In general, no matter where you rent a car, only drivers that are listed on the rental contract are allowed to drive the vehicle. There are only a few expectations to this which are noted below.

If someone not listed on the contract drives the vehicle, any coverage will be voided, meaning you'll be liable for any damage caused to the vehicle or another vehicle. Think you can save money by not paying to have another driver added to the contract? It could end up costing you much, much more — just don't do it.

Keep in mind that any additional drivers, anywhere in the world, must meet the same age and driver's license requirements as the main driver to be able to drive the vehicle.

In Europe, you almost always have to pay for additional drivers of any type. The fee varies from company to company and country to country. Sometimes it is charged as a daily fee and at other times as a one-time fee for the entire rental. Unlike in North America (details can be found below) spouses and domestic partners are usually not allowed for free (nor automatically).

These additional drivers always have to be present when signing the contract (or you have to return to the rental office to add them later) and present their driver's license (and perhaps passport).

Be on the lookout for special deals that include an additional driver for free (see examples below of how to find this in our search results).

The rules surrounding additional drivers are a little more complex in North America, but there are many instances where, depending on the relationship of the driver to the main driver, they may be free.

California, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin all have laws that allow spouses of the main driver to drive a rental vehicle automatically without being added to the contract (as long as they meet the age and driver's license requirements).

In California, rental companies are not allowed to charge additional driver fees at all, no matter the relationship any additional drivers have with the main driver. Additional drivers (aside from spouses and employees renting under a company contract) are still required to be present when signing the contract and must meet the same requirements as the main driver.

In other states and Canada, spouses (and domestic partners in Canada) can be added to the rental contract at no additional cost with many rental suppliers (for example, Enterprise, Budget, and Alamo). Other suppliers (including Dollar and Thrifty) charge for additional drivers that are spouses in states that are not noted above (except for members of their rewards programs).

In any case, you can see the additional driver fee for the car you plan to rent in the optional extras section of the booking page (though keep in mind if that the fee may not apply to you based on the above).

If you have any questions about whether you will have to pay an additional driver fee for your rental and how much it will be, feel free to contact our friendly customer service who will be more than happy to help you.