A missed tachograph download is a record-keeping offence, even if your drivers never broke a single driving hours rule. Depending on the country, the company can be fined from a few hundred to several thousand euros, and in some countries the fine is charged for every week the data is missing.
Quick answer
Download every driver card at least every 28 days and every vehicle unit at least every 90 days. Miss either deadline and the transport company (and often its responsible person) can be fined. Below are the official amounts for Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Austria and Serbia.
The download deadlines you have to meet
The maximum download intervals are set in Regulation (EU) 581/2010 and apply to every company running vehicles with a digital or smart tachograph:
| What | Maximum interval | How to do it |
|---|---|---|
| Driver card | 28 days | Download driver card data |
| Vehicle unit (tachograph) | 90 days | Download the vehicle unit |
These are upper limits, not targets. A driver card only holds a limited amount of activity data, and once it is full the oldest days are overwritten. If that happens before a download, the data is gone for good and you cannot show it at an inspection.
⏱ Keep what you download. EU law requires transport companies to keep downloaded data for at least one year (Regulation (EU) 165/2014, Article 33). Some countries require longer: Slovenia 5 years, Serbia 2 years.
How much is the fine? Official amounts by country
Each country sets its own penalties. The table shows the fines each country lists for a company that does not download or keep tachograph data as required. Figures come from the national penalty notifications sent to the European Commission and from national law.
| Country | Transport company | Responsible person / driver |
|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | €1,600 to €2,900 for downloads not done on time; €750 for every week data is not downloaded or kept as required | Responsible person: €400; €250 for every week |
| Croatia | €4,000 to €8,000 | Responsible person: €1,500 to €3,000; driver: €1,000 to €2,000 |
| Germany | €375 to €30,000 | Set case by case |
| Austria | €300 to €5,000 | Set case by case |
| Serbia | RSD 30,000; RSD 120,000 if data is lost because of the missed download | Responsible person: RSD 5,000 or RSD 15,000 |
Sources: Slovenia, ZDCOPMD, Articles 38 and 38.a; Croatia, Germany and Austria, national penalty notifications for Regulation 165/2014, Article 33(2); Serbia, Law on working hours of vehicle crews and tachographs, Articles 55 and 57.
⚠️ Fines add up per case. Penalties are usually counted per vehicle, per driver card or, in Slovenia, per week. Amounts change with new legislation, so check the current figure with your national enforcement authority before relying on it.
What exactly triggers a fine?
- A driver card not downloaded within 28 days of the previous download.
- A vehicle unit not downloaded within 90 days.
- Gaps in your archive: each download should cover everything since the previous one. A missing period is treated as missing data.
- No final download before a vehicle leaves the fleet. In Slovenia, the company must download the vehicle unit before selling or scrapping a vehicle and before returning a rented or leased one.
- Not keeping the files for the required period, or not being able to produce them when the inspector asks.
How inspectors find missed downloads
Roadside checks. The driver has to be able to show the records for the current day and the previous 28 days. Gaps or problems found on the road often lead to a closer look at the company.
Company inspections. Inspectors ask for the downloaded files for your vehicles and drivers and compare them with the download intervals. This is where missing downloads show up: every gap in the archive can be a separate offence, so a fleet with irregular downloads can collect several fines in a single inspection.
Why companies miss download deadlines
No reminders: with 10 drivers and 5 vehicles you track 15 separate deadlines. A spreadsheet or memory is where most of them slip.
Downloads depend on someone else: a workshop appointment or one office PC with a reader. If the slot moves or the person is on holiday, the deadline passes.
Drivers are away: a driver on a long international run cannot bring the card to the office every 28 days.
Vehicles leave without a final download: sold, scrapped or returned at the end of a lease, and the data goes with them.
A download routine that holds up at an inspection
- Name one owner. One person, such as the fleet manager or an office administrator, is responsible for the schedule, even if several people do the downloads.
- Download where the vehicle and driver are. If downloads only happen at the depot or in a workshop, long trips and holidays will break the schedule.
- Use automatic reminders. Every card and every vehicle has its own deadline. Let a tool count the days instead of a person.
- Store files in one place for the full retention period in your country, so you can produce them on the day of the inspection.
- Add a final download to your checklist for every vehicle that is sold, scrapped or returned.
This is the problem myTacho was built for. With the myTacho Download Kit and a company Android phone, the fleet manager, office staff or the drivers themselves download a driver card in under a minute and a vehicle unit in 5 to 10 minutes, without a workshop visit. The app reminds you 7, 3 and 1 day before every deadline and warns you if one is overdue.
Comparing options first? See 5 ways to download tachograph data, with costs, pros and cons of each method.
Questions about tachograph download fines
Who is responsible for downloading tachograph data, the driver or the company?
The transport company. It must make sure driver cards are downloaded at least every 28 days and vehicle units at least every 90 days. Drivers have to make their card available, and in practice a fleet manager, office administrator or the drivers themselves do the downloads.
Can the driver be fined personally?
It depends on the country. In Slovenia the fine goes to the company and its responsible person. Croatia also lists a fine for the driver. Check the rules in the country where your company is established.
Does a late download still count?
It saves whatever data is still on the card or vehicle unit, but it does not undo the missed deadline. The interval between the two downloads was still too long.
Can I be fined if my drivers broke no driving time rules?
Yes. The download deadline is a record-keeping obligation. A fleet with perfect driving and rest times can still be fined for a missed 28-day or 90-day download.
Do I need a workshop to download tachograph data?
No. Your own team can download with a download key, a terminal or a phone kit such as myTacho. For the vehicle unit you need your company card. myTacho works with all digital tachographs, whatever the brand.
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