Charging time as rest time: what is and isn't allowed?

By Maarten Alta · 18 October 2026

An electric truck needs to charge, and a driver needs to rest. Combining the two seems obvious. It is allowed, but only under conditions. And those conditions affect planning.

What the rules say

EU Regulation 561/2006 sets driving and rest times. The main rules:

Break: after at most 4.5 hours of driving, a 45-minute break. It can be split into at least 15 minutes followed by at least 30 minutes.
Daily rest: at least 11 consecutive hours, or split into 3 hours plus 9 hours. Three times between two weekly rests it may be 9 hours.
Driving time: at most 9 hours a day, twice a week 10 hours, 56 hours a week and 90 hours in two weeks.

The regulation says nothing about charging. The enforcement authorities acknowledge that themselves.

How enforcers deal with it

CORTE, the European organisation of road transport enforcement bodies, drew up interim guidelines in 2024: a shared interpretation of how they check the rules. They say:

Charging counts as a break or rest if the driver is free to dispose of his time. He then does not have to watch the charging or intervene.
If he does have to supervise or intervene, he records that time as other work.
Moving the truck after charging interrupts or ends the break or rest.

This is an interpretation for enforcers, not law. The European Commission has not (yet) published its own guidance on it.

Where it pinches

For a 45-minute break it works well: charging and the break coincide. It pinches with a night's rest away from the depot. If the battery is full after three hours, the truck stays at the charger for the rest of the night, because moving it interrupts the rest. Other trucks cannot charge in the meantime.

In Germany, a driver asked the transport minister in April 2026 for an exception, like the one that already exists for rest on a ferry or train. No decision has been made.

And there is a practical point: plugging in and starting the charging session yourself is work. That short moment is not part of the break.

What it means for planning

Plan charging in the break. Make the charging stop coincide with the mandatory break after 4.5 hours of driving. At 350 kW you can theoretically charge around 260 kWh in 45 minutes. In practice it is less, because power drops as the battery fills up.
Reserve the charger. A break spent waiting for a free charger is not rest if the driver has to stay alert.
Charge overnight at the depot. There, the truck does not need to be moved after charging. At a public charging site it does.
Put agreements in writing. When is charging time rest and when is it work? How does the driver record plugging in and out? Put it in a work instruction.
Look at the grid connection at the depot. If all trucks arrive at once, the connection determines how many can charge at the same time. Read more in How many electric trucks fit on your grid connection?

A craft of its own

Matching charging, rest and trips is a new skill for planners. In The transport planner of 2026 I wrote that charging has become a planning variable. In the Certified e-Fleet Planner programme, planners practise exactly this: planning trips with charging windows, within driving and rest times and the limits of the connection.

This article is not legal advice. The enforcers' interpretation may change; if in doubt, check the current position of the enforcement authority in your country.