UPDATED RULES ON WORK AND REST OF COMMERCIAL ROAD TRANSPORT DRIVERS CAME INTO FORCE

Updated rules on working hours and rest periods of wheeled vehicle drivers entered into force on July 26, 2026. The rules were approved by Order No. 1727.
The update of the rules is an important step towards harmonizing Ukrainian transport legislation with the social standards of the European Union in the field of work and rest of commercial road transport drivers.
The new version of the Regulation implements key EU regulations, in particular the provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006, Directive 2002/15/EC, as well as the decision of the Ukraine-EU Joint Committee on the application of smart tachograph standards (G2V2).
What is being simplified?
The requirements for the use of tachographs and compliance with the work and rest regime do not apply to:
transport of security and defense forces, emergency and disaster services;
agricultural, municipal, postal and certain specialized transportation within 100 kilometers from the place of storage of vehicles;
passenger vehicles up to 7.5 tons within a radius of up to 100 kilometers from the place of storage for the transportation of their own cargo (for example, a bakery delivers its products to stores), provided that driving is not the main activity of the enterprise;
training and low-speed transport;
transportation in combat zones;
transportation for the needs of security and defense forces;
internal economic transportation of their own cargo lasting up to 4 hours 30 minutes.
What does not change?
The current norms for the work and rest regime of drivers remain:
daily driving time - no more than 9 hours (up to 10 hours twice a week);
no more than 56 hours of driving per week and 90 hours in two weeks;
a mandatory 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving;
the possibility of dividing the break into 15 and 30 minutes;
mandatory use of working tachographs.
What's new?
Among the key innovations:
the requirements for the work and rest regime and the use of tachographs apply to drivers (including sole proprietors) who carry out international passenger transport on request and international taxi transport. Previously, this issue was not regulated by law;
the driver's regular weekly rest period of at least 45 hours must be provided in appropriate conditions at the expense of the carrier, and not in the vehicle cabin;
in the case of night work (from 22:00 to 06:00), the duration of the shift cannot exceed 10 hours;
for international freight transportation, vehicles first registered in Ukraine after June 30, 2026 must use G2V2 smart tachographs. Currently, more than 50 centers provide their maintenance services;
the retention period for driver work and rest time records has been increased to 56 days. Companies must keep the relevant records for two years.
The introduction of European rules is an important step towards improving road safety, ensuring decent working conditions for drivers, and further integrating Ukraine into the single transport space of the European Union.