How long do you have to keep tachograph records for the authorities?
Irish law, requires drivers of goods and passenger vehicles to carry the last 28 days’ of tachograph records on their person. These records include manual entries, digital driver cards, holiday records, charts, and so on. Records beyond this immediate 28-day period must be handed over to the transport manager at the earliest opportunity.
There are two types of tachograph – analogue and digital – and transport operators are required to keep both records for at least one year to comply with EU Driving Time Regulation EC NO. 561/2006 and the use of digital tachographs – Regulation EU NO. 165/2014 and increased to two years for Road Transport Regulation – EU Working Time Directive EC NO. 2002/15. However tachograph records for tax purposes must be kept for six years as they form part of the books and records of the transport operator’s business.
Tranport operators must use tachographs if the vehicles they use are cobered by EU or AETR rules, and must be able to download digital tachograph data from driver cards whenever requested. This data must then be downloaded from driver cards at least every 28 calendar days and from vehicle units at least every 90 calendar days. Failure to install, retain or hand over tachograph records can result in a fine of up to € 5,000.
Failure to download driver card data every 28 days and tachograph data on a quarterly basis, will result in fines of up to € 1,500 per month.
RSA – For the RSA you must be able to produce one year of tachograph and driver card data files. (there will be a change in Q3 2024 – increase from one to two years of data retention)
WRC and Labour Court – You must be able to produce two years of tachograph and driver card data files for the WRC and the Labour Court.
Revenue – For Professional Driver Subsistence you must keep the tachograph data and driver card data for six years after the end of the tax year to which the records relate.
Revenue update January 2024 – open/download the Revenue PDF now
For many years there has been an agreement between the Revenue and the transport industry in respect of professional driver expenses.
This manual sets out the terms of that agreement. The retention period for records is six years from the end of the tax year to which the records relate. […]
How to take a backup of your driver card and the tachograph data files in proDRIVERS IDHA