Cargo Liability Limits for Road Carriers in France

This article describes French and international road haulage liability rules as they apply under French law. When a road carrier loses or damages goods, it does not have to compensate their real value: French law and international convention cap the carrier's liability at a fixed amount per kilogram, often far below the value of the cargo. On domestic routes within France, the cap comes from the contrat type général de transport (France's default statutory road haulage contract, applied when no derogating written agreement exists); on international routes, it comes from the CMR Convention. Either way, the gap between the statutory compensation and the goods' real value falls on the customer unless a value has been declared or specific insurance is in place.

The essentials

• On a domestic French shipment with no derogating written agreement, carrier liability is capped at €20/kg (up to €3,200 per tonne) for shipments of 3 tonnes or more, and €33/kg (up to €1,000 per package) below 3 tonnes (Décret n° 2017-461 of 31 March 2017, in force since 1 May 2017).
• On international road haulage, the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR, Geneva, 19 May 1956, as amended by the Protocol of 5 July 1978) caps compensation at 8.33 units of account (Special Drawing Rights, SDR) per kilogram of missing gross weight.
• These caps are lifted in case of the carrier's dol (fraud/wilful misconduct) or faute inexcusable (inexcusable fault), or if the shipper declared a value or a special interest in delivery on the consignment note, against an extra premium.
• No French or international rule requires the carrier to hold insurance that closes this gap: RC marchandises transportées (carrier's cargo liability cover) is a commercial decision, not to be confused with the optional "cargo/faculty insurance" a shipper can take out independently.

What is the compensation cap for domestic French transport?

Since 1 May 2017, the contrat type général de transport (Décret n° 2017-461 of 31 March 2017) applies by default to any domestic French road freight shipment for which the parties have not signed a derogating written agreement. It sets two tiers based on shipment weight.

For a shipment of 3 tonnes or more, compensation is capped at €20 per kilogram of lost or damaged goods, up to €3,200 per tonne. For a shipment under 3 tonnes, the cap is €33 per kilogram, up to €1,000 per package. These amounts apply to proven, direct and foreseeable damage: the carrier does not have to compensate indirect loss (lost business, penalties owed to the end customer) beyond this framework unless the contract says otherwise.

A commonly misunderstood point: this regime is not mandatory in the sense of being unavoidable. The parties can sign a written agreement setting different limits, higher or lower within certain legal bounds. In the absence of such a written agreement, the contrat type applies automatically — including in cases where nobody thought about liability limits when booking the transport.

What is the compensation cap for international road transport?

As soon as a road shipment crosses a border between two states that have ratified the convention, the CMR Convention of 19 May 1956 applies instead of the French domestic contrat type. Its Article 23, as amended by the Geneva Protocol of 5 July 1978, caps compensation at 8.33 units of account per kilogram of the gross weight of goods lost or damaged. The unit of account is the Special Drawing Right (SDR) issued by the International Monetary Fund, whose euro value changes daily.

This cap applies regardless of whether the goods are worth ten times or a hundred times that amount: the CMR makes no distinction based on the nature of the goods, except where a value has been declared (see below). This is why a shipment of high-value electronics or industrial parts lost in international transit is compensated far below its purchase price if no specific arrangement was made beforehand.

Domestic versus international: what actually changes

	Domestic transport (contrat type)	International transport (CMR)
Governing text	Décret n° 2017-461 of 31 March 2017	CMR Convention of 19 May 1956, Protocol of 5 July 1978
Cap ≥ 3 tonnes	€20/kg, capped at €3,200/tonne	8.33 SDR/kg, no tonnage distinction
Cap < 3 tonnes	€33/kg, capped at €1,000/package	8.33 SDR/kg
When the cap is lifted	Fraud, inexcusable fault, derogating written agreement	Fraud, fault equivalent to fraud, declared value
Nature of the text	French regulatory default (can be contracted around)	Ratified international treaty

Does this cap reflect the real value of the goods?

No, and that is exactly the difficulty for the business shipping or carrying the goods. The statutory or conventional cap is calculated by weight, not by value. A 200 kg pallet of electronic components can be worth tens of thousands of euros: in the event of total loss on an international shipment, the compensation owed by the carrier under the CMR caps out around 1,666 SDR (200 × 8.33) — a fraction of the real value, once the SDR is converted into euros.

This gap is not a loophole or a flaw: it is the deliberate design of these limited-liability regimes, meant to keep the carrier's risk insurable at a reasonable cost in exchange for predictability for every party involved. The practical consequence is that both the shipper and the carrier need to ask who covers the remaining balance, rather than discovering the gap after a claim.

How can this cap be legally exceeded?

Two mechanisms allow a party to move beyond the statutory or conventional cap, and neither is automatic.

The first is a declared value: the shipper writes the goods' real value on the consignment note (or CMR waybill for international shipments), against payment of an extra premium to the carrier. If a claim arises, compensation is then due up to the declared value rather than the statutory cap. The CMR equivalent is a declared special interest in delivery, which covers loss beyond the mere value of the goods (for example a contractual penalty tied to a delay).

The second is establishing a qualified fault by the carrier: dol (fraud) or faute inexcusable (inexcusable fault) under French domestic law, or fault equivalent to dol under the CMR (that is, negligence so serious it reflects indifference to the likely consequences, with knowledge of the risk). In that case, case law strips the carrier of the benefit of the liability cap, and it must compensate the full proven loss. This route depends on a case-by-case judicial assessment and cannot be secured in advance by contract.

What insurance covers the gap between the cap and the real value?

No French or international rule requires a road carrier to hold cargo liability insurance: the statutory requirement concerns the financial capacity tied to the transport licence, not a cargo liability policy as such. In practice, nearly all professional carriers take out RC marchandises transportées cover, which compensates their customers within the limits of their statutory or conventional liability — so within the same caps detailed above, not beyond them, unless a specific extension has been negotiated with the insurer.

For a shipper wanting to cover the difference between the cap and the real value of its goods, the answer generally does not lie with the carrier's insurance, but with faculty (cargo) insurance taken out independently of the transport contract and set against the real value of the goods shipped. The choice between strengthening the carrier's cover, making a one-off declared-value arrangement, or taking out a faculty policy depends on shipment frequency, unit value of the goods, and each company's risk profile, depending on its situation.

Frequently asked questions

Does the CMR cap also apply to combined rail-road transport?

The applicable regime depends on which mode of transport was actually responsible for the damage. If the loss or damage occurred during the road leg and its location can be established, the CMR applies to that leg; if the location cannot be established with certainty, a specific combined-transport regime may apply depending on the conventions in force for each mode.

Can a carrier contractually reduce the €20/kg limit even further?

For domestic French transport, a written agreement between the parties can derogate from the contrat type, including setting different limits. Such clauses must remain lawful and cannot, in practice, fully exonerate the carrier from liability in case of gross fault or fraud.

Does declaring a value always increase the price of transport?

Yes. A declared value triggers an extra premium paid by the shipper, set by the carrier based on the additional risk accepted. It must be formally recorded on the transport document to have legal effect.

What happens if no limit is mentioned on the consignment note?

The absence of a mention does not mean there is no cap: without a declared value or special interest explicitly recorded on the document, the default statutory or conventional cap applies — the contrat type domestically, the CMR internationally.

What McLer does

McLer is an insurance brokerage specialised in corporate risk for the road haulage and construction sectors. Based in the Paris region, McLer supports French SMEs and mid-sized companies (PME et ETI, France's standard categories for small-to-medium and mid-sized enterprises) in structuring, negotiating and managing their insurance programmes. As part of its work in French road haulage insurance, McLer helps carriers align their cargo liability cover with the reality of their shipments, and helps shippers assess whether faculty insurance is relevant to their activity.

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