Sector

Car body repair: destroying customer and vehicle data

27 July 2026 · 10 min read · DeSnipperaar

A car body repair shop processes the data of every customer and every vehicle that comes in. Name and address, the licence plate, a damage file, communication with the insurer, expert reports with photos and the invoicing. Part falls under the tax retention obligation, part you keep until the repair is settled, and part should be kept as briefly as possible. This guide shows, by part, what you keep, when it may go and how to destroy it confidentially.

The quick answer. The invoicing falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation. The damage file and insurer communication you keep until the repair is settled and any warranty or dispute has lapsed. Customer and vehicle data, expert reports and damage photos you keep no longer than necessary. What may go disappears confidentially and with a certificate.

Two frameworks for body repair

At a body repair shop two things run together. The tax retention obligation requires you to keep the administration for seven years, with the invoices, quotations and payment data. Alongside this the GDPR applies, which requires not keeping personal data longer than necessary. The tax obligation sets the floor for the administration, the GDPR the ceiling for everything traceable to a person or vehicle.

So treat the data per type. An invoice has a different status than a damage photo of the interior or an expert report with a damage calculation. If you make that distinction, you keep exactly what you must and clear out the rest on time. A licence plate is personal data as soon as it is traceable to the owner, so your vehicle administration falls under the GDPR too.

Retention periods by part

The period differs per type of data. The overview below gives the main line. Count the tax period from the end of the financial year and the other periods from settlement of the repair.

Part	Starting point	Period
Invoicing and administration	Tax retention obligation	7 years
Damage file and insurer communication	Until settlement and warranty	purpose-bound
Customer and vehicle data	As limited as possible	only what is needed
Licence plate and repair notifications	Until repair and clearance	until settlement
Expert reports and damage photos	Purpose-bound, storage limitation	as briefly as possible
Correspondence and drafts	No retention obligation	clear out at once

Use this as a guideline, not a substitute for your own agreements with insurers and leasing companies. When in doubt, consult your privacy adviser. The tax side is in the 7-year tax retention obligation.

Damage files and communication with insurers

A damage file bundles a great deal about a customer and their vehicle. Name and address, the licence plate, the damage description, the repair history and often the policy or claim number of the insurer. As long as the repair is running and warranty or a possible dispute is still in play, you have a ground to keep the file. Once that is over, the ground falls away and you clear the file out confidentially.

Communication with insurers calls for the same discipline. You are a processor or joint controller for data that really belongs to the insurer, so keep that volume recognisably separate. How an insurer itself handles claim and policy files you can read in insurers: destroying claim and policy files. Keep no more than the agreement requires and, when it is over, throw nothing away unchecked in the paper bin.

Licence plates, repair notifications and expert reports

Severe damage sometimes leads to a repair-hold notification with the vehicle authority, after which the vehicle may only return to the road once it is repaired and re-inspected. Those files hold the licence plate, the owner and a detailed damage description. Keep this data until the repair is cleared and the inspection is done, then clear it out. Your vehicle and licence-plate administration is comparable to other sectors that manage a fleet, as described in driver data and the GDPR in a fleet.

Expert reports and damage photos are more sensitive than they seem. A photo of the interior can show personal belongings, a licence plate or even an occupant, and a report contains a full damage calculation. Treat these images and reports as part of the damage file, keep them only as long as the purpose runs and clear them out confidentially afterwards. If you also ask for a copy of an identity document or driving licence, be restrained with it, just as in automotive: destroying client files and copy-IDs.

How to handle it in 6 steps

1. Split the data into administration, damage file, vehicle data and correspondence.
2. Limit customer and vehicle data to what the repair and its settlement require.
3. Treat damage photos and expert reports separately and clear them out after the warranty period.
4. Keep the administration for the tax seven years.
5. Collect what may go in sealed containers, not in the paper bin.
6. Have it destroyed confidentially with a certificate and record it in your register.

Destroy confidentially with a certificate

Customer and vehicle data is destroyed confidentially, because it contains identity, licence-plate and damage data. The paper and any data carriers travel sealed and stay that way until destruction, so the chain is closed. An old workshop computer, a backup or a memory card with damage photos belongs with it too.

Afterwards you receive a certificate of destruction with the date, quantity and level. That certificate is your proof towards the GDPR that you acted carefully. Record the destruction in your record of processing. We collect within 20 km of Amsterdam with no call-out charge, work nationwide through pooled collection rounds and charge a fixed price per box or roll container. Drop-off on site is not possible; it works by appointment through collection.

Common mistakes

• Keeping damage files forever. After settlement and the warranty period the purpose lapses.
• Leaving damage photos on loose memory cards. Images are personal data too.
• Keeping a copy ID or driving licence by default. Note only what you truly need.
• Throwing away unshredded. A damage file on the street is a reportable data breach.
• Keeping no proof. Without a certificate you cannot demonstrate the destruction.

Frequently asked questions

How long must a body repair shop keep customer and vehicle data?

The invoicing falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation. The damage file and insurer communication you keep until the repair is settled and any warranty or dispute has lapsed. Other customer and vehicle data you keep no longer than necessary.

May I keep damage photos and expert reports indefinitely?

No. Damage photos and expert reports belong to the damage file and are purpose-bound. Once the repair is settled and the warranty period has lapsed the ground falls away and you clear them out confidentially.

How long do I keep invoices and insurer communication?

Invoices fall under the seven-year tax administration. Insurer communication without a further ground you clear out as soon as the claim has been settled and no complaint or dispute is in play.

How do I destroy customer and vehicle data in line with the GDPR?

Confidentially and with a certificate of destruction. Paper and data carriers travel sealed and the destruction is recorded in the record of processing.

Conclusion

A body repair shop works with identity, licence-plate and damage data of every customer, between the tax retention obligation and the GDPR. Keep the administration seven years, keep the damage file until the repair is settled and be restrained with copy-IDs and loose damage photos. Expert reports and images you clear out after the warranty period. What may go you have destroyed confidentially with a certificate as proof. That way you meet both frameworks and protect your customers' data.

Read also: courier services: destroying delivery data, coach companies: destroying passenger data, petrol stations: destroying customer data and the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

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Have customer and vehicle data collected? Request a quote via desnipperaar.nl. Within a few minutes you have a fixed price, including a certificate as proof.