How old do you have to be to rent a car in California
June 23, 2020

How old do you have to be to rent a car in California?


How old do you have to be to rent a car in California

How old to rent a car in California?

With the majority of car hire suppliers, the minimum age to rent a car is 21 years plus an underage fee.  Under 25 drivers usually have to pay an extra per day fee and some restrictions on the type of cars that they can rent.

Can I rent a car in California at 18?

Yes, 18 & 19-year-olds can rent cars in California through a majority of suppliers like Alamo, Budget, Europcar, Enterprise, and Hertz rent-a-car. They list 18, 19, and 20 years as one of the options on their search form under the "renter's age" field. 

If you are below the age of 20 or 21, it is possible that you might be asked to pay an underage fee which varies from supplier to supplier and car size. The underage fee also depends on the location where you want to pick the rental vehicle. 

 Screenshot of rental age options given on enterprise.com’s search form


Screenshot of rental age options given on  Hertz.com’s search form



Screenshot of rental age options given on  Alamo.com’s search form

Screenshot of rental age options given on  Budget.com’s search form



 Screenshot of rental age options given on  Europcar.com’s search form


We checked on Sixt, Advantage rent-a-car, Dollar rent-a-car, and Fox rent-a-car, they don’t provide deals for under 21 drivers.

Also, for different cases, the suppliers put forth different age restrictions. For example, for a van rental the minimum age is usually 25 years while for an economy car it is 21 years.

Conclusion: In order to rent a car in California, you must be at least 18 years old. Drivers below 25 years old usually have to pay an underage fee. If you are 25 or above, you will be allowed to rent almost any rental type & no extra fee will be charged. 

Where to rent a car in California if you are under 21 or 25?

It does not matter whether you are under 21 driver or 75+, you will still be able to rent a car in California. 

In California, you can rent a car at a lot of locations depending on where you are going. If you are traveling by air and would like to pick the rental car at an airport, all major airport locations have rental counters. If you live in or are visiting a city in California and would like to pick a car rental for a road trip or day trip, downtown and other popular locations are also covered by the hire car companies. Names of some major car hire cities & airports in California are mentioned below
  • San Francisco
  • San Francisco Airport
  • Los Angeles
  • Los Angeles Airport
  • San Diego
  • San Diego Airport

Intercity road trips & National Parks in California

Both 25+ drivers and young drivers can rent cars for these road trips or self-drive trips to these National Parks.

Many people rent cars for road trips between two or more cities in California. Since many of the rental agencies allow under 21 drivers to rent cars, in addition to tourists & locals, many university students also take weekend trips in California. Some popular road trips that tourists and locals love are:

  • San Francisco to Los Angeles
  • Los Angeles to Las Vegas
  • Los Angeles to San Diego
  • Phoenix to San Francisco
  • Orlando to Miami
  • San Francisco to Seattle
  • Yellowstone National Park
  • Yosemite National Park
  • Grand Canyon National Park

Do I need to have a credit card to rent a car if I am under 21 years?

Most rental agencies ask for credit cards only, if you don't have one you can use the credit card of one of your parents of friends. They will only accept the credit card that is not on your name if you have an authorization document with you, signed by the owner of the credit card.

You Might Also Like

0 comments