Can someone else drive my rental car?

When booking a rental car, the person named on the rental (primary driver) is the person responsible for the vehicle during the time of the rental. It is this named person who needs to be in attendance when collecting the rental car and they alone who can sign the documentation to release the car. The rental agent will only accept the necessary identification, license and credit card documents corresponding to the person named on the rental.



That said, if you want someone else to drive your rental car you can usually add them as an additional driver for a daily charge. This extra charge covers the extra insurance required to have another driver named on the rental. The additional driver is required to present ID and a driving license for inspection, however they will not need to provide a credit card (or debit card) as the main driver assumes responsibility.

The additional driver is subject to the same terms and conditions of use as the main driver including young driver surcharges where applicable. If the additional driver is under 25, the same young driver surcharge will apply to the rental as if the main driver was under 25. Likewise, restrictions around additional drivers subject to drink driving convictions and points on your license will apply to the additional driver in the same way they will the main driver.

Car hire with free additional driver

Some rentals include a free additional driver within the total price often representing great value over a regular rental with an additional driver added. We also offer car rental packages in the US which often included a free tank of fuel, GPS and unlimited free additional drivers. These packages generally offer excellent value over adding each of the extras separately to the base rental cost.

Car hire additional driver charges comparison

Additional drivers are charged on a ‘per day’ basis, however this cost will vary by rental and per rental agent. We’ve looked at the cost of an additional driver for a rental car at number of suppliers and top rental locations to see how they compare;
 
*Data correct at time of publication - sourced from terms and conditions for car hire Heathrow, LAX, Dubai Airport, car hire Geneva, Malaga Airport and Dublin Airport.