A Mietwagen (private hire) company in Berlin now has to prove two things without gaps. First, every car driving for Uber or Bolt is covered by a valid LABO licence with the approved base, because the platforms have every new company and vehicle checked by the LABO and block flagged cars. Second, every car returns to base after each trip, as § 49(4) PBefG requires and Germany's Federal Court of Justice confirmed on 3 June 2026.
Hauptstadtflotte keeps your fleet's vehicles, drivers, licence data and platform trips in one place, so no deadline and no return trip slips through.
The LABO (Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten) is Berlin's licensing authority for taxis and Mietwagen. Since August 2023 it has had an agreement with Uber, Bolt and FreeNow: every company and every vehicle that registers there is checked by the LABO first. Retroactive checks of the whole fleet followed.
In the check of all Mietwagen registered with Bliq, Bolt, FREENOW and Uber on 1 April 2024, the merged data showed 4,276 cars from 533 companies. 1,661 of them (38.84%) at 217 companies were flagged. The platforms blocked them from receiving trips.
Berlin Senate press release, 27 May 2024 · Source (German)
That many vehicles were flagged because the company had given at least one platform a different base (Betriebssitz) than the one the LABO licensed. One outdated platform account is enough to get cars blocked.
Berlin Senate press release, 27 May 2024 · Source (German)
In 2024 the LABO revoked the licences of 74 Mietwagen companies with 1,427 vehicles and rejected 143 new applications covering 1,917 vehicles. It inspected 494 company bases. The platforms agreed to another retroactive check of all Mietwagen.
Berlin Senate press release, 11 April 2025 · Source (German)
For a 30-car fleet this means a single car not covered by the licence, or one platform account with an old address, can trigger a block. The car then sits idle while lease, insurance and wages keep running.
Background: LABO agreement with Uber, Bolt and FreeNow, press release of 14 August 2023 (German)
“After carrying out the order, the Mietwagen must return to its base without delay, unless it received a new order from its base or the operator's home before the trip, or during the trip.”
That is the Rückkehrpflicht, the return-to-base rule of the German Passenger Transport Act (PBefG). You must also record the receipt of every order at your base, on paper or electronically, apps included, and keep the record for one year.
On 3 June 2026, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH, Germany's Federal Court of Justice, case I ZR 123/25) upheld a Cologne taxi cooperative's injunction against a company running Uber X trips with Mietwagen. A subcontractor's car had waited at Breslauer Platz after dropping off a passenger. The company is liable under § 8(2) of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG).
BGH press release no. 100/2026 · Source (German)
The rule matters in Berlin as well: according to the Senate, the courts confirmed breaches of the Rückkehrpflicht, missing company bases and insufficient financial capacity as grounds for the LABO's rejection decisions.
Berlin Senate press release, 11 April 2025 · Source (German)
With 21 to 50 vehicles, dozens of deadlines run side by side, usually spread across folders, spreadsheets and WhatsApp. Three of them are set by law:
Licences for occasional transport with motor vehicles, the Mietwagen licence (Konzession) included, are valid for at most five years.
§ 16(4) PBefG · Statute (German)
Cars used for passenger transport under the PBefG need their main roadworthiness inspection (HU) every 12 months, not every 24.
StVZO Annex VIII no. 2.1.2.2 · Statute (German)
The passenger transport permit drivers need (P-Schein) is issued for at most five years and renewed on application.
§ 48(5) FeV · Statute (German)
Example with fictional assumptions. On top come the licence itself and your platform accounts.
| What | Who | Status |
|---|---|---|
| HU | B-HF 2214 | in 9 days |
| P-Schein | Driver M. K. | in 4 days |
| Insurance | B-HF 3051 | in 21 days |
| Base on Bolt | Account 2 | mismatch |
Vehicles, drivers and licence data in one place: which car the licence covers, who drives it and which base applies.
Early warnings before the Konzession, HU, insurance or P-Schein expires, per vehicle and per driver, before a car has to stop.
After each trip you see whether the car went back to base or had a follow-up order. Suspicious waiting times show up as alerts.
Connect Uber Fleet and Bolt Fleet. All trips of all drivers come together instead of living in two portals and a spreadsheet.
Orders received at your base, including from direct customers, go straight to your drivers, so the receipt at the base is on record.
Revenue per driver and per vehicle and cost per kilometre in the dashboard, so you see which car pays its way.
Set up your fleet once: cars, drivers, licence and base.
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Deadlines, return alerts, revenue per driver and car and cost per kilometre at a glance.
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Since August 2023, Uber, Bolt and FreeNow have had every new Mietwagen company and vehicle checked by the LABO, Berlin's licensing authority, before it can take trips. In the full check of 1 April 2024 the platforms blocked flagged vehicles, for example because there was no licence, it had expired or been revoked, the car was not covered by the licence, or the registered base differed from the licensed one.
Under § 16(4) PBefG, licences for occasional transport with motor vehicles, which includes Mietwagen services, are valid for at most five years. After that the licence has to be renewed with the LABO. Apply early so no car stays registered on a platform without a valid licence.
Yes. In its judgment of 3 June 2026 (I ZR 123/25), Germany's Federal Court of Justice upheld an injunction over a breach of the return-to-base rule in § 49(4) sentence 3 PBefG. The operator was also liable for its subcontractor's breach. The court had no serious doubts about the rule's constitutionality.
You must record the receipt of every order at your base or home, on paper or electronically (app-based systems included), and keep the record for one year (§ 49(4) PBefG).
Not at the moment. Since 16 February 2026, Berlin has stopped issuing new taxi licences, initially for one year, including expansions of existing companies. New applicants can join a waiting list. The legal basis is § 13(4) PBefG. Source: Berlin Senate press release, 16 February 2026 (German)
From $5.99 per driver per month. Setup takes about 48 hours: upload vehicles and drivers, then connect Uber Fleet and Bolt Fleet. You can try it free for two days, no credit card needed.
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