The transport ticket — vervoerbewijs: the ticket the customer must receive after each trip

In Flanders, at the end of each trip the driver must hand over a transport ticket (vervoerbewijs). This is not a commercial detail: article 35 of the Flemish Government Decree of 9 June 2023 requires twelve mandatory mentions, hand-over without the customer asking, and a secure audit trail with the trip actually performed.

This guide covers who receives the ticket, the 12 mentions, collective trips, ancillary fees, digital delivery, the handwritten exception, and how it differs from an invoice, a payment proof and the duty sheet (dienststaat). For the overall contrast between the two documents, see also transport ticket and duty sheet.

The customer must not have to ask for a ticket

The text is clear: the ticket is given without the person concerned requesting it. Waiting until the customer says “can I have a receipt?” is not compliant. Hand-over is part of ending the trip, like payment or closing the trip in the equipment.

In practice: as soon as the trip ends, the system (app or taximeter / related equipment) must produce the ticket and make it available — paper, screen, PDF or email — so the customer actually receives it.

Who receives it: passenger or client?

The ticket goes to the person transported. If the client (who booked or pays) is not the person on board — typically B2B, a dispatch centre, a platform, a parent booking for someone else — the ticket goes to the client.

• classic trip: the passenger receives the ticket;
• reserved / third-party billed trip: the client (company, platform, ordering party) receives the ticket.

Do not confuse this with the duty sheet: that stays with the driver / operator. The transport ticket is the “customer-side” document.

The 12 mandatory mentions (article 35)

Each ticket must carry at least the following mentions, in an indelible form:

1. the mention “vervoerbewijs” (transport ticket);
2. the name or denomination of the operator, address, email and phone number;
3. the vehicle identification code, or the registration number for a reserve / replacement vehicle;
4. the number plate;
5. the driver’s first and last name;
6. the sequential trip number (ascending number);
7. the date and time of boarding and alighting;
8. the pick-up and drop-off places — or, if there are no street names, GPS coordinates and GPS format;
9. the number of kilometres driven;
10. the applied tariff;
11. the total price of the trip — or the price per person for a collective trip — preceded by “te betalen bedrag” / amount to pay;
12. the mention “klachten” (complaints), and where applicable the intermediary, contact details of the licensing municipality (and possibly the authorising municipality), and the complaints body.

An incomplete ticket (missing trip number, places or complaints info) is not compliant — even if it “looks like a receipt”.

Summary table of the 12 mentions

Collective trip

For a collective trip, mentions are provided per person transported — or per client if the client is not the person transported. The price (mention 11) is then the price per person, always preceded by “te betalen bedrag”.

One vague group ticket does not meet this requirement. Each relevant recipient must be able to identify their share and trip data.

Parking and toll fees: proof required

Extra costs linked to individual paid passenger transport (parking, road tolls, etc.) may be charged to the customer, provided the proof of those costs is supplied (article 35, § 2).

A “parking €8” line without a ticket or supporting document is not enough. Keep the proof with the transport ticket (or attach it to the PDF / email) so the customer can verify the amount.

Print or digital?

On-board equipment must be able to record, store and consult article 34 and 35 data securely (article 33). The ticket may therefore be digital — PDF, display, send — as long as:

• the 12 mentions are present and indelible;
• the customer actually receives it;
• a reliable audit trail links the ticket to the service delivered;
• data remain consultable and presentable on inspection.

Printing is not mandatory in itself. Handing over nothing, or “we might send it later”, is not compliant.

Email after the trip

An email (or in-app PDF) right after the trip is common and acceptable if the customer actually receives it and the content covers the 12 mentions. An email days later, rebuilt by hand, or never sent, does not replace hand-over at the end of the trip.

For B2B trips, the billing / client address must be that of the intended recipient — not a generic unread mailbox.

Handwritten exception (failure during the trip)

In principle, no handwritten transport ticket is allowed (article 35, § 1). Article 42, § 3 provides a limited derogation: if during the trip a failure prevents delivering the ticket another way, the driver issues a handwritten ticket with all article 35, § 1 data.

Afterwards the vehicle may not carry new customers while that impossibility persists. This is not a daily shortcut “to go faster”.

It is not an invoice

The transport ticket is an obligation under Flemish taxi regulation. An invoice follows separate commercial and tax rules (VAT mentions, invoice number, customer identity, etc.). A compliant vervoerbewijs is not automatically a valid invoice — and vice versa.

Do not label an incomplete ticket as “invoice”, and do not assume an invoice alone waives the transport ticket.

When an invoice is also needed (B2B, Peppol 2026)

For many private trips, the ticket is enough for taxi regulation. As soon as the relationship is B2B (company client, corporate account, periodic billing), a Belgian-compliant invoice may also be required.

Since 2026, structured B2B e-invoicing (Peppol / Belgian obligations) applies progressively between businesses. The transport ticket does not replace that structured electronic invoice. Treat both flows: ticket (taxi) + invoice (tax / commercial) when the context requires it.

Not necessarily a payment proof

The ticket describes the trip and the amount to pay. It does not automatically prove that payment was received (cash, card, transfer, platform balance). Payment proof remains a separate document or flow (terminal ticket, statement, platform confirmation).

Prepaid trip

Advance payment (fixed fare, prepaid, credit) does not waive the transport ticket. Payment and transport are separate: the ticket is produced when the trip has actually been carried out, with that trip’s times, places, kilometres and final price.

Consistency with the duty sheet (dienststaat)

Ticket data must match the duty sheet for the same driver / vehicle / trip: number, times, places, km, price. A “polished” ticket for the customer and a different sheet for inspection is a major risk.

For a street taxi day, see the dedicated guide. For the licence file and templates: TaxiGer for a licence application.

7-year retention

The operator (and any intermediary) keep the secured data of articles 34 and 35 for seven years (article 36). They must be able to retrieve them (date, number, driver, vehicle, trip) and present them to competent officers.

“It’s on the driver’s phone” is not a company retention strategy.

Presenting the ticket on inspection

On request by competent staff and officers, the driver must be able to present the secured data of articles 34 and 35 (article 36, § 1). Readable, understandable form, identical to the original data — even if storage is digital in Belgium or abroad.

The most common mistakes

• Waiting for the customer to ask — hand-over is mandatory by default.
• Missing mentions — especially trip number, places, complaints.
• Handwritten tickets every day — only the article 42 failure case.
• Confusing with invoice or payment proof — three documents / roles.
• Prepaid without a ticket — the transport ticket remains due.
• Inconsistency with the duty sheet or Chiron — Chiron does not replace the customer ticket.
• Ancillary fees without proof — parking / toll without justification.

Operator checklist — 12 points

A short review, regularly:

1. does every trip have a ticket handed over without request?
2. is the recipient correct (passenger vs client)?
3. are all 12 mentions present?
4. is the sequential number ascending and unique?
5. are places / GPS and times coherent?
6. do km, tariff and price match the trip?
7. is the “klachten” block complete (intermediary, municipality, body)?
8. collective trips: mentions per person / client?
9. parking / toll: proof attached?
10. digital: did the customer actually receive the PDF / email?
11. consistency with the same day’s duty sheet?
12. 7-year archive: tickets findable by date / no. / driver / vehicle?

What to remember — three distinct documents

Do not mix up:

• Transport ticket (vervoerbewijs) — one trip, given to client / passenger, 12 mentions, article 35;
• Duty sheet (dienststaat) — the driver’s whole duty period, article 34;
• Chiron messages — administrative trip reporting — replaces neither the ticket nor the duty sheet.

Invoice and payment proof may be added commercially, without replacing the transport ticket.

Go further: the Documents hub, ticket and duty sheet, and duty sheet required data.

FAQ

Official sources

• Flemish Government Decree of 9 June 2023 — articles 33, 35, 36 and 42
• Flemish Decree of 29 March 2019 — individual paid passenger transport
• Official note accompanying the Decree of 9 June 2023
• FPS Finance — Accounting and invoicing
• FPS Economy — Functions and general invoice rules
• eFacture Belgium — B2B obligation since 2026
• eFacture Belgium — General B2B questions