Driving schools

Driving schools: destroying pupil data

15 July 2026 · 10 min read · DeSnipperaar

A driving school processes more data than it seems at first glance: contact details and sometimes a national ID number, lesson files with progress, payment data, exam results and sometimes a health declaration about fitness to drive. Part falls under the tax retention obligation, part is precisely sensitive and 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 administration you keep for seven years for the tax retention obligation. The lesson file you keep while the pupil is in training and for a short period afterwards. A health declaration is special-category personal data that you treat separately. What may go disappears confidentially and with a certificate.

Why a driving school must handle data carefully

A driving school looks like a simple business, but processes personal data of often young pupils. Alongside name, address and payment data it involves progress notes, exam results and sometimes medical information about fitness to drive. That last category is sensitive, because health data is special-category personal data with stricter rules. A national ID number can also come into play, and you may not process that lightly.

The GDPR requires storage limitation. Do not keep the data longer than necessary for the training and the administration, and clear it out afterwards. Keeping it because a former pupil might one day return is not a valid ground as long as there is no concrete arrangement or purpose.

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 the end of the training.

Part	Starting point	Period
Administration and invoicing	Tax retention obligation	7 years
Lesson agreement and payment data	Tied to administration	7 years
Lesson file with progress	While in training	+ short period
Exam results	Until completion and aftercare	purpose-bound
Health declaration	Special-category data	destroy finely
Correspondence and drafts	No retention obligation	clear out at once

Use this as a guideline, not a final legal ruling. When in doubt about a specific file, consult your trade association or privacy adviser. The tax side is in the 7-year tax retention obligation.

Health declaration and fitness to drive

For some pupils a health declaration or medical information about fitness to drive comes into play. That is health data and therefore special-category personal data, with stricter rules. Keep it recognisably separate from ordinary lesson data, allow it only to those who need it and destroy it at a fine level once its purpose has been served. That way you avoid the whole file inheriting the longest period of its most sensitive part.

Also be careful with the national ID number. A driving school may not process or keep the national ID number lightly; there must be a legal ground for it. If you do process it, keep it separate and do not keep it longer than necessary.

Young pupils and minors

Many pupils are young and some are minors at the start. Data of minors enjoys extra protection under the GDPR. Handle their files extra carefully, do not keep them longer than necessary and destroy them carefully. Especially if a health declaration or medical information was ever included, it should disappear at a fine level.

How to handle it in 6 steps

1. Split the file into administration, lesson file, exam and health data.
2. Treat the health declaration separately and at a fine destruction level.
3. Assess per pupil whether the training is completed and the short aftercare period is past.
4. Clear out drafts and correspondence without a retention obligation confidentially at once.
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

Lesson files are destroyed confidentially, because they contain contact details, sometimes a national ID number and sometimes health data. The paper and any data carriers travel sealed and stay that way until destruction, so the chain is closed. An old scheduling computer or backup with pupil data 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 old lesson files just in case. After the training and the aftercare period the purpose lapses.
• Treating the health declaration as ordinary paper. That is special-category personal data.
• Processing the national ID number without a ground. There must be a legal basis for it.
• Throwing away unshredded. A lesson 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 does a driving school keep pupil data?

The administration falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation. The lesson file itself you keep while the pupil is in training and for a short period afterwards, after which it may go. Keeping just in case is not a valid ground.

Is a health declaration special-category personal data?

Yes. A health declaration or medical information about fitness to drive is health data and therefore special-category personal data. Treat this separately and destroy it at a fine level as soon as it is no longer needed.

May I keep a pupil's national ID number?

Only if there is a legal ground for it. Do not process the national ID number lightly and do not keep it longer than necessary. When in doubt, consult your trade association or privacy adviser.

How do I destroy lesson files 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 driving school processes data of often young pupils, right up to a health declaration. Keep the administration seven years, keep the lesson file while the pupil is in training and shortly afterwards, and treat health data and the national ID number separately. What may go you have destroyed confidentially with a certificate as proof. That way you keep nothing too long and protect your pupils' data.

Read also: photographers: destroying client photos and portraits, translation agencies: destroying confidential documents, mediators: destroying divorce and conflict files and the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

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

Also relevant: Tutoring services: destroying student data, Universities: destroying student data and Training providers: destroying participant data.