Smart Tachograph 2: The clock is running.

Who is affected

Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1068 introduced Smart Tachograph 2 (ST2) as the new standard. From 1 January 2025, ST2 was already mandatory for new vehicle type approvals. The next key date is 1 July 2026: operators running light commercial vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes in international road transport must retrofit if their current digital tachograph does not already meet ST2 specifications.

This affects a far larger group of operators than the classic heavy-vehicle tachograph obligation. Many delivery, service, and distribution fleet management operations that have operated without tachograph oversight are now in scope if their vehicles regularly cross a national border within the EU.

What you need to do

• Identify which vehicles in your fleet fall in the 2.5–3.5 tonne range and operate in cross-border transport
• Confirm whether their current digital tachograph meets ST2 specifications; if not, schedule a workshop retrofit before the deadline
• Ensure driver cards and calibration records are current before and after the hardware swap
• Verify that your compliance reporting workflow continues uninterrupted after the retrofit

How Commander’s tachograph module helps

Commander’s Tachograph module handles remote download and analysis of digital tachograph data automatically: no USB stick, no manual collection runs. After an ST2 retrofit, the data flow to Commander continues unchanged. The compliance reporting, driver hour analysis, rest period monitoring, and infringement detection in Commander require no reconfiguration on the software side.

If you are currently not using automated tachograph management, a compliance deadline is the right moment to switch. Manual tachograph workflows do not scale, and with ST2 data volumes increasing, the administrative burden only grows.