Transport ticket and duty sheet in Flanders: what are the real obligations?

In Flanders, two regulatory documents structure every taxi day: the duty sheet (dienststaat) and the transport ticket (vervoerbewijs).

They are often confused with “the route sheet” or “the ticket”. They are not the same thing. One follows the driver’s entire day; the other is given to the customer after each trip. Both are mandatory — and Chiron replaces neither.

The duty sheet: the full day record

The duty sheet (dienststaat) reconstructs the period between starting and ending the duty: who drove, with which vehicle, at what times, with which breaks, how many trips, which distances (total and with passenger) and which prices.

Depending on whether the vehicle runs with an app or an approved taximeter, GPS locations or taximeter totalisers are added. See the dedicated guides for a street taxi and for a rank taxi.

So it is not a simple list of invoices. It is proof of the entire working day.

The transport ticket: one ticket per trip

The transport ticket (vervoerbewijs) covers one trip. It must be given to the passenger — or to the customer if they are not the person transported — without them asking, at the end of the trip.

It must include at least:

• the wording “vervoerbewijs” / transport ticket;
• the operator (name, address, email, phone);
• the vehicle and plate;
• the driver;
• the sequential trip number;
• pick-up and drop-off times and places;
• kilometres, the fare applied and the total price;
• complaints information.

A handwritten ticket is in principle not allowed. Data must be recorded securely, with a reliable link between the ticket and the trip actually performed.

The difference in one sentence

The duty sheet tells the driver’s day; the transport ticket tells one trip to the customer.

Example

A driver starts at 7 a.m. and finishes at 4 p.m. During that period they complete eight trips.

• 1 duty sheet for the whole day (start, breaks, eight trips, distances, prices, end);
• 8 transport tickets, one given to each customer at the end of their trip.

If eight trips are correctly sent to Chiron but no ticket was given, or the duty sheet is incomplete, an inspection can still find a breach.

When must the duty sheet be created?

As soon as the duty starts. The driver opens their duty in the equipment (app or taximeter / linked software) before starting work. Start data — driver, vehicle, time, mileage, location or totalisers — must be recorded at that moment.

During the day the duty sheet evolves: breaks, trips, distances, prices. At the end it is closed with the end time and totals.

Manually creating “the sheet” in the evening or at month-end from memory does not meet the requirement of secure recording during the duty.

When must the transport ticket be generated?

At the end of each trip, before the customer leaves. It must be given without a prior request — paper, email, SMS or another readable channel, depending on what the system allows, but the customer must actually receive it.

Waiting until the end of the day to “generate tickets afterwards” is not enough if the customer received nothing at the time of the trip.

Must the driver print the documents?

Not necessarily. The rules require data recorded, stored and consultable securely, presentable in a readable form identical to the original data — from the vehicle, even if the data are stored elsewhere in Belgium or abroad.

Printing remains useful for the ticket given to the customer when they prefer paper. But the core obligation is not “print everything”: it is to record, retain, present and hand over the ticket.

Is a PDF created after the day enough?

No, on its own. A PDF generated in the evening or the following month from free-form notes is not the same as secure recording during the duty.

A PDF can be a readable presentation of data already recorded — provided it faithfully reproduces those original data and the system keeps the secure evidence (integrity, origin, link to the trip).

The driver must be able to consult their duty sheet

The driver may generate a copy of the duty sheet for themselves. On-board equipment must allow the data to be presented on request by competent officers, in a readable and understandable form.

In practice: the driver must not depend on a closed office or an inaccessible file from the vehicle when an inspection happens during the duty.

How long must the documents be retained?

Seven years. The operator and any intermediary keep the secured duty-sheet and transport-ticket data, and present them on request by the competent officers.

Why are these documents required for a licence?

For an IBP licence application in Flanders, the municipality or Centaurus often asks for a sample duty sheet and a sample transport ticket. The aim is to check that the chosen software or equipment can actually produce these regulatory documents.

See TaxiGer for a licence application.

Note: older references mentioned articles 33 and 34 of the 2019 decree. In the Flemish Government Decree of 9 June 2023 currently in force, the rules appear mainly in articles 33 to 36: secured equipment (art. 33), duty-sheet content (art. 34), transport ticket (art. 35), presentation and seven-year retention (art. 36).

Does Chiron replace these documents?

No. Chiron is the central trip database: the operator sends trip messages there for the administration. The duty sheet documents the driver’s day; the transport ticket is for the customer.

A trip correctly sent to Chiron does not prove that a ticket was handed over, nor that a complete duty sheet was built. They are complementary obligations. See also street or rank taxi.

Who must make sure everything works?

• The driver — starts and closes the duty, manages trips and ticket handovers, presents data during an inspection.
• The operator — chooses compliant equipment, trains drivers, checks that documents are produced and kept for seven years, ensures Chiron transmission.
• The software provider — supplies a tool able to record and present the data correctly; it does not replace the operator’s regulatory responsibility.

Mistakes to avoid

• confusing Chiron, duty sheet and transport ticket;
• handing over the ticket only if the customer asks;
• rebuilding the sheet at month-end without recording during the duty;
• being unable to present the data from the vehicle;
• forgetting seven-year retention;
• thinking a sample provided for the licence is enough for the whole operating period.

Test checklist (8 steps)

1. Start a duty with the correct driver and vehicle.
2. Check that start data are recorded.
3. Complete a trip end to end.
4. Generate and hand over a transport ticket to the customer.
5. Check that the duty sheet contains that trip (times, places, price, distance).
6. Present the data in readable form from the vehicle (as in an inspection).
7. Close the duty and verify end totals.
8. Confirm archives remain consultable and the trip is linked to Chiron where applicable.

What an operator should remember

Two documents, two audiences, two moments: the duty sheet for the day and inspections; the transport ticket for each customer at the end of their trip. Data must be secured, consultable and kept for seven years. Chiron completes the administrative framework; it does not replace it.

Dig deeper in the taxi documents hub and TaxiGer features.

FAQ

Official sources

• Flemish Government Decree of 9 June 2023 — operating conditions
• Flemish Decree of 29 March 2019 — individual paid passenger transport
• Vlaanderen.be — Licence for taxi services
• Vlaanderen.be — Chiron trip database