How long to keep the route sheet in Spain: the file and the link
In Spain, the electronic route sheet (hoja de ruta) must be kept for at least one year. The resolution that regulates its format requires passenger transport companies to keep the generated files for at least one year, and the order governing the route sheet sets that year from the date each service was carried out, at the disposal of the inspectorate. The download link is a different matter: it has to work until the service ends and may be deactivated after seven calendar days.
These are two separate time limits and it pays not to mix them up: deactivating the link is not deleting the file. Here is each one, what happens to earlier versions and to the sheets of cancelled services, and how Bus Center handles it.
Two time limits not to mix up
There is one time limit for the file and another for the link, and each answers a different need. The file is kept so that the inspectorate can review it afterwards; the link exists so that officers can download the sheet during a roadside check.
| What | Until when |
|---|---|
| The PDF file | At least one year. The order counts it from the date the service was carried out. |
| Download via the link | At least until the end of the service. Once seven calendar days have passed since the end, it may be deactivated. |
The file: at least one year
The resolution of the Spanish Directorate-General for Road and Rail Transport (Dirección General de Transporte por Carretera y Ferrocarril) says that transport companies, in the case of passenger transport, must keep the electronic files generated for at least one year (our translation). They can be stored in the same repository they are downloaded from or in a different one set up for the purpose.
Order FOM/1230/2013, the order that regulates the route sheet, asks for the same: the transport company is required to keep, at the disposal of the Land Transport Inspection Services (Servicios de Inspección del Transporte Terrestre), the route sheets of each of the services it carries out, for a period of one year counted from the date they were carried out (our translation).
Keeping is not just storing: it also means being able to find. If the inspectorate asks for the route sheet of a particular service, you need to locate it by date or by service without going through folders by hand. In Bus Center each sheet is issued from its own service and stays linked to it, with its versions.
The obligation lies with the transport company, not with the software or with the provider that hosts the files. If you change software, make sure you take the last year's route sheets with you or that they remain accessible.
The link: until the service ends, with seven days' margin
The QR link cannot expire before the service is over. The resolution allows security measures on the address, such as expiry keys, but guaranteeing in every case that the link does not expire before the service ends (our translation).
After that, the rule gives some margin: once seven calendar days have passed after the end of the service, the download option for that address may be deactivated (our translation). It is a possibility, not a duty: keeping the link active for longer is each company's decision. And it does not affect the file: even if the link stops downloading, the PDF is still kept. What else the rule asks of the link is covered in the QR on the route sheet.
Earlier versions and cancelled sheets
If during the service you modify a sheet by generating a new PDF, the original is kept as well. The resolution asks for it this way: in that case the original file must be kept for the purpose of tracing the modification of the data (our translation). If instead you modify the same PDF, the old data are kept inside the file itself, clearly marked as no longer valid. We explain both routes in how to modify a route sheet that has already been issued.
The resolution has no section on the route sheet of a service that is cancelled after the sheet has been issued. The prudent course is to treat it like the rest: stop serving it as if it were valid and keep the file. In both cases, the one thing to avoid is deleting anything: neither the earlier version nor the cancelled sheet.
Why it matters: inspection
Route sheets are kept at the disposal of the Land Transport Inspection Services, who can ask for them after the service. And the transport law takes this seriously: within the serious infringement concerning control documentation, the LOTT (the Spanish Land Transport Act, Ley de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres) includes concealing that documentation or failing to keep it. That is why finding an old sheet should not depend on a single person in the office. The range of penalties is covered in what the law says if you do not carry the route sheet.
How Bus Center does it
In Bus Center the route sheet is issued from the service itself and stays linked to it, with its date and time. A new version is a new PDF with a new URL and QR code, and the earlier one is kept outside the public URL. If the service is cancelled after issue, the PDF stops being served and is kept.
Withdrawing a sheet from the public address does not delete it: deactivating the download moves the file, never deletes it. And each version is recorded in a history that is not modified, with its reason, who issued it, when, and the PDF's fingerprint. You will find the summary in the route sheet section (in Spanish) of the home page.
Sources consulted
Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.
- Resolución de 5 de junio de 2026, de la Dirección General de Transporte por Carretera y Ferrocarril, por la que se establecen las características que deben reunir los sistemas y los documentos electrónicos de control administrativo exigidos en los transportes por carretera (texto consolidado). BOE.
- Orden FOM/1230/2013, de 31 de mayo, por la que se establecen normas de control en relación con los transportes públicos de viajeros por carretera (texto consolidado). BOE.
- Ley 16/1987, de 30 de julio, de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres (texto consolidado). BOE.
Frequently asked questions
How long must the route sheet be kept?
At least one year. The resolution requires the generated files to be kept for at least one year, and the route sheet order counts the year from the date the service was carried out.
Does the download link have to stay active all year?
No. The link has to work at least until the end of the service and, once seven calendar days have passed, it may be deactivated. What has to be kept during the year is the file.
What do I do with the earlier version if I modified the route sheet?
If during the service you generated a new PDF, keep the original too: the resolution requires it so the modification of the data can be traced.
What happens in Bus Center to the sheet of a cancelled service?
It stops being served at the public URL and is kept. Withdrawing it from the link does not delete it.