---
title: "Romania Bans Forcing Drivers to Do Loading Work: What Changes on July 24, 2026"
canonical: "https://nakordoni.eu/he/news/2026-07-16/rumuniia-zaboroniaie-prymushuvaty-vodiiv-do-vantazhnykh-robit-shcho-zminiuietsia-z-24-lypnia-2026-roku"
lang: "he"
type: "news"
source: "nakordoni.eu — live border queue data"
---

# Romania Bans Forcing Drivers to Do Loading Work: What Changes on July 24, 2026

16.07.2026 09:00    Офіційний вісник Румунії (Monitorul Oficial)

אנו מכינים את התרגום של מאמר זה. באופן זמני מוצגת גרסת in English.

**Starting July 24, 2026, Law No. 100/2026 comes into force in Romania, banning the practice of forcing truck drivers to perform loading or unloading work.** The rules apply to commercial road freight transport carried out by vehicles with a maximum authorized mass over 12.5 t.

The law separates the transport service from physical cargo handling: the carrier is responsible for delivering the goods, but the driver is not, by default, obligated to perform loading work. The ban is addressed to the transport client, the shipper, the consignee, the freight forwarder, the intermediary, and their representatives. It concerns everyone transporting goods through [Romanian border crossings](https://nakordoni.eu/en/country/romania) — from [Porubne](https://nakordoni.eu/en/id/id_351) to inland warehouses in Romania.

##### What exactly is prohibited

After July 24, it will be forbidden to require a driver to load or unload goods, pallets, containers, or packaging. Indirect pressure may also fall under the ban: refusing to accept the cargo, refusing to sign the CMR, threatening fines, downtime, withheld payment, or cancellation of future trips because the driver refused to do loader's work.

Any provisions of a contract, transport order, warehouse instruction, or internal procedure that, contrary to the law, place this work on the driver are void.

A driver may take part in loading or unloading only voluntarily and with clear written consent. Occupational health and safety requirements must also be observed.

##### Exceptions to the rule

Driver participation is allowed for specialized transport, but only if both conditions are met simultaneously:

- the nature of the transport objectively requires the driver's participation in loading work;
- such an obligation is explicitly provided for in the driver's employment contract or an additional agreement with the employer.

This does not mean that any clause in a transport order automatically creates such an obligation. If the transport is not specialized, or the relevant obligation is not established in employment documents, the driver cannot be forced to handle cargo.

##### Fines for violations

| Who violates | Violation | Fine |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Transport client, shipper, consignee, intermediary, or representative | Forces the driver to load or unload | RON 5,000–20,000 |
| Carrier | Includes an unlawful obligation for the driver to perform loading work in a contract | RON 10,000–20,000 |

The law sets fines specifically in Romanian lei, not as a fixed euro amount. The euro equivalent depends on the exchange rate on the date the fine is assessed or paid. Enforcement is entrusted to Romania's Labour Inspectorate (ITM) and the State Road Transport Inspectorate (ISCTR).

##### Fine calculator

**We've built a separate tool that calculates the risk range for a single recorded incident:** the [fine calculator under Romanian Law No. 100/2026](https://nakordoni.eu/en/tools/romania-loading-fine-calculator). Mark the parties that applied pressure, indicate the number of unlawful clauses in the carrier's contract — and get the amount in lei, euros, hryvnias, zlotys, or another currency at the current ECB rate.

The formula is simple. Minimum risk = 5,000 × number of counterparties + 10,000 × number of unlawful carrier clauses. Maximum risk = 20,000 × total number of violations.

**Example:** a consignee demands that the driver unload pallets, while the carrier's transport order already contains an unlawful clause about the driver's obligation. The potential combined risk is **RON 15,000 to 40,000**.

Important: the calculator is indicative. The final fine amount is determined by the enforcement authority based on the circumstances of the case, and the same incident may carry additional consequences under labor law, occupational safety rules, and contractual obligations.

##### Checklist for drivers

###### Before arriving at the warehouse

- Check the transport order, contract, instructions, and correspondence with the dispatcher, as well as the terms in the CMR.
- Save the transport order, the client's contacts, the warehouse address, the trip number, and correspondence on your phone or in cloud storage.
- If the documents contain a clause stating "driver loads/unloads," ask the carrier in writing to explain how it complies with Law No. 100/2026.
- Do not sign a pre-prepared consent form if you do not wish to voluntarily take part in loading work.
- For specialized transport, check whether such an obligation exists in your employment contract or additional agreement.

###### If you are pressured

- Calmly state: **"I have not given written voluntary consent to perform loading work."**
- Ask the warehouse representative to put the request in writing — by letter, messenger, warehouse system, or in the order.
- Record the date, time, address, company name, representative's name, ramp number, and vehicle number.
- Keep messages, copies of documents, photos, and witness contacts.
- Immediately notify your dispatcher or employer in writing and ask for written instructions.
- Do not sign a report stating that you "disrupted loading," "refused the trip," or "caused the delay" if that is not true.

###### After the incident

- Write a brief timeline of events on the day of the incident: who, when, where, and what was demanded; what pressure was applied; which documents were not issued.
- Keep the CMR, transport order, correspondence, photos, and other evidence.
- File a complaint with the competent Romanian authorities and send a copy to your employer or carrier.

##### How to protect yourself from employer pressure

An employer or carrier must not pass on a warehouse's unlawful demands to the driver through internal orders, threats of fines, withheld wages, or mandatory clauses in a trip assignment. If a carrier includes provisions in a contract that contradict Law No. 100/2026, it faces a fine of RON 10,000 to 20,000.

A driver can use the following message in correspondence:

```
I confirm my readiness to carry out the transport and hand over the cargo.
I have not given written voluntary consent to perform loading work.
Please arrange loading/unloading by the responsible party
in accordance with Romanian Law No. 100/2026.
```

Do not leave the loading or unloading site on your own without contacting the dispatcher. First, document that the counterparty failed to organize the loading work, and request written instructions from the carrier.

##### How to file a complaint

A complaint should be filed with the territorial labor inspectorate of Romania — the **Inspectoratul Teritorial de Muncă (ITM)** — covering the location where the incident occurred. If the situation concerns the performance of road transport, it is also advisable to notify the **State Road Transport Inspectorate of Romania (ISCTR)**.

###### What to include in the complaint

- Your full name, contact details, and the employer's or carrier's information.
- The registration number of the truck and trailer.
- The date, time, and exact address of the warehouse.
- The name of the shipper, consignee, freight forwarder, or intermediary.
- The essence of the demand: loading, unloading, moving pallets, working with packaging or containers.
- A description of the pressure applied: verbal demand, refusal to accept the cargo, threats of fines, downtime, or non-payment.
- A statement that you did not give written voluntary consent.
- A list of evidence: transport order, CMR, correspondence, photos, witness contacts.

###### Sample complaint

```
Subject: Complaint regarding forcing a driver to perform loading work

I, [full name], driver of vehicle [number], was carrying out transport
along the route [route] for [carrier name], order No. [number].

On [date] at [time], at the address [warehouse address], a representative
of the company [company name, full name if available] demanded that I
perform [loading / unloading].

I did not give written voluntary consent to this work. After I refused,
the following pressure was applied: [detailed description].

I consider these actions to be a violation of Romanian Law No. 100/2026.
I request that an inspection be carried out, the responsible persons be
identified, and I be informed of the outcome of the complaint review.

Attachments: [list of evidence].
Date, signature, contacts.
```

For practical use, it is best to prepare the complaint in Romanian or English and keep proof that it was sent. If the driver works for a foreign company, a copy of the complaint should also be sent to the employer and, if necessary, to the relevant labor inspectorate in the employer's country of registration.

##### International transport

The law directly regulates loading operations on the territory of Romania. At the same time, certain practical questions concerning international trips still require clarification — in particular, how the rules apply to foreign carriers, cabotage, and trips carried out entirely outside Romania by a Romanian operator. The Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure are to prepare implementing regulations within 60 days of the law's publication.

Until such clarifications appear, the safe practice for an international carrier is to assume that, when loading or unloading takes place on the territory of Romania, the driver cannot be required to handle cargo unless there is a lawful exception and proper written consent.

##### Drivers' rights in the EU

Law No. 100/2026 supplements, rather than replaces, the EU-wide social rules for road transport. Truck drivers in the EU are subject, among other things, to a daily driving limit generally of up to 9 hours, extendable to 10 hours no more than twice a week, a weekly limit of 56 hours, as well as mandatory break and rest rules — daily rest must last at least 11 hours.

In international transport and cabotage, posting-of-drivers rules may mean that part of the pay and working-condition requirements of the country where the transport service is actually provided apply.

###### Fines for labor-condition violations in the EU

There is no single EU-wide "fine tariff" for violations of drivers' working conditions in 2026: the specific amounts, responsible parties, and enforcement procedures are set by each EU country individually. At EU level, common rules apply on driving time, rest, working time, tachographs, and enforcement, while member states ensure their application and set the sanctions.

That means a carrier cannot use a single fine table for all of Europe. For each trip, one must take into account the country of enforcement, the type of transport — bilateral, cabotage, or cross-trade — the applicability of posting rules, and national sanctions. We maintain an up-to-date calendar of country-by-country restrictions on the [truck driving bans in Europe](https://nakordoni.eu/en/for_truck_drivers/traffic_bans) page.

##### What carriers should do

- Review contracts, transport orders, and order templates before July 24, 2026.
- Remove wording that automatically obliges the driver to load or unload cargo.
- Clearly specify in each order which party is responsible for loading and unloading.
- Create a procedure for the driver's voluntary written consent — only in cases permitted by law, and with confirmation that safety requirements are met.
- Train dispatchers to record pressure from warehouses and not to require the driver to comply with unlawful demands.
- Add fields to your TMS or CRM: party responsible for loading, party responsible for unloading, specialized transport, basis for the exception, driver's written consent.

More tools and data for long-haul drivers are available on our [portal for truck drivers](https://nakordoni.eu/en/for_truck_drivers): border queues, parking, driving bans, and calculators.

##### Official sources

- [Legea nr. 100/2026](https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/311561) — the text of the law in Romania's official gazette (Monitorul Oficial); published on June 24, 2026, entering into force on July 24, 2026, with the main penalties set out in Article 4.
- [European Commission](https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/social-provisions/driving-time-and-rest-periods_en) — driving time and rest periods in EU road transport.
- [European Commission](https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/social-provisions/enforcement_en) — application of social rules and national sanctions.

### מעברי גבול קשורים

[Porubne — Siret](https://nakordoni.eu/he/id/id_351) [Siret — Porubne](https://nakordoni.eu/he/id/id_352) [Diakove — Halmeu](https://nakordoni.eu/he/id/id_353)

[מקור ראשוני](https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/311561)

[חזרה לחדשות](https://nakordoni.eu/he/news)