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Having car lease regulations drafted by a specialized SME lawyer typically costs between €500 and €1,500, depending on the size of the fleet and the number of variations you wish to arrange. Having regulations reviewed and amended usually costs between €250 and €600. The turnaround time is short: from the initial consultation to the signed document, you are often finished within one to two weeks. Below, you will find what determines the price, how the process works, and what preparatory work you can do yourself to reduce costs.
The short answer
- Drafting costs: €500 – €1,500 with an SME lawyer.
- Checking costs: €250 – €600 for reviewing and adjusting.
- Price-determining factors: number of driver categories, whether or not there is private use, collective labor agreement, works council.
- Process: intake, concept, one revision round, implementation with the drivers.
- Lead time: one to two weeks.
- Do it yourself: possible for one car for the director-major shareholder.
Having car lease regulations drawn up: what does it cost?
The price depends primarily on the number of situations you want to cover. Regulations for five identical company vans without private use are significantly simpler than a scheme with three budget categories, an electrification policy, charging stations at employees' homes, and an optional scheme where employees can trade in their car for a mobility budget. Roughly speaking, expect to pay:
- Basic regulations, one category, no or minimal private use: €500 – €800.
- Standard SME regulations, multiple job categories with private use and taxable benefit: €800 – €1,200.
- Comprehensive regulations, with choice budget, charging policy, foreign regulations, and consultation with the Works Council: €1,200 – €2,000.
- Review existing regulations and adjust them to address the bottlenecks: €250 – €600.
These amounts relate to the legal work. The lease costs themselves, insurance, and any tax advice are separate. Ask for a fixed price in advance; a set of regulations is sufficiently clearly defined to provide one.
What determines the price?
- Number of rider categories. Each additional group with its own budget and conditions entails additional provisions.
- Private use or not. If private use is excluded, a substantial part of the tax section lapses. If it is permitted, the taxable benefit, mileage log, and the 500-kilometer limit must be handled precisely.
- Electric driving. Charging cards, a charging station at the employee's home, reimbursement for electricity charged at home, and ownership of the charging station upon termination of employment require separate provisions.
- Collective Labour Agreement and Works Council. If a Collective Labour Agreement with provisions regarding compensation applies, or if there is a Works Council, coordination work is required.
- Existing agreements. If people are already driving a car based on old, deviating commitments, the transition to the new regulations must be arranged.
The process step by step
- Intake: the fleet, job groups, budgets, private use, existing commitments, and the lease contract are reviewed.
- Documents to be submitted: lease agreement, employment contracts or the model thereof, any applicable collective labour agreement, and existing regulations.
- Draft: a complete draft with an explanation of the choices will be available within a few working days.
- Revision round: you go through the draft and the adjustments are incorporated.
- Linkage: the regulations are linked to the employment contract, with a referral clause and an amendment clause.
- Implementation: provide to the drivers and have them demonstrably accepted, possibly after approval by the Works Council.
That final step is most often skipped, yet it is precisely decisive. Regulations lying in a folder but never provided to the driver offer no basis for passing on deductibles or fines.
Where the money pays for itself
The return lies not in the document, but in the three points where a self-written set of regulations fails in practice.
The first is recovery of damages. Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code stipulates that an employee who causes damage in the performance of his work is not liable for it to his employer, unless there is intent or conscious recklessness. An ordinary traffic error does not meet that threshold. Deviation is only permitted in writing and only to the extent that the employee is insured for that damage. A clause that places all damage on the driver therefore does not work; a limited deductible per damage event with an annual maximum does.
The second point concerns the taxable benefit. In the case of private use, the employer processes the taxable benefit via the payroll administration, unless the driver stays below 500 private kilometers on a calendar year basis and demonstrates this with a complete mileage log. At 501 kilometers, the taxable benefit is due for the entire year, not just for the excess. If the car is available for only part of the year, the limit is recalculated on a pro-rata basis. Commuting counts as business use for payroll tax purposes, but as private use for VAT purposes. A regulation that does not specify the requirements for the mileage log leaves the burden of proof with the employer.
The third aspect concerns fines. For violations settled administratively, the vehicle owner is liable—usually the leasing company—which passes on the fine, along with administrative costs, to the employer. Without an explicit provision in the regulations, these cannot be recovered from the driver. Furthermore, even *with* such a provision, offsetting against wages is legally limited, and the net salary may not fall below the statutory minimum wage.
A brief real-life example: an installation company with nine vans had the regulations drawn up for €850. In the first year, there were two claims and seven fines. Passing on the deductible and fines yielded over €1,900, and more importantly: no disputes with the technicians, because everyone had signed in advance.
Honest recommendation
You by no means always need a lawyer for this. If you have a single car used exclusively by the director-major shareholder, regulations are unnecessary: a brief written agreement regarding private use and tax liability suffices. You can also easily write the commercial and practical sections yourself, such as the budgets per job group, the list of brands, agreements regarding refueling, charging, maintenance, tires, and cleaning, and the reporting procedure in the event of damage or a breakdown. A free template from your leasing company is a useful starting point for these sections.
Outsourcing pays off as soon as you have multiple drivers on your payroll and there is money to recover. In that case, have at least the provisions regarding damage and deductibles, the passing on of fines, offsetting against wages, the tax section, and the amendment clause reviewed. If you are on a tight budget, opt for the review option of €250 to €600 on your own draft instead of a completely new document. This covers the risks at a fraction of the cost of a single failed recovery.
Read more: what is car lease regulations and drafting car lease regulations. For a custom document: car lease regulations.
Frequently Asked Questions
With a specialized SME lawyer, the cost is typically €500 to €1,500. A basic set of regulations for a single category without private use is at the lower end, while a comprehensive set including a choice budget, charging policy, and consultation with the Works Council is at the upper end. Ask for a fixed price in advance.
Usually €250 to €600 for review and adjustments. That is the sensible choice if you already have a model from the leasing company or your own concept. In that case, be sure to have the damage, penalty, and tax provisions, as well as the modification clause, reviewed.
Typically one to two weeks: intake, draft within a few working days, one round of revisions, and implementation with the drivers. If a Works Council requires approval, this will be extended by a few weeks depending on the meeting cycle.
The number of driver categories, whether private use is permitted, whether electric driving is carried out using charging stations at people's homes, whether a collective labour agreement or works council applies, and whether there are any existing individual commitments that need to be transferred to the new scheme.
For a single car for the director-major shareholder, that is fine; a brief written agreement regarding private use and tax liability suffices. You can also perfectly well draft the budgets, brand list, and practical house rules yourself. However, do have the provisions regarding damage, fines, and the tax section reviewed as soon as staff drive the car.
With multiple drivers, usually within a year, through the passing on of deductibles and traffic fines and the prevention of additional assessments on the taxable benefit. More importantly, correct regulations prevent disputes: everyone knows in advance what applies and has signed for it.
The lease contract, the employment contracts or the model thereof, any applicable collective labour agreement, existing regulations, and an overview of the cars, job categories, and budgets. Also report any deviating commitments to individual drivers, as these must be incorporated into the transitional provision.
