Weekly rest in cab fine in Europe: amounts by country

No, a driver may not take a regular weekly rest in the cab, and the fine depends on where the check happens: 1,800 EUR in Belgium, 1,500 EUR for the company in the Netherlands, and statutory maximums of 30,000 EUR for the company in both France and Germany. In May 2026, a Belgian police operation in Antwerp found 24 of 50 inspected trucks with a driver in a regular weekly rest in the cab, and the Belgian fine is 1,800 EUR per violation ( trans.info, 2026-05-18 ). This guide covers the rule in Article 8(8) of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, a country table that separates driver and company liability, and the steps that keep a weekly rest legal.

Can a truck driver take the regular weekly rest in the cab?

No. A regular weekly rest (a weekly rest of at least 45 consecutive hours) must be taken outside the vehicle, in suitable accommodation. The same applies to a compensation rest of more than 45 hours that makes up for an earlier reduced weekly rest.

Two kinds of rest can still happen in the cab. Daily rest and the reduced weekly rest (at least 24 hours) may be taken in a stationary vehicle that has suitable sleeping facilities, according to IHK Ulm (August 2023). Sleeping in the cab is therefore not illegal in itself. The offence is the 45-hour rest spent there.

The ban was settled by the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-102/16 (Vaditrans), decided 2017-12-20. The court confirmed that Article 8(6) of Regulation 561/2006 does not allow the regular weekly rest in the cab, and that each member state sets its own penalties ( IHK Ulm ). That second point explains why the same offence costs a different amount in each country.

What does Article 8(8) say after the Mobility Package?

Article 8(8), as rewritten by Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 (signed 2020-07-15), now states the ban in so many words and puts the cost on the employer. It sets three duties:

• Regular weekly rests, and compensation rests of more than 45 hours, shall not be taken in a vehicle.
• They shall be taken in suitable accommodation, described as gender-friendly and equipped with adequate sleeping and sanitary facilities.
• The employer covers all accommodation costs outside the vehicle.

A hotel room with a bed and a bathroom fits that description. A cab on a motorway rest area does not. German law is stricter in wording: under § 8a Fahrpersonalgesetz , a regular weekly rest taken in a vehicle, or in any place without suitable sleeping facilities, is treated as not observed.

The same article added a second duty, the four-week return rule, covered further down. Both duties fall on the transport company, which the regulation calls the undertaking, so a dispatcher who plans a long trip without a hotel booking is creating the offence.

What is the weekly rest in cab fine in each country?

The fine depends on where the driver is checked, and the figures in each country are of different quality. The table separates driver and company, names the legal basis, and labels each figure as a statutory maximum (the ceiling in law), enforcement practice (the amount authorities apply or set by policy), or press-reported (a recent news report).

France

The French ministry's page on the regular weekly rest (updated 2024-05-13) cites Article L. 3315-4-1 of the Code des transports, introduced by Law 2014-790 of 2014-07-10. The company side of the offence carries up to one year in prison and 30,000 EUR. The driver commits a fifth-class contravention, with a fine of up to 1,500 EUR and up to 3,000 EUR for a repeat offence, under Décret 86-1130 of 1986-10-17.

The page does not say whether the rule reaches foreign operators or rests taken abroad. Confirm that point locally before planning a route around it.

Germany

Germany has two sets of numbers, and they are often mixed up. The statutory maximums in § 8a Fahrpersonalgesetz are 30,000 EUR for the employer (paragraphs 1 and 3) and 5,000 EUR for the driver (paragraph 2). Paragraph 5 allows enforcement even for violations committed outside Germany. The page is labelled unofficial and shows no revision date, so check the current text.

The amounts most often quoted, 500 EUR for the driver and 1,500 EUR for the company, are 2017 enforcement practice. A federal-state working group set them for intentional violations under ordinary circumstances. The Federal Office for Goods Transport (BAG, renamed BALM in 2023) said they were not yet in the Bußgeldkatalog (the official fine catalogue) but that it would follow them, and that it could stop onward travel until the rest was completed ( Verkehrsrundschau, 2017-06-02 ). IHK Ulm still gave "up to" those two amounts in August 2023. Treat 500 EUR and 1,500 EUR as practice, not as the current catalogue amount.

Belgium

Belgium fines a cab rest at 1,800 EUR, and the vehicle can be immobilised until the fine is paid. In the May 2026 Antwerp operation, on-the-spot fines totalled 56,220 EUR across the 50 trucks checked ( trans.info ). That total also covers other offences, including drivers without a valid licence or driver card, so it is not 24 times 1,800 EUR (which would be 43,200 EUR). No primary source consulted for this guide says whether the 1,800 EUR lands on the driver or the company, so the table leaves that open.

Netherlands

The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management told parliament on 2021-03-11 that the inspectorate ILT fines the transport company 1,500 EUR for a weekly rest in the vehicle, doubled to 3,000 EUR for a repeat offence at the same company ( Kamerstuk 29398 nr. 904 ). A stop-work order is not possible because the driver is resting. The letter also restates that the employer covers accommodation costs.

Spain and Italy

This guide could not verify a current fine for Spain or Italy from an official source, so it gives no amount for either country. Check the current penalty with a local source before routing a driver there.

Who pays the fine: the driver or the company?

It depends on the country, and the answer matters because the regulation puts the duty to provide accommodation on the employer. France splits the offence, with a driver contravention and a heavier company offence. Germany can fine both. The Netherlands fines the company only. For Belgium, the payer is not confirmed.

A worked comparison shows the exposure from one incident. In Germany, if both parties are fined at the 2017 practice amounts, the total is 2,000 EUR (500 EUR plus 1,500 EUR), while the statutory ceiling is 35,000 EUR. In France, the ceilings add up to 31,500 EUR. In the Netherlands, a company caught twice pays 1,500 EUR and then 3,000 EUR, 4,500 EUR in total. A booked hotel room is a planned cost, while each of these fines is an unplanned one.

Whether a company may recover a fine from a driver depends on national employment law, and this guide does not cover it. What the figures do show is that the carrier carries the larger share of the risk in every country where the split is documented.

Do drivers have to prove where they slept?

This guide could not confirm a single rule on proof from the sources consulted, so plan on the safe side. The Commission addressed enforcement practices for weekly rest in a note dated 2023-02-21 . Read the note itself before you decide what your drivers should carry, and treat any claim that proof is always or never required with caution.

What a carrier can control is its own paperwork. Keep the booking confirmation and invoice for each weekly rest, and link them to the matching rest period in the tachograph record. The tachograph shows how long a rest lasted, while a roadside inspector sees where the driver is sleeping. Our guide to reading a tachograph printout explains what an inspector sees in the record.

What about the return-home rule every four weeks?

Under Article 8(8a), the undertaking must organise the driver's work so that the driver can return to the operational centre or home within each period of four consecutive weeks ( Regulation 2020/1054 ). The company must document how it does this and keep the records at its premises.

The four-week figure is easy to confuse with a different three-week rule. Compensation for a reduced weekly rest is due before the end of the third week after the week concerned (Article 8(6b)). When a driver takes two consecutive reduced weekly rests, the driver must be able to return before the compensation rest starts. These are separate duties with separate clocks.

For routing, this means a long international rotation needs a planned return date, not an improvised one. Our overview of the Mobility Package return rules covers how the return duty sits next to cabotage (the right of a foreign carrier to carry domestic loads inside another EU country) and posting rules.

How to plan weekly rests around parking and accommodation

Plan the 45-hour rest before the driver reaches the end of the working week, not after. A rest that starts at a place with no hotel and no parking is the situation that ends with a driver sleeping in the cab.

1. Book accommodation when you dispatch. Treat the hotel as part of the job cost, since Article 8(8) makes it the employer's cost.
2. Choose parking near the hotel. The truck needs a safe place for 45 hours or more, and the driver needs to reach the room without a long transfer. A truck parking map shows where to look, and the guide to finding truck parking in Europe covers the practical side.
3. Use the cab only for allowed rests. Daily rests and reduced weekly rests of at least 24 hours can stay in a stationary vehicle with suitable sleeping facilities.
4. Check the fine before you cross a border. Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands all enforce, as the table shows. For any other country, confirm the rule locally.
5. Schedule the return home. Write down the planned return for each driver so the four-week duty can be shown on request.
6. Keep the records. File the invoice, the booking confirmation, and the return plan together by driver and week.

For the background on daily, reduced, and regular rests, see the guide to EU driving hours and rest period rules .

Frequently asked questions

Can you sleep in your truck cab for the 45-hour weekly rest in Europe?

No. Regular weekly rest and compensation rest of more than 45 hours must be taken outside the vehicle in suitable accommodation, and the employer pays for it (Article 8(8) of Regulation 561/2006 as amended by Regulation 2020/1054). The fine depends on the country where the driver is checked.

What is the fine for taking the weekly rest in the truck cab in Belgium?

The Belgian fine is 1,800 EUR per cab-rest violation, confirmed by a report on the May 2026 Antwerp operation. The vehicle can be immobilised until the fine is paid. It is not confirmed whether the driver or the company is the one fined.

Is it illegal to sleep in a truck cab in Germany?

Sleeping in the cab is not illegal as such, since daily and reduced weekly rests may be taken in a stationary vehicle with suitable sleeping facilities. A regular weekly rest in the cab is the offence under § 8a Fahrpersonalgesetz. The statutory maximums are 5,000 EUR for the driver and 30,000 EUR for the employer, while 2017 practice was 500 EUR and 1,500 EUR.

Who pays for the hotel during the weekly rest of a truck driver?

The employer. Article 8(8) states that all costs for accommodation outside the vehicle are covered by the employer. The Dutch ministry's 2021 letter to parliament repeats the same rule.

Can the reduced 24-hour weekly rest be taken in the cab?

Yes, if the vehicle is stationary and has suitable sleeping facilities. The compensation for that reduced rest is a different matter. If it comes as a rest of more than 45 hours, it must be taken outside the vehicle, and it is due before the end of the third week after the week concerned.

How often must a truck driver return home under the Mobility Package?

The employer must organise the work so the driver can return to the operational centre or home within each period of four consecutive weeks (Article 8(8a)). The company has to document this and keep the records at its premises.

Can a driver be fined for a weekly rest taken in another country?

Germany allows it in law. Paragraph 5 of § 8a Fahrpersonalgesetz permits enforcement even for violations committed outside Germany. For France and Belgium, the sources consulted for this guide do not confirm whether a rest taken abroad is fined, so check the rule locally before planning a route.

Looking for steady European freight with fair, transparent payment terms? Join the Logifie carrier network and plan your weekly rests around loads that pay for the time.