Truck driving bans in Germany and Poland in 2027: holidays and summer

Truck ban days in Germany and Poland, 2027

The table lists every day from January to November 2027 with a holiday truck ban in Germany or Poland, or a Polish ban on the evening before. Germany bans trucks over 7.5 tonnes from 00:00 to 22:00. Poland bans vehicles over 12 tonnes from 08:00 to 22:00 on the holiday, and from 18:00 to 22:00 the evening before.

The weight limit is the permitted maximum weight of the vehicle, not the weight of the goods. A tractor with a standard curtainsider trailer is over both limits. Sundays are ban days in Germany all year, so the table shows a Sunday only when Poland also has a ban. On 3 October and 31 October 2027, two German holidays fall on a Sunday, with the normal Sunday hours.

Our separate post covers the Christmas and New Year bans from 24 December 2026 to 3 January 2027. The summer weekend bans are in the section on summer bans below.

Germany: holiday ban days in 2027 and the states they cover

Germany bans trucks over 7.5 tonnes, and trailers behind any truck, from 00:00 to 22:00 on Sundays and on the holidays listed in § 30 of the road traffic regulations (StVO). Outside the Christmas weeks, the holiday ban days in 2027 are 26 and 29 March, 1, 6, 17 and 27 May and 1 November.

Three holidays count only in some states. Corpus Christi on Thursday 27 May counts in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. All Saints on Monday 1 November counts in the same states except Hesse. Reformation Day on 31 October counts in nine other states, but in 2027 it falls on a Sunday.

The state lists matter on our lanes. The German border with the Netherlands runs along North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The border with Belgium runs along North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Schleswig-Holstein, where the port of Kiel is, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have no ban on 27 May or 1 November.

The ban covers paid goods transport and the empty trips that belong to it. The law exempts, for example, fresh milk and dairy products, fresh meat, fresh fish, and perishable fruit and vegetables. Combined transport is also exempt: trips to or from the nearest rail station up to 200 km, and trips to or from a port within 150 km. Check other cases with the German road traffic authority.

Poland: holiday ban days and evening bans in 2027

Poland bans vehicles over 12 tonnes from 08:00 to 22:00 on 12 holidays listed in a 2007 regulation. Outside the Christmas weeks, nine of them fall in 2027: 28 and 29 March, 1 and 3 May, 16 and 27 May, 15 August, 1 November and 11 November. Buses are not covered.

Poland also bans these vehicles from 18:00 to 22:00 on the day before most holidays. The evening ban applies before the holidays from Easter Sunday to 11 November, but not before 1 January or Christmas. In 2027, the evening bans fall on 27 March, 30 April, 2, 15 and 26 May, 14 August, 31 October and 10 November.

Two days need a second look. 6 January, Epiphany, is a public holiday under the Polish law on days off, but it is not on the truck ban list. Whit Monday is not a public holiday in Poland, so vehicles over 12 tonnes may drive there on Monday 17 May 2027. On the same day, Germany has a ban.

The ban applies to Polish and foreign vehicles, also in transit. The regulation lists exemptions, for example live animals, medicines, combined transport, and perishable food from its annex when it fills a large part of the load. A truck that entered Poland before the ban may drive up to 50 km from the border crossing. Check other cases with the Polish Road Transport Inspection (ITD).

Summer truck bans in Poland and Germany, 2027

Both countries add summer bans. In Germany, trucks over 7.5 tonnes may not use listed motorway sections from 07:00 to 20:00 on nine Saturdays, from 3 July to 28 August 2027. In Poland, vehicles over 12 tonnes stop on Friday evenings, Saturday mornings and Sundays for 10 weekends, from 25 June to 29 August 2027.

The German rule is the Ferienreiseverordnung, a regulation for the holiday travel season. It applies on every Saturday from 1 July to 31 August. In 2027, these are 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 July and 7, 14, 21 and 28 August. It covers trucks over 7.5 tonnes and any truck with a trailer, in both directions. The Sunday ban continues as usual.

The summer ban applies only on the road sections that the regulation lists: 22 motorway sections and two federal roads. The list includes parts of the A 1, A 2, A 3, A 7, A 9 and A 10. The exemptions are close to those of the Sunday ban. The road traffic authorities can give an exemption permit in urgent cases, when no other transport is possible.

The Polish summer ban runs from the Friday on which school classes end to the last Sunday before classes start. The hours are 18:00 to 22:00 on Fridays, 08:00 to 14:00 on Saturdays and 08:00 to 22:00 on Sundays. Sunday 15 August is also a holiday, with the same 08:00 to 22:00 ban. On Saturday 14 August, the evening ban from 18:00 to 22:00 is added.

The Polish Ministry of Education published the calendar for the 2026/2027 school year. Classes end on Friday 25 June 2027, so the summer ban starts that day at 18:00. The calendar for 2027/2028 is not published yet. Under the current rule, classes start on the first weekday of September, which is Wednesday 1 September 2027. So the expected last ban day is Sunday 29 August 2027.

What the 2027 bans mean on RNJ Transport lanes

The effect depends on the route. A load from the Netherlands or Belgium to Lithuania or Latvia crosses Germany and Poland by road, so both sets of bans apply. Tell RNJ Transport the loading date and the latest delivery date. We plan the truck with the ban days, and you have one contact for the load.

Loads between Lithuania and Sweden on the ferry from Klaipėda cross neither Germany nor Poland. A day without a ban does not mean that the receiver is open. Check the public holidays in Lithuania and Latvia too.

• Easter, 26 to 29 March: Germany bans trucks on Friday, Sunday and Monday. Poland bans them from 18:00 to 22:00 on Saturday and from 08:00 to 22:00 on Sunday and Monday.
• May: Saturday 1 May is a ban day in both countries. Germany adds 6 and 17 May, and Poland adds 3 May. On 27 May, both countries have a ban, in Germany also in North Rhine-Westphalia.
• Summer: from 25 June to 29 August, a truck on the road through Poland meets the Polish weekend hours. In Germany, check on Saturdays from 3 July whether the route uses a listed motorway section.
• November: Monday 1 November is a ban day in Poland and in five German states, North Rhine-Westphalia among them. Poland also bans trucks on Thursday 11 November, and from 18:00 to 22:00 on 31 October and 10 November.
• Germany with the Baltic states: on the road through Poland, the bans of both countries apply. On the ferry route between Kiel and Klaipėda, only the German bans apply, on the German side.

Planning checklist for the 2027 ban days

Use these steps for a load that crosses Germany or Poland in 2027. They come from the ban dates in this post, not from a fixed transit time. Ask us for the transit time on your route.

1. 1

   Mark the ban days on your route

   Use the table above. Mark every Polish day, and the German days for the states on the route.

2. 2

   Check the evening before

   In Poland, trucks stop from 18:00 to 22:00 before most holidays, for example on 30 April and 10 November.

3. 3

   Plan the summer weekends

   From 25 June to 29 August 2027, plan with the Polish weekend hours. From 3 July to 28 August, check the German Saturdays.

4. 4

   Agree the delivery day

   Ask the receiver for the closed days. Public holidays in Lithuania and Latvia differ from those in Germany and Poland.

5. 5

   Book early

   Send the route, the loading date and the latest delivery date as soon as you know them.