Two details deserve their own line. In Germany the holiday list in StVO section 30 is closed and partly regional: Corpus Christi is a ban day only in Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, and All Saints only in the same states minus Hesse. Reformation Day is listed for nine northern and eastern states, but in 2027 it falls on Sunday 2027-10-31, so it costs nothing extra. Read the list against the confirmed German public holiday dates for 2027 .

In Poland the threshold is 12 t GVW rather than the 7.5 t used almost everywhere else, so a mid-weight rigid stopped in Germany can legally run in Poland. The restrictions published by GDDKiA confirm the 08:00 to 22:00 holiday window and the 18:00 to 22:00 window on the eve; check them next to the Polish public holiday calendar for 2027 before planning any May or November lane.

Which 2027 holidays fall on a Friday or Monday, and why does that matter?

A holiday on a Tuesday or Thursday creates a bridge day. A holiday on a Friday or Monday creates a three-day block in which capacity disappears, rates firm and parking at the border fills up.

Fridays: New Year's Day on 2027-01-01, Western Good Friday on 2027-03-26, and Orthodox Good Friday on 2027-04-30. Christmas Eve on 2027-12-24 is also a Friday.

Mondays: Easter Monday on 2027-03-29, Polish Constitution Day and Orthodox Easter Monday on 2027-05-03, Whit Monday on 2027-05-17, All Saints on 2027-11-01, and Spain's Constitution Day on 2027-12-06.

Thursdays that will be bridged: Ascension on 2027-05-06, Corpus Christi on 2027-05-27, Portugal Day on 2027-06-10, and 11 November on 2027-11-11, a public holiday in Poland, France and Belgium at once.

Two clusters stand out. The first is 2027-05-01 to 2027-05-03: Labour Day on the Saturday, Orthodox Easter on the Sunday, Polish Constitution Day and Orthodox Easter Monday on the Monday. That is a three-day stop across Poland, Romania and much of Central Europe. The second is 2027-12-06 to 2027-12-08 in Spain, the Constitution Day and Immaculate Conception bridge, with restricted itineraries at both ends of the week.

Italy is lighter than usual in spring 2027, because 2027-04-25 falls on a Sunday and 2027-06-02 on a Wednesday. The Italian public holidays for 2027 still need checking against the ministry decree, since Italy adds non-holiday summer Sundays that no other country replicates. Portugal is the counter-example: standard road freight runs freely on Portuguese holidays, so an Iberian lane can absorb work a German lane cannot, though the Portuguese public holidays for 2027 still drive warehouse and customs staffing.

What happens if you get caught driving during a holiday ban in Europe?

Enforcement is national, and the penalty structure normally separates the driver from the operator who dispatched the load.

Germany is the clearest documented case. Driving in breach of the Sunday and holiday ban is an administrative offence under StVO section 49, and the fine catalogue sets 120 EUR for the driver and 570 EUR for the operator who ordered or permitted the trip. BALM , the federal office for logistics and mobility, publishes the legal text and the exemption framework. The operator penalty being roughly five times the driver penalty is deliberate: the offence is treated as a dispatch decision, not a driver error.

Elsewhere the amounts are set nationally and generally run into the low hundreds of EUR per offence, with the possibility of immobilisation until the ban window closes. That second consequence is usually the expensive one. A truck held at a control point until 22:00 on a holiday loses the rest of the driving day, misses its delivery slot, and often misses its next loading appointment as well.

How far ahead should carriers plan around 2027 holiday driving bans?

Roughly a quarter ahead for capacity, and a month ahead for the specific loading slot.

The year-specific instruments arrive late. Italy's calendar comes from an annual ministerial decree, and the 2026 calendar was signed on 2025-12-12 for a year starting three weeks later. Spain's DGT resolution and France's complementary summer arrete follow a similar rhythm. The standing rules do not change: Germany's holiday list, Austria's night windows and Poland's 12 t threshold have been stable for years. Plan against those early, then reconcile against the decree when it lands.

A workable sequence for 2027:

1. Block the fixed and Easter-derived dates in the transport management system now, per country, using the table above.
2. Flag every Friday and Monday holiday as a three-day capacity event rather than a one-day stoppage.
3. On lanes crossing Germany or Austria, add the night ban to the model. Austria's 22:00 to 05:00 restriction for vehicles over 7.5 t means a holiday effectively ends at 05:00 the next morning, not at 22:00 ( WKO ).
4. Reconcile with the national decrees in December 2026 and again in March 2027, once Italy, Spain and France have published.
5. Confirm the parking plan. Rest areas on the German and Austrian transit corridors fill hours before a ban starts.
6. Cross-check the routing constraints that travel with the ban, including the HGV speed limits by country that decide whether a repositioning leg fits inside the window before the ban begins.

The cost of getting this wrong is not theoretical. As trans.info notes on the equivalent summer restrictions, a routine run can suddenly need a diversion, an extra stop or an entirely new plan, and every change costs fuel, time and the chance of finding a return load quickly.

Key takeaways

• The ban is a national rule, not an EU rule, and the threshold moves between 7.5 t and 12 t depending on where the wheels are.
• The 2027 calendar concentrates its restrictions in a dense spring cluster between 2027-05-01 and 2027-05-27, and in a Friday-heavy January and December.
• The standing rules are stable enough to plan against a year out, so the only genuinely unknown element is the supplementary dates in Italy, Spain and France.

Frequently asked questions

Which countries in Europe have a truck driving ban on public holidays in 2027?

Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Luxembourg operate a standing nationwide ban on listed public holidays. Spain and Romania restrict named road sections around the busiest holiday weekends instead. The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland have no general public holiday HGV ban.

Does the German Sunday and holiday driving ban apply to every public holiday?

No. StVO section 30(4) contains a closed list, and regional holidays are only partly included. Corpus Christi on 2027-05-27 is a ban day in six federal states and All Saints on 2027-11-01 in five. A holiday that is not on the federal list does not trigger the driving ban, even where shops and offices are closed.

When does Corpus Christi fall in 2027, and does it stop trucks?

Corpus Christi, known in Germany as Fronleichnam, falls on Thursday 2027-05-27. It stops vehicles over 7.5 t GVW and any truck with a trailer from 00:00 to 22:00 in Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is also a full ban day in Austria and Poland, so most north-south transit through Central Europe is affected.

Are there truck driving bans in Spain and Portugal on public holidays?

Spain does not run a blanket national ban. The DGT publishes an annual resolution restricting specific itineraries, commonly between 08:00 and 24:00 on Sundays and holidays, with extra measures around Easter, 1 May, All Saints and the December bridge. Portugal leaves standard road freight largely unrestricted, but prohibits ADR tank vehicles on Sundays and national holidays, except where the holiday falls on a Saturday or Monday.

Can you get an exemption from a public holiday driving ban?

Yes, but the categories are narrow. Live animals, perishable foodstuffs, emergency and recovery operations, and certain combined-transport legs to and from rail terminals or ports are the standard carve-outs. France additionally allows a prefectoral derogation applied for in the department of departure or entry. In every case the supporting document has to be in the cab at the roadside check.

Do the bans apply to LCVs and vans?

Generally no. The thresholds are set on gross vehicle weight: 7.5 t in most markets and 12 t in Poland. An LCV under 3.5 t is outside the scope of the holiday bans everywhere in the table. Vehicles between 3.5 t and 7.5 t are usually unaffected too, with one exception: any truck pulling a trailer in Germany is caught regardless of weight.

When are the 2027 national ban calendars published?

Italy's ministerial decree normally appears in December of the preceding year, and the 2026 version was signed on 2025-12-12. Spain's DGT resolution and France's complementary summer arrete follow a similar schedule. The standing rules in Germany, Austria and Poland do not change annually.

Build your 2027 loading windows around the ban calendar rather than around it going wrong. Get a quote for your next European lane and plan the route, the stop and the delivery slot in one pass.