Trip order: which vehicles require one and which do not

There is persistent confusion around the trip order. Some carriers are convinced that every vehicle in the company must have one, others think it has been abolished. Neither is true. The obligation exists, but it is tied to precisely defined types of vehicles and precisely defined operators.

Who must issue a trip order

The obligation is tied to passenger transport. In practice this means:

• Buses used for transport, regardless of whether the carrier is a company, another legal entity or an entrepreneur.
• Passenger vehicles of state administration bodies, autonomous province bodies and local self-government units, institutions and associations, when used for transport.

Who does not have to

The law provides for exceptions, and this is where most of the confusion arises:

• Freight vehicles. The transport of goods is regulated by the Law on the Transport of Goods in Road Traffic, which prescribes different documentation.
• Passenger vehicles of companies used for transport for their own needs.
• Taxi vehicles.
• Vehicles of private individuals for their own needs.

What a trip order must contain

When it is mandatory, a trip order is not a free-form document. It must contain, among other things:

• the trip order number, place and date of issue;
• the carrier's business name, registered office and address;
• the driver's first and last name and their signature;
• the vehicle's make, type and registration plates;
• the route and departure and arrival times;
• the odometer reading at the start and end;
• the signature of the person authorized to issue it;
• data on the distance covered and fuel consumption;
• notes on breakdowns and delays.

A trip order is issued for one or more journeys and may be used for a maximum of 30 days from the date of issue.

Trip order template to download

So that you do not have to draw up the form yourself, we prepared one from the list above. Page one is the trip order with a table for up to ten journeys, page two is the register of issued orders. It is free and there is no sign-up. The template is in Serbian, as it is used in Serbia.

The template is for information and follows the Rulebook on the content, issuing and keeping of trip orders; check the current version before use.

Records are kept for five years

Besides the order itself, the carrier also keeps a record of issued trip orders. It contains the order number, place and date of issue, the vehicle's make, type and registration plates, the driver's first and last name, and the name of the person authorized to issue it.

The record may be kept in written or electronic form and is retained for five years from the date of issue. The electronic form is explicitly permitted, which means paper pads are not the only option.

Fines

It is worth paying attention to the wording: a fine also applies to an order that exists but has not been filled in properly. Blank fields, an unsigned order or an uncertified document are treated the same as if there were no order at all.

Where mistakes are most often made in practice

1. The order is filled in retroactively. Mileage is entered from memory at the end of the month, so it does not match anything.
2. The 30-day deadline is exceeded. The same order is used for months because no one tracks the date of issue.
3. The signature is missing. The order is in order, but no one has signed or certified it.
4. No records exist. Orders are issued, but the required record of them is not kept, which is a separate offense.

How this can be simplified

Since the electronic form is allowed, most of these mistakes disappear once data is not copied by hand. Mileage, the route, and departure and arrival times are already recorded in the vehicle tracking system anyway, so the order can be filled in from that data instead of from memory.

We describe what this looks like in practice on the Trip order page. If you also need task records per driver, there is the Work order, and for moving from paper to electronic form, the Document digitization page.

Frequently asked questions