Free Vehicle Handover & Condition Report Template (UK)
The handover record that decides who pays for damage found later: condition, mileage, keys and documents, signed by both parties.
Damage disputes on lease returns and pool cars are almost never about whether the damage exists. They are about when it appeared and who had the car at the time. A signed, dated handover record with photographs attached answers that question in one page. Without one, the person holding the invoice usually wins.
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What's in the template
- Handover details: date and time, registration, make and model, odometer, fuel or charge level, number of keys, and whether the V5C, service book, MOT certificate, locking wheel nut and charging cables were present
- Names and signatures for the person handing over and the person receiving
- Condition check: area or item, condition, damage noted, photo reference and any cost recharged
How to use it
Complete it with both parties present, in daylight, on a clean and dry vehicle. Wet bodywork hides scratches and is the single most common reason a handover inspection is later disputed. Walk the car in a fixed order every time so nothing is skipped, and photograph every item you mark as damaged, writing the photo reference into the form so the image and the entry stay connected.
Record the odometer and the fuel or charge level at the moment of handover, not from the last time anyone looked. For fleets, this pairs with the daily driver walkaround check template and our guide to fleet vehicle inspection logbooks. For a car you own, the vehicle service record template is the companion document.
Who must keep this record
Both parties keep a signed copy. No statute requires this form: it is contractual, and its value is entirely in being contemporaneous and signed. Leasing companies assess end-of-contract damage against a fair wear and tear standard, and a handover record made at the start of the contract is what lets you show that a mark was already there.
For pool and company vehicles it does a second job. Recording who took the vehicle, when, and at what mileage supports the duty of care an employer owes over work-related driving, and it is how you establish which driver held the vehicle when a fault or an offence occurred.
How long to keep it
Keep it until the vehicle has been returned or sold and any damage or excess mileage charge has been settled, then keep it for a further six years alongside the contract. For fleets, keep handover records for the whole period the vehicle was on your fleet, since a query about a historic charge can arrive long after the vehicle has gone.