A German Mietwagen (private hire car with driver) operator must record the receipt of every order at the registered base or at home – on paper or electronically, apps included – and keep it for one year (§ 49(4) PBefG). For the tax office you also log every trip individually: start, distance, destination, fare and payment method. The template below lists every column.
New operators usually hear about a “Fahrtenbuch” (trip log). In practice two authorities expect records, and they overlap.
A Mietwagen may only carry out orders received at the operator's Betriebssitz (registered base) or home. You must record that receipt “buchmäßig oder elektronisch (auch mittels appbasierten Systems)” – in a book or electronically, app-based systems included.
§ 49(4) PBefG · Statute (German)
Each transaction is recorded on its own. The record must show starting point, route length, destination, fare and payment method.
Lower Saxony tax office, leaflet for taxi and Mietwagen businesses (March 2020) · PDF (German)
The PBefG requires one year. Because the order is needed to understand the transaction, the tax authorities treat it as tax-relevant: keep it for at least 6 years.
Leaflets from Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania · § 147 Fiscal Code (AO)
One row brings together an order and the trip that served it. The entries are made up.
| Date | Order received | Channel | Pickup | Destination | Vehicle | Driver | Start / end | km | Fare | Payment | Return / next order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Oct 2026 | 07:42 | Phone at the base | Lindenweg 4 | Station, main entrance | XY-AB 101 | Owner | 07:55 – 08:14 | 11.4 | 24.90 | cash | Back at 08:31 |
| 14 Oct 2026 | 09:03 | Uber (app) | Marktplatz 2 | Hospital, building C | XY-AB 102 | Driver 2 | 09:12 – 09:29 | 8.7 | 18.60 | card (app) | Next order 09:24 |
| 14 Oct 2026 | 09:24 | Bolt (app) | Hospital, main entrance | Business park north | XY-AB 102 | Driver 2 | 09:35 – 09:58 | 14.2 | 27.30 | card (app) | open – check |
Why there is no Excel file to download: both tax leaflets state plainly that the required record “nicht durch Führung der Beförderungsaufträge in einer EXCEL-Tabelle erfüllt werden” kann – it cannot be met by keeping orders in an Excel spreadsheet. A download would give you false comfort. Use the template as a checklist for a bound book or an electronic system.
When you drive yourself, take calls on the way and run Uber and Bolt side by side, writing things down is the first thing to go. These gaps show up in any audit:
Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) upheld the return-to-base rule (I ZR 123/25). A subcontractor's car doing Uber X trips waited at Breslauer Platz in Cologne from 10:10 to 10:22 on 19 January 2023. A test order at 10:13 was accepted and immediately cancelled. A Cologne taxi cooperative won its injunction.
The lesson: if you can show to the minute when an order came in and whether the car went back afterwards, you are on much firmer ground.
BGH press release no. 100/2026 · Source (German)
If the individual records are not in order, the tax office may estimate your revenue. Breaches of the recording or retention duties can be fined as an administrative offence under § 379 AO, up to €25,000. Repeated or serious breaches are reported to the licensing authority that issued your Konzession.
Leaflet for Mietwagen businesses, MV finance ministry · PDF (German) · § 379 AO
No more typing up notes at night. Orders and trips land where you already work:
Record direct bookings from regular customers in one place and pass them to the right driver. Each order is stamped with the date and time it came in.
Connect your Uber Fleet and Bolt Fleet accounts. App trips sit next to your direct orders in the same view.
After every trip you see whether the car went back or had a follow-up order. Open cases are flagged so you can sort them out.
Even if it's just your own car and you: enter vehicles, drivers and your base once.
Connect the platform accounts. From then on, trips arrive automatically.
Enter and forward direct orders. You also see revenue per driver and car, cost per kilometre and upcoming deadlines.
from $5.99 per driver/month
| You as a driver | from $5.99 |
| + 2 part-time drivers | from $11.98 |
| 3 drivers, per month | from $17.97 |
Fictional example for illustration.
Mietwagen and taxi operators already run drivers, cars and platform data on this software.
to a complete overview – no more spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups.
a month instead of about 5 hours a week: the timesheet work one operator saved after switching.
Yes. Under § 49(4) of the German Passenger Transport Act (PBefG), you must record the receipt of every transport order at your registered base (Betriebssitz) or your home, on paper or electronically, including through an app-based system, and keep the record for one year.
The PBefG says one year. The tax administrations of Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania point out in their guidance leaflets that the order is relevant for tax purposes and must be kept for at least 6 years. Plan for at least 6 years.
According to the leaflets of the Lower Saxony tax office (Landesamt für Steuern Niedersachsen) and the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania finance ministry, keeping orders in an Excel spreadsheet does not fulfil the function of the required record. That is why this page offers no Excel template, only a list of the columns your record should contain.
Every transaction must be recorded individually. According to the Lower Saxony tax office, the record must show the starting point, the length of the route, the destination, the fare and the payment method. The Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania leaflet also lists start and end of the trip with date and time, trip type, total amount, VAT rate and, where relevant, tips.
Yes. § 49(4) PBefG explicitly allows electronic recording, including through app-based systems, but the duty covers every transport order. The return-to-base rule (Rückkehrpflicht) applies too: Germany's Federal Court of Justice confirmed it on 3 June 2026 (I ZR 123/25) in a case involving Uber X trips.
From $5.99 per driver per month, so a one-car business where the owner drives starts at $5.99 a month. Setup takes about 48 hours, and there is a 2-day free trial with no credit card required.
Whether you are still applying for your Konzession (operating licence) or already on the road: we'll show you how orders and trips end up in one place.
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