The duty sheet — dienststaat: what data to record during a taxi day?

In Flanders, the duty sheet (dienststaat) is not a simple list of bookings. Article 34 of the Flemish Government Decree of 9 June 2023 requires a precise set of data at the start, during and at the end of a driver’s duty.

Those data must reconstruct the whole day: who drove, which vehicle, at what times, with which breaks, how many trips, which distances (total and with passenger) and which prices. Depending on the equipment — app or approved taximeter — GPS location or taximeter totalised values are added.

This guide details every mandatory field. For the contrast with the transport ticket given to the customer, see transport ticket and duty sheet. Per taxi type: street taxi and rank taxi.

The sheet follows a full duty — not a calendar day

The duty sheet is tied to a duty: the period between the start and the effective end of a driver’s activity with a given vehicle. It is not automatically “midnight to midnight”, nor necessarily one calendar day.

If two drivers use the same vehicle on the same day, there are two separate duty sheets.

Example

Vehicle TX-123-ABC is driven in the morning by Sophie (7:00 → 14:00), then in the afternoon by Marc (14:30 → 22:00).

• 1 duty sheet for Sophie (her hours, breaks, trips, distances, prices) ;
• 1 duty sheet for Marc, with his own data.

Mixing both on one sheet, or letting Marc drive on Sophie’s open duty, corrupts the driver / vehicle / trip attribution.

Start of duty: what must be recorded

When the duty is opened, the equipment must securely record:

• the operator’s name or trading name, address, e-mail and phone ;
• the date ;
• the vehicle identification code (or registration number for a reserve / replacement vehicle) ;
• the number plate ;
• the driver’s first and last name ;
• the start time of the driver’s duty ;
• the vehicle mileage at the start of the duty ;
• and either the location, or the taximeter totalised values (see below).

Starting to drive without opening the duty, or with the wrong driver / vehicle, already compromises the whole sheet.

Location or taximeter: choice by equipment

At the start of the duty (and then for each trip), article 34 requires one of these two options:

1. Equipment other than a taximeter (typically a street-taxi app): the vehicle location at the start of the duty, and at the start and end of each trip.
2. European-approved taximeter (typical rank taxi): the totalised values under Annex IX of the Royal Decree of 15 April 2016 on measuring instruments.

For totalisers and TaxiGer’s role versus the taximeter, see TaxiGer and rank-taxi taximeter.

During the duty

During the day, the duty sheet keeps building. It must notably include:

• the times of breaks actually taken ;
• the number of trips completed since the start of the duty ;
• the final price of each trip ;
• the number of pick-ups (opnemingen) ;
• the total distance driven ;
• the distance driven with a passenger on board (beladen afstand) ;
• and again: start/end locations of each trip, or taximeter totalised values, depending on equipment.

Breaks are not optional “if you remember”: the hours of rest actually taken are part of the document.

Taximeter case: totalisers, not per-trip GPS

For a rank taxi, it is not the GPS coordinates of each trip that complete the common core, but the taximeter’s cumulative counters (total distance, “hired” distance, number of trips, amounts of extras and fares, etc.).

Those values are read at the start and end of the duty; they are not reset every morning. A management app can display and attach them to the duty, but it does not replace the approved instrument. See duty sheet for a rank taxi.

End of duty

At close-out, the duty sheet must include:

• the date and time of the effective end of the duty ;
• the total number of trips since the start ;
• the agreed price and the final price of each trip ;
• the number of pick-ups ;
• the total distance and the distance with passengers ;
• and again: start/end locations of each trip, or totalised values at the end.

Closing the app without closing the duty leaves an open sheet — a classic inspection issue.

Final mileage: mandatory or good practice?

The text explicitly requires mileage at the start and the total distance driven. A separate final odometer reading can help check consistency, but is not listed as a separate mandatory field next to start mileage.

Agreed price vs final price

At the end of the duty, article 34 clearly distinguishes:

• the agreed price (prijsafspraak) — what was announced or agreed ;
• the final price (eindprijs) — the amount actually charged.

During the duty, the text already targets the final price per trip. Both amounts must be able to appear in the duty sheet at close-out. Any gap (discount, correction, flat fare vs taximeter) must stay traceable.

Must everything be filled in manually?

No. The obligation concerns the result: data recorded securely, consultable and presentable in a readable form, identical to the original data.

A good app can automate date, GPS, kilometres, prices, totals and totalisers. The driver mainly needs to start and close the duty, select the right vehicle, and manage breaks and trips. Manually creating “the sheet” in the evening from memory does not meet the requirement to record during the duty.

Secure data and presentation

On-board equipment must securely record, store and consult the data. During an inspection, the driver must be able to present them in a readable and understandable form, identical to the original data — even if they are stored digitally in Belgium or abroad.

Driver’s own copy

Article 34 expressly provides that the driver may generate a copy of the duty sheet for themselves. That is not the transport ticket for the customer: it is a copy of their duty sheet.

Retention for 7 years

The operator (and any intermediary) must keep the secure duty-sheet data — and transport-ticket data — for seven years, and be able to present them to the competent officers.

Not sent to the customer

The duty sheet is not the document given to the passenger. The customer receives the transport ticket (vervoerbewijs) at the end of the trip, without asking for it. Confusing the two documents is a common — and risky — mistake.

This is not Chiron

Chiron receives trip messages for the Flemish administration. A trip correctly sent to Chiron does not guarantee a complete duty sheet, nor a transport ticket given to the customer. These are complementary obligations.

The easiest mistakes to avoid

• Driving without starting the duty — hours, mileage and first trips mis-attributed.
• Wrong vehicle or wrong driver.
• Forgetting breaks, or trip start/end.
• Never closing the day.
• Correcting without a trail.
• Confusing with Chiron or the customer ticket.

Operator daily check — 10 points

1. have all drivers started and ended their duty?
2. are the selected vehicles correct?
3. is start mileage present?
4. does every trip have a start and an end?
5. are locations (app) or totalisers (taximeter) available?
6. are total and passenger distances coherent?
7. are final prices (and agreed prices at close-out) recorded?
8. are breaks declared?
9. have data been sent to Chiron?
10. can sheets be opened, presented and downloaded?

What to remember

The duty sheet follows one driver and one vehicle from start to end of duty. Start: operator, date, vehicle, driver, time, mileage, GPS or totalisers. During: breaks, trips, final prices, pick-ups, distances, locations or taximeter. End: full close-out with agreed and final price. Keep for 7 years. Distinct from the transport ticket and from Chiron.

Go further: the Documents hub and TaxiGer for the licence file.

FAQ

Official sources

• Flemish Government Decree of 9 June 2023 — articles 33, 34 and 36
• Flemish Decree of 29 March 2019 — individual paid passenger transport
• Vlaanderen.be — Licence application for taxi services
• Royal Decree of 15 April 2016 — measuring instruments, Annex IX (taximeters)
• FPS Economy — Checking and verifying taximeters