I’ve read a number of questions on other car hire forums asking about age restrictions for young drivers wanting to rent a car so I thought I’d take this opportunity to clarify what our policy is on this. In the UK the youngest age our customers are allowed to rent a car at is 23. However, if you are under the age of 25 a “Young Drivers Surcharge” will apply and it costs £12.93 per day, up to a maximum of £129.30. These restrictions and charges apply to all car categories – although we only recently brought the age down to 23 on our executive and luxury car category. Great news if you want to drive a nicer car! There is no upper age limit for renting a car with Avis in the UK.
The minimum/maximum age limit and the cost of a young drivers surcharge can differ by country so remember to look out for this and I would suggest checking at time of booking to find out what these are. If you would like me to clarify what our policy is for a specific country then let me know where you are travelling to (by posting a comment below) and I’ll be more than happy to get back to you.
July 27th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
What is upper age limit for France?
July 27th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
What is max age for driver hire in France?
July 30th, 2007 at 9:13 am
What is the upper age limit for drivers in Canada?
July 30th, 2007 at 9:13 am
What is the age limit for Canada?
July 30th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Hi Roger & Samuel,
There isn’t an upper age limit in either France or Canada .
August 8th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Is there an upper age limit for Scotland and England? We are planning another trip to the UK and travel by self drive is the only way to go.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Absolutely! (although of course I would agree!)
Nope there is no upper age limit for renting a car with Avis in Scotland or England.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:09 pm
I would like to rent a car in Morocco, whats the minimum age to rent, and at what age does the youth driver surcharge finish.
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:29 am
I’m 21, travelling to Germany on work and my collague asked if I can do some driving; will I be able to share some of the driving of a rental car? Also will there be a surcharge?
October 4th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Hi Rich, the minimum age for a driver in Morocco is 25. A young driver surcharge does not apply at any age.
I hope this helps!
Rob
October 4th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Hi Ollie, the minimum age for renting in Germany is 21 so you make the cut!
(although the minimum age for “special” cars like 7 seaters, 4x4s and luxury cars is higher).
The younger driver surcharge costs €11.90 a day.
Rob
October 17th, 2007 at 11:35 am
I have been driving for over a year and I am under 21 why is it that I cannot rent a car nor rent via an online account? yes the minimum age your site has set is 23years but why is it not in line with the national driving age limit?
October 18th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I’m (only!) 25 so it was not too long ago that I was sharing the same frustrations. It essentially comes down to risk. Car insurance companies add a premium on for young drivers because the probability of the car being damaged amongst this age group is greater (which of course is a frustration to all careful young drivers out there). The same logic applies to car hire except the risk is even greater for us because we are not able to offer an incentive of no-claims bonuses nor are we able to see a customers accident history which a car insurance company is privy to. Therefore, to ensure we keep damage cost to a minimum we have a minimum age in place for young drivers.
We are always open to feedback and I welcome your opinion on this.
Rob
October 19th, 2007 at 2:19 am
Hi Rob, I am travelling to United Arab Emirates (UAE)particularly “Dubai” and “Abu Dhabi” for new years. can you please inform me the
1)minimum age ?
2)would my home country’s (Pakistan)license is suffice ?
Thank You
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:14 am
Hi Rob,
That I can understand the risk and all but why group ALL under 23′s as risks?Some of us fall in the careful driver’s basket!!but thank you for the explanation
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:30 am
Hi Waqas, in answer to your questions…
1). The minimum age to rent a car with Avis in the UAE is 21. You will need a credit card in your own name.
2). Unfortunately, drivers licence issued from Pakistan are not accepted in the UAE. You will need to apply for International Drivers Permit.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. Have a great trip to the UAE!
Rob
October 28th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
hi Rob,i am travelling to the UAE during christmas period. I read that your minimum age requirement is 21. Would a full UK driver’s license be acceptable for the car hiring period?
Could you please let me know, thanks.
Andrew
October 30th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Hi Andrew,
You are correct about the minimum age requirements for the UAE, but this is for credit card rentals. If you wish to pay with cash, the minimum age is 25. On the matter of driving licences, all non UAE residents wishing to rent are required to hold an international driving licence along with their own national driving licence.
November 2nd, 2007 at 1:09 pm
hi,
I want to book a car to ireland a family trip this is and I am the only driver in the group. However I cannot hire a car because it says I have to be 23years old to do so. my question is: is it ok for someone else to hire it and i drive it?
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Hi Kay. Good to hear from you again.
As I mentioned in my previous comment, the age restrictions are in place because of the heightened risk of the car being damaged by younger drivers. As a result it is important that it is the named driver that is over 23 years old. The age of the person who is booking and paying for the rental is not so important. I completely understand your frustration and it isn’t the fairest policy for all the very careful, young drivers out there but unfortunately we have no way to pick the careful from the not so careful so we have to apply general rules like car insurance companies do.
As always I welcome your feedback.
Rob
November 22nd, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Hi Rob,
I am travelling to Sharjah and would like to rent a car from the airport to visit dubai, etc.i am aware that i should be 21 to rent a car but by 21, do you mean completed or going on?my D.O.B is 22/5/1987.
and i would also like to know if it is enought to leave my passport as a caution deposit.
November 27th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Hi Shoeb, thanks for your question and sorry for the late reply. Based on your date of birth, you would meet the minimum age requirements and therefore, be able to collect a car from Avis in the UAE as of May 22nd next year. Unfortunately you would not be able to collect a car from Avis in this country before this date. We would also not be able to accept your passport as a deposit as we would not want to be responsible if something as precious as this got lost!
I’m sorry that we have not been able to be of much help in this instance. Of course if you plan to rent after 22nd of May then that it is another story!
Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.
Rob
January 15th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Please advise me would i be able to hire a car in Cyprus, 25years old with a licence for only 1 year.
Thanks
January 16th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Hi Mark, the minimum age to hire a car in Cyprus is 25 and you’ll need a full, clean driver’s licence held for at least a year.
Rob
January 19th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Wecare planning a wedding in Tuscany on August 2008 requiring us to pick up serveral vehicles at Pisa Airport including 7 seaters. We would like 18 and 24 year olds who are in our party to share share driving. What do you allow and what are the insurance implications?
Thanks
Nick
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
A wedding in Tuscany, nice!
Nick, you can add additional drivers who over the age of 21 for an additional charge. However, those drivers you under the age of 25 will be subject to a young drivers surcharge as well and they need to have held a licence for at least 2 years. The cost of a Young DriversSurcharge is €12.91 per day and is charged up to a maximum of 10 days. The price of each Additional Driver in Italy is €4.17 per day if the rental is 5 days or less, a flat fee of €20.85 per Additional Driver if the rental is 6-7 days and a flat fee of €41.70 per Additional Driver if the rental is 12-30 days. If the rental is 8-11 then you would pay the weekly charge of €20.85 for the first 7 days plus the daily charge of €4.17 for each additional day. Phew, that took a long time to break down!
Rob
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 am
Hi,would like to hire a car from Avis at Heathrow
this May 08,is there still no upper age limit?i am 77,Thanks,Terry Read
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 am
Hi Terry, you are correct there is still no upper age. Have a great rental!
Rob
February 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I wish to hire a car to drive in Italy. Is there an upper age limit? I shall be 78 years of age and I have recently taken and passed my advanced driving test!! I would be pleased to have your comments
February 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Hi Derek, sorry for the late reply. There is no upper age limit in Italy so you’ll be fine to drive.
Have a great time in Italy!
Rob
February 16th, 2008 at 4:11 am
Hello, you have already partly answered this question but i will ask anyway. I have been driving for 3 and a half years and im very nearly 21years old. I have had zero accidents, zero claims and many miles of driving experience, however i cannot hire a car. Suppose someone else was 23 and had only been driving for a year, is it fair to say he has less probablity of claiming because he is simply older than me by two and a bit years?
February 19th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
I completely agree with you Christian! Unfortunately, it is simply not possible for us to legislate for someone’s driving experience and claims history and underwrite the risk for individual rentals. Instead we apply some simple rules based on age and whether they’ve had a licence for a year to judge qualifying criteria to rent a car. It is unfortunate because I know there are some very careful younger drivers out there.
February 26th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Hi,
I’m trying to choose between Malta and Turkey for an upcoming holiday. Can you give me the minimum age for renting cars and any young persons surcharge for each of these?
Thanks in advance,
By the way, is there a page with this information listed for all countries? – teach a man to fish…
February 28th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Hi Chris,
The minimum age in Malta and Turkey are both 21 years old.
In Turkey this minimum age applies to our smaller cars only. You will need to be 25 to rent a car from most of our other car categories (although there are a couple of categories where the minimum age is 27). If you select one of the car categories when making a booking on avis.co.uk it will tell you what the minimum age is for that car category on the next page of the booking.
In Malta, any driver under the age of 25 is required to take the full level of cover which works out at about €15 per day. An excess of €350 will still apply.
I hope this helps but let me know if you need any further clarity!
Rob
March 16th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Hi, I am looking to take a holiday in Sicily in June and am looking to rent a car – I am 23 years old and have held my (clean) licence for over 5 years – what is the minimum age for car hire in Sicily and what will the surcharge be?
Many thanks!
March 16th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Hi there,
What are the restrictions/excess’ to a 22 year old driver in switzerland? Im hoping to go in september time.
Thanks
March 17th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Hi Kerri, you will be fine to rent in Italy. The minimum age in Italy is 21 although drivers under the age of 25 will be subject to a Young Drivers Surcharge of €12.91 a day (up to a maximum of 10 days, subsequent days are free of charge).
Have a great time in Sicily!
Rob
March 17th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Hi Anthony, the minimum age in Switzerland is 21 although drivers under the age of 25 will be subject to a Young Drivers Surcharge of 19.37 Swiss Francs per day (up to a maximum of 10 days, subsequent days are free of charge).
Have a great trip to Switzerland.
Rob
March 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hi,
I am travelling to Japan in the next couple of months; I am 21, could you please tell me whether I can drive there and what the surcharge would be? I will not be the only one using the vehicle and my colleague is in his 40′s – I’m not sure if that is relevant?
March 31st, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Hi Ollie, unfortunately we do not have any rental locations in Japan so we are unable to be of much help in this instance.
I hope you have a good trip to Japan and good luck with your travels.
Rob
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Is there any extra cost for adding an additional driver age 25 in Malta?
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Do you charge one way fees from san francisco to las vegas ?
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Hi Roger, the cost of Additional Driver is €4.13 per day. The charge applies up to a maximum of 10 days with subsequent days free of charge.
Have fun in Malta!
Rob
April 7th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Hi Paul, currently there is not a one way fee in place between these two locations but I would suggest double checking at time of reservation as this can sometimes change due to fleet restrictions.
Rob
April 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Thanks. Is it necessary to prebook for two drivvers or can you do it at pickup? Is there any cost advantage either way?
Regards
Roger Brown
April 8th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Unfortunately we do not yet have the facility to book additional driver on our website yet. That being said their is no cost advantage either way!
Rob
April 21st, 2008 at 10:03 am
I’m a little confused really because when I tried to book with Avis for carhire in France, they said that the minimum age had to be 25 yrs old to make the booking…. but you’re saying here that you can be aged 24 yrs old but all you need to do is pay a surcharge…subsequently I had to make the booking with [a competitor]…. what will be the surcharge daily for beign a 24 yr old driver..?
April 21st, 2008 at 11:51 am
Hi Susie, I apologize for the confusion. In France Young Driver’s Surcharge cost €25 per day. Let me know if you need to know anything else.
Rob
April 21st, 2008 at 7:56 pm
hi i’m 22 and wanting to hire a minibus 16 seater. I am a bus driver and can drive a double decker for a living. why can I not hire anything with more than 5 seats. ps been driving for 4 years and bus driving for 3 years in the uk.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:02 pm
my name is stefan sorry.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:06 pm
hi i’m 22 years old and am a bus driver in the uk and have been for 3 years. whY can I not rent a 16 seat minibus anywhere?
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Hi Stefan, the minimum age and types of cars available can differ by country so I cannot give a definitive answer on this particular case without knowing the full information of your rental but I should be able to give a general overview of why this policy is in place…
We have a minimum age in place to reduce the risk of damage to our cars as the probability/risk of damage is higher with younger age groups (similar to the way private car insurance works). I appreciate your driving history but unfortunately it is simply not possible for us to legislate for everyone’s driving experience/claims history and underwrite the risk for each individual rental. Instead we apply some simple rules based on age and whether they’ve had a licence for a year to judge qualifying criteria to rent a car.
It is unfortunate because I know there are some very careful younger drivers out there. Any further feedback you have on this would be greatly appreciated.
Rob
April 25th, 2008 at 2:44 am
I made a reservation today for a car at Heathrow in May,i trust there is still no upper age limit there as i am 77.
Thanks for the good blog
great idea,
Sincerely,Tery Read.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Hi Terry, I can confirm that there is no upper age limit on rentals in the UK, as long as you have a full, valid driver’s licence.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Rob
April 27th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Thanks for the info Rob.
Terry Read.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
“Unfortunately, it is simply not possible for us to legislate for someone’s driving experience and claims history and underwrite the risk for individual rentals. ”
Find it hard to believe that this is “not possible”. Surely it is possible, if it was in your interest.
You can asses the level of risk by taking information about the individual, making some assumptions based on this, and applying an appropriate charge.
That’s insurance, right?
Surely if you REALLY wanted to, you could do this. But it’s easier & less expensive [& therefore more profitable?] for you to just discriminate against all younger drivers.
Banging my head against a brick wall because I am currently one of 3 very responsible 24 year olds, all graduates, work for reputable companies, years of driving experience with not one accident/insurance claim between us….counts for nothing. It would cost us HUNDREDS to hire a car from you for a long weekend trip to go hiking. To just have 1 person driving might be cheaper. Yet we would prefer to be MORE responsible and share the driving duties between the three of us…. but guess what, that’s 3xyoung driver surcharge, x3 days. Plus 2x additional driver surcharge x3 days….. all of a sudden, the total cost goes up by approx 5 times the actual car hire cost. Owch.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Hi Joey, thank you for the feedback. In an ideal world we would love to be able to do this. Just looking at all the comments on this blog post it is clear that this is a popular request.
However, it is not practical for us to qualify each renter to the extent that an insurance company would do for a longer period of cover. You are quite correct that insurance is about assessing the risk of an individual policyholder by asking questions about their history and their profile etc and by setting a premium based on this but this would normally be for a one year policy. It is currently not practical for Avis to do this for each renter and rental which may only be for a one day hire and, for instance, we do not have direct access to insurance companies databases to validate and check renter’s histories. Therefore we have standard risk parameters and assess risk based on this and this currently includes having young driver surcharges as in general younger drivers do have higher accident rates.
I hope this clarifies the situation but I welcome any further feedback.
Lyn
April 30th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Hello Stefan,
I have to admit that it is the first time someone asks for a minibus on this blog
We don’t have any vehicle of that size in fleet unfortunately. You might find some specialised companies renting minibuses by googling around? I’m not aware of any or our competitor renting such vehicle.
Regards,
Xavier
May 5th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Can you please let me know the minimum age for renting a car in the Republic of Ireland and what the young driver surcharge is? I’d also like to know how much it would cost to add another young driver. I am 24 and the other driver is 23.
Thank you.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Hi Samantha, the young driver surcharge in the Republic of Ireland is €11.90 per day and applies to renters who are under the age of 25 but are of a minimum age of 23.
The price of adding an additional driver is €8.50 per day although the price is capped at 7 days i.e. this price will only apply to the first 7 days of the rental.
If you are adding an additional driver who is 23 then you will need to apply both the young driver surcharge and price of additional driver for this renter.
I hope my explanation is clear but let me know if you need any further clarification. Have a great trip to Ireland!
Rob
June 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Hello,
I am 27 and would like to rent an Audi A5 in the UK. On the Avis Preferred site, I see that it says you have to be 30 to rent this vehicle. Does this mean I will be assessed a surcharge or not allowed to rent it at all?
The funny thing is that the age listed for the Mercedes SLK55 AMG is 25 but the less expensive and much less powerful Audi A5 is 30. Not sure why that is.
But back to my point, I really want to rent an A5. I have a U.S. license that I have held for about 6 years. Thanks!
June 29th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Correction: I meant Avis Prestige, not Avis Preferred…
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Hi Mark, unfortunately we do not offer a Young Driver Surcharge to reduce the minimum age on our Prestige range.
I take your point on the differences in minimum age between the A5 and the SLK. The reason for the difference is that the SLK is supplied by a partner of ours who have a different insurance policy which allows for a lower minimum age.
I’m afraid that, due to the terms of these policies, we need to be strict on the minimum ages that we rent these cars out on.
I hope this makes sense but let me know if you need any further clarification.
Rob
September 16th, 2008 at 3:48 am
I’m a bit skeptical, about things that are “not possible”. Generally “not possible” means difficult, time-consuming or boring. The sad thing is that those problems usually have quite straight forward solutions, particularly, with the economies of scale, and the barganing power that comes with being a company the size of AVIS.
I know it would require more work initially, but I think figuring out a way to allow the majority of younger drivers to rent would yield significant long-term rewards. When I was 24, [a competitor] was the only company not to charge me an age-related surcharge. Now that I’m 25, I’ll generally head to the [a competitor] desk to hire before checking out anyone else, and if their price is reasonable I don’t look any further.
Similarly any one renting with the same company for 4 years running ( particularly if they did so on a frequent basis ), are more likely to go to the same company later in life.
If you’re wondering why I’m interested in this issue at 25, it’s because anytime I go anywhere I’m stuck with all the driving. Next week I’m travelling to Florida, with my cousin ( 21 yo full clean licence holder ), but I’m still going to be stuck doing all the driving.
It’s refreshing to see a company like AVIS take the time to create a blog, and address customer comments in a meaningful way ( as opposed to comment cards which people feel make their way directly to the bin ). It’s also nice to have meaningful people reply to them ( such as Lyn – the Risk Manager ), as opposed to some work-at-home complaint responder.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Hi Rory, thank you for the insight. It’s something we’ve discussed frequently particularly since we’ve received all of this commentary on the blog. I appreciate that we are potentially turning away business with this policy. This needs to be weighed with the risk that Lyn talks about in her comments. And you’ve now added an additional consideration which is about the impact on longer-term loyalty by being more flexible with younger drivers.
I think that, as a business, we need to (and will) continue to challenge our policies on these sort of things, even if it does not always lead to change.
Also, on your point about bargaining power, I should note that the risk of damage falls with us, not a 3rd party, so there is no opportunity to negotiate better terms in this way (which is what I think you were implying). This is why we are careful about calculating the risk and how trying to assess younger drivers with a good driving history would be challenging at a per rental level. I should note that in comment 63 I am talking about Avis Prestige range where the policies are different – just trying to avoid confusion if you had already read that comment!
I hope this provides some clarity but let me know if you have any further feedback and please do continue to challenge us!
Rob
September 16th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Hi Rob
I understand the age restrictions are there for insurance puposes and you don’t make one off allowances, but why are Avis not setting the prescedent; other hire car compnaies provide rental to 21′s and over, surely you’re loosing out on business.
My question is my partner is 27 im 22, is there no way i can be a second driver on a rental from Avis in the UK?
September 16th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hi Sam, I agree that, as a policy, it means we are turning away business but, as you note in your comment, there reasons we do this.
Unfortunately, at the moment, it means a 22 year old cannot be added to a UK rental even if as an Additional Driver. Currently the minimum age for hiring a car with Avis in the UK is 23 and a Young Driver Surcharge applies for drivers under the age of 25. This does not mean that we should not continue to review and challenge this policy and we will continue to do so.
Let me know if you have any further thoughts or feedback.
Rob
September 16th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Thanks Rob for your quick reply.
I just think it’s such a shame. I dont need a car all the time espically living in London- and for journeys where there are two or more of uswould make traveling down to Cornwall for a weekend less than getting the train- if i were over 25! Plus the bonus of having wheels while down there!
Railways offer young person discounts and statistically im sure they’re more likely to cause problems on trains than many over 25′s but there is a reason why the service is discounted, namely young people aren’t always on the biggest incomes and it helps engage them later into a routine of traveling with them. I’d be interested why Avis has a higher age policy than other rental providers? Is it that it is just slower to react to the market or whether Avis isn’t prepared to tackle their insurance providers head on?
There has to be a niche even if it’s a lowly powered 1000cc engine class for young hirer’s..
September 16th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Following on.. I’m sure it would be sensible for me to get my partner to do the driving being 27- but be hasn’t driven since he past his driving test and yet he’s safer than me according to statits to drive, even though iv been driving since for 5 years.. Yes i know im pushing the individual track record here but I think it’s time that age wasn’t an issue and more rental providers devlop their own way of accessing drivers, taking into account penalty points, online highway knowledge test, previous insurance claims and such forth.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Thanks for the additional feedback Sam. I can understand the logic behind making car hire more affordable for younger drivers (like Railways do) but the problem is that, in general (as it is with private car insurance), the risk/probability of damage is higher with younger age groups. I know that sounds a bit broad-brush as I know that there are a lot of careful young drivers out there but, unfortunately, it is impractical for us to assess drivers on a case-by-case basis so we need to apply simple rules.
Your note about the competitiveness of the surcharge is an interesting one and one we’ll have to look in to. Unfortunately there is no leeway to tackle our insurance providers because it is in fact us who assumes the risk of the damage! However, that does not mean we should not be reviewing the policy and you do pose some interesting ideas. We’ll take a look at it.
Let me know if you have any further thoughts.
Rob
September 25th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
i would recomend to any1 hire a car from them
September 26th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Hi there,
I am 24 and trying to hire a car for work in the US. I have heard that some corporate car rental policies cover younger drivers without a surcharge – is this true and does Avis offer this?
In addition, I would be grateful if you could let me know the surcharge for young drivers in the US. Thanks.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
My wife and I recently travelled from the UK to Nova Scotia. I was a bit wary of hiring a car, in view of the bad experiences which some people have had. The existence of this blog tipped me in favour of booking with Avis in that, if anything had gone wrong, it would have provided a vehicle to complain publicly – and hopefully, therefore, to have got somthing done about the issue in question.
In the event, I had a very positive experience. Dan, the manager of the Avis office in Grafton Street (Downtown) Halifax, Nova Scotia, was friendly and gave us some useful tips about driving in Canada; and at the end of the hire period there were no nasty surpises. So, well done Dan and team!
September 29th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Hi Ellie, the Young Driver Surcharge in the US is $25 per day (excluding taxes). If the company you work for has an account with us then please send through information of the company to comments@avis.co.uk and I’ll check on our file to see what the policy is.
Rob
September 29th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hi Shaun, thank you for the great feedback! I’ll pass this on to Dan and the team in Canada.
Rob
October 14th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
hi i am 20 could i stil hire a car i am confused because i have read under the age of 25 is a carge of £11 a day
October 15th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Hi Mo, the minimum age depends on country. In the UK the minimum age is 23 although a Young Driver Surcharge applies for drivers under 25. Some countries adopt a minimum age of 21 although I am not aware of many countries adopting a minimum age of 20. If you could let me know where you are planning to rent I can double check this for you.
Rob
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I have just turned 70, can I still hire a car in Malta?
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:37 am
Hi Roy,
You certainly can, there is no upper age limit in Malta so there will be no problems.
Chris
June 6th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
I am 21 years old and will be visiting the UK this summer. Will I be able to rent a car?
Thanks
June 7th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Hello,
I’ve read the upper comments but I’m still a bit confused:) I’m travelling to Scotland in summer with four other friends aged 21-23. We would like to rent a car there. So if I’m getting it right: a person who is 23 can rent a car and pays surcharge… I’m 21 and I can’t be added as an additional driver, right?
Thank you for your answer:)
June 8th, 2009 at 8:53 am
@Ben, the minimum age to rent a car with Avis in the UK is 23. So unfortunately we would not be able to provide you with car hire in this instance. I wish you all the best on your trip to the UK though. The expectation at the moment is that we are expecting to have a fine summer!
Rob
June 8th, 2009 at 9:01 am
@Jaka, your assessment on the comments is correct! The minimum age is 23 with drivers under the age of 25 being subject to a Young Driver Surcharge. This costs £12.65 per day. Unfortunately anyone under the age of 23 cannot be added as an additional driver.
Do you need any more info?
Where are you headed to in Scotland? A road trip around the Highlands is very high on my “must-do” list!
Rob
June 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Thank you for your answer, I must say that this is the site with most useful information about age restriction I found so far (and I have checked A LOT of other sites). You provided me with just what I needed to know:)
We will be trying to do a tour round Scotland, this is our primary goal…yet:) The most important destinations for now (must-sees) are: Glasgow, Edinburgh, west coast (maybe even some island), Loch Ness and yes, also Highlands. I’ve read that they are awesome, and after I saw the pictures of landscape, I was sure they are. So we’re going there too:)
June 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Thanks for the feedback, Jaka.
Well if it helps you feel anymore inspired Glen Coe is currently running in second place as one of the UK’s top natural wonders.
Have a great trip!
Rob
August 14th, 2009 at 11:58 am
I am 22 years old, have been driving since 17 and average 500-1000 miles per week with my job, how can you discriminate against me because of my age when i am as experienced as most drivers?
August 17th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Hi Craig, I totally sympathise with you and understand why you may feel disappointed given the extent of your driving history. Unfortunately, it is impractical for us to assess drivers on a case-by-case basis so we need to apply simple rules. In this instance this rule is governed by the general probability that the risk of damage is higher with younger age groups(as it is with private car insurance). I appreciate that this sounds a bit of generalisation but it is not possible for us to legislate on a case-by-case basis.
Let me know if you have any further thoughts.
Rob
September 28th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
I’m trying to assist my parents with some car rental planning overseas. They are debating several different countries to visit. What I was wondering is does Avis have any maximum age restrictions for Greece, Cyprus, Israel or Morocco?
Thanks
September 30th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Hi David,
In Greece, Israel and Morocco there are no maximum age limits. However in Cyprus there is a surcharge of €5.50 per day for drivers over the age of 72.
I hope that helps
Chris
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Hi,
I am 20 and have just rented a car from [a competitor] London under their new student scheme. I was not impressed with the service & attitude I got at [your competitor] and was wondering whether AVIS were considering starting a scheme with a similar nature (19-24 year olds pay a daily surcharge of ?15 + 15% discount)?
When I was on holiday in Israel with friends earlier this year, we rented from AVIS and were treated like the queen! So naturally I would want to start renting from AVIS my self!
On a separate point, I passed my driving test nearly 3 years ago and drive a 3 litre Toyota Camry 30,000 miles a year. I am insured with Bell direct. Would AVIS rent me a vehicle (in the UK) if I arranged to have the vehicle fully insured with Bell? I have done this in the past with other rental companies.
I am aware of all the risks involved with young drivers… But would appreciate a response non the less.
Many thanks,
Martin
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Hello Martin,
Thank you for your post and I am glad that you have received such great service from our Avis colleagues in Israel.
We are always considering new products and ways to improve our services. A young driver product is one that we frequently consider, but we’ve not been able to implement this as yet. The main reason is the risk to the cars, unfortunately young drivers, generally tend to be less experienced and so we would take a greater risk to our fleet and repair costs. To off set this risk the insurance would need to go up and unfortunately we feel that the cost that we would need to pass on to the customer is too high.
Some Avis countries do offer young driver products, so while we do not offer this in the UK I would recommend that you do check with the local Avis office to see if they can offer you a car.
Darren
January 31st, 2010 at 5:24 am
Hi,
I am looking to rent a luxury car for 3 days over the valentine weekend in two weeks time, but I am only 23 years old, accidentally found this blog when I was searching on google for a company that supplied luxury cars for young drivers, just a quick qestion, by luxury do you mean ford mondeo or equaivlent or can I get something better like an Audi A4 or BMW 3 series? If so, How do I go about approaching it, because your website reuqires min 25 years of age to drive a bmw 3 series. Thank you, your help is appreciated
February 9th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Hi Jeffrey,
Unfortunately if you want to rent a BMW you will have to be over the age of 25.
However a ford mondeo would not be a problem at all, and is a great car to hire!
Keep in mind that if you hire a Ford Mondeo you will have to pay an under age surcharge of 11UKL+ VAT per day.
You also always need a full clean drivers licence held over 1 year and a credit card.
I hope this helps.
Sandra
May 14th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Hi
What is the lower age limit for the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for group F or group M ?
Best Regards
Anthony Loveys
May 25th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Hello Anthony,
I will take each country separately as they each have different rules for young drivers.
Firstly Latvia, for 21-23 years you can rent groups a,b,c and f but with a 21 lul+tax 21% underage fee.
Next, Luthuania you can rent groups a,b and f, for a 22 year old with no underage fee for this one.
Finally in Estonia you can rent groups a and b only with an under 25(minimum 21 years old) fee of 150eek +20%tax.
I hope this helps,
Michael
June 1st, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Hi,
I am a 23 yo Australian currently visiting Europe. I would like to hire a car for a couple of days in the UK – however I’m not sure if I’m able to on my licence.
I have an Australian provisional driver’s licence (I’m not sure if there’s a UK equivalent but basically it’s the licence you get after holding a learner’s licence and passing a practical test). I have had it over a year. It has no restrictions in Australia other than a lower blood alcohol limit allowed. I do not need to display P Plates at home.
Thanks
Mike
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:21 am
Hello Mike,
Firstly for a 23 to 25 year old there will be an underage surcharge of UKL £11.00 plus tax per day. Secondly in the U.K. to rent a car you must have held a full clean licence for at least a year before you can rent. In the U.K. you cannot rent with a provisional licence,
Regards,
Michael
February 6th, 2011 at 2:23 am
Hello,
I will, unfortunately be a few days shy of 25, for the week I plan on renting in Ireland, as well as a week in Scotland. I have never been in an accident, and the last 2 years I have not needed a car and thus do not have car insurance.
As I have been researching, I have noticed a few companies requiring, “a note from their insurance company showing that they have been driving accident free for the past five years” … and will only be able to rent until “accepted subject to a driving ability assessment test on commencement.”
Does Avis only have the Young Drive Surcharge? Or does Avis also require a note from a previous insurance company and a drivers test before being allowed to rent?
Sorry for the long note, but thank you!
February 14th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Hello Breanna,
For an underage driver (under 25) Avis does not require a note from a previous insurance company; the Young Driver Surcharge is the only requirement in order to be able to rent with Avis.
kind regards,
Desiree- Central Reservations Team
April 4th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Three sort of elderly males (69,73 & 76) are planning 2 separate hires in Western Canada in September 2011. I understand there are no upper age limits to hire. Do any surcharges apply? What are the costs for extra drivers?
April 11th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Hello Mr Foster,
When renting with Avis in Canada, there is no upper age limit nor does any age surcharge apply. The cost of additional drivers are CAD 10.00 per day to a maximum of CAD 50.00 per rental per driver.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Desiree- Central Reservations Team
July 29th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Hi
My daughter age nearly 21 is holidaying with me in Italy in september this year. She’s been driving for 3 years no points on her licence, has her own car and insurance. Is it possible for her to be an additional driver to me on a small engine car hire ? I don’t want to do all the driving myself
August 17th, 2011 at 2:37 am
Hi – I currently hold an Australian Provisional license – which means ive passed all three parts of the Australian Driving test and I am allowed to drive unsupervised in Australia (I must display a green P for three years only one more year to fo before i can loose that)
I am well over 25 so my questions are
1) Can i hire In Australia and will i pay any extra for being an over 25 P plater
2) I return to the UK for work from time to time so will an Australin Provisional license allow me to hire – in the UK Provisional license is issued B4 you take your test so I suspect the Australian one is assumed to be the same when it isnt.
September 6th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Hi
Just double-checking that the information given in this blog by someone called Eibhlin is still correct – she posted in 2007 that there is no maximum driving age in France? My father is 80 and would like to rent a car in France.
September 7th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Dear Eva,
I have double checked this information for you and I can confirm there is no upper age limit when renting in France.
Desiree – Reservations UK