Fleet management software with enaio: vehicle files, deadlines and records

The keeper is whoever uses a vehicle on their own account and has control over it. For company vehicles, this is generally the company, including leased vehicles registered to the company. Under Section 21(1) no. 2 of the German Road Traffic Act (StVG), the keeper commits a criminal offence if they order or permit someone to drive the vehicle who does not hold the required driving licence or is subject to a driving ban. Under Section 21(2) StVG, negligent commission is also punishable. Regular checks follow from this keeper liability.

There is no fixed check interval in the law, and there is no supreme court case law on it so far. In practice, many companies check every six months. In 2025, the Bundesrat (German Federal Council) introduced a bill to limit keepers' obligations when checking driving licences (Bundestag printed paper 21/1386). Under the bill, a one-off presentation would suffice as long as there is no specific reason for a new check. Clarify the current status before you set your interval.

The UVV inspection derives from the accident prevention regulation for vehicles, DGUV Regulation 70 of the German Social Accident Insurance. Under Section 57(1), the employer must have vehicles inspected by a competent person for safe operating condition as required, but at least once a year. A competent person is someone who, through training and experience, has sufficient knowledge of vehicle technology and the relevant regulations.

Under Section 57(2), the results must be recorded in writing and kept at least until the next inspection. Both road safety and occupational safety are inspected. For cars, according to the implementation guidelines, a defect-free manufacturer service by an authorised specialist workshop can replace the inspection if it also confirms occupational safety. The procedure is described in DGUV Principle 314-003 on inspecting vehicles for operational safety.

The deadlines for the HU roadworthiness test are set out in Section 29 of the German Road Vehicle Licensing Regulations (StVZO) and its Annex VIII. They depend on vehicle type and weight, which is why the vehicle class belongs in every vehicle file as metadata:

If you combine HU, UVV inspection and service in a single workshop appointment, you reduce downtime. For this, all deadlines must be visible in the same file.

Under Section 35 of DGUV Regulation 70, the employer may only entrust employees with driving motor vehicles independently if they are at least 18 years old, physically and mentally fit, have been instructed in driving the vehicle and have demonstrated their ability. They must also be expressly appointed by the employer. Written authorisation is considered advisable.

Under Section 4(1) of DGUV Regulation 1, the safety briefing must be repeated as required, but at least once a year, and documented. For the fleet solution, this means that authorisation and briefing are separate document types with due dates, linked to the driver.

Driving licence data, damage reports and traffic fine proceedings are personal data. Under the principle of data minimisation in Art. 5(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you only store what the check requires. A log with date, classes, validity and checking person is often sufficient. Clarify with your data protection officer whether a copy is needed.

Wherever a works council (Betriebsrat) exists, electronic verification processes and vehicle data that can be used to evaluate employees' behaviour or performance generally require its co-determination under Section 87(1) no. 6 of the German Works Constitution Act (BetrVG). The overarching rules on access rights and retention periods are described on our page on GDPR-compliant document management.