Location Policies and Rental Terms and Conditions.
Disclaimer
This information is accurate as of February 14, 2023, for current prices and policies for any given location, please, visit the following page https://www.europcar.com/rental-requirements
Rental requirements Minimum age required:
United-Kingdom - 22 years old.
Germany - 18 years old.
Belgium - 19 years old.
Ireland - 25 years old. (At the commencement of rental, drivers must meet the requirement for licence eligibility. If the number of years is 8, this does not mean that the driver must have held their licence for 8 years - it means they must have been eligible to hold their licence for 8 years. Please refer here for full terms and conditions)
Spain - 21 years old.
Italy - 18 years old (25 for Selection vehicles).
Australia - 21 years old.
New Zealand - 21 years old.
Portugal - 19 years old (25 for certain car categories).
France - 19 years old. (Driver must have had 1 year of driving experience prior to hiring a car. 'Escort Drive' program is accepted. Please ask at your rental branch.)
In most countries, you must be aged 21 or over to rent a car.
A Young Driver Surcharge is applied for:
United-Kingdom - 22 - 25 (inclusive of 25)
Germany - 18 - 22 (inclusive of 22)
Belgium - 19-24 (inclusive of 24)
Spain - 21 - 24 (inclusive of 24)
Italy - 18 - 24 (inclusive of 24)
Australia - 21 - 24 (inclusive of 24)
New Zealand - 21 - 24 (inclusive of 24)
Portugal - 19 - 22 (inclusive)
France - 18 - 25 (inclusive 25)
Ireland - No charge applied
When renting a vehicle, a driver qualified as a "young driver" pays a specific charge (according to the Terms and Conditions of the country of rental) - the "Young Driver Surcharge".
Terms and conditions of the applicable Young Driver Surcharge may vary from one country to another: it is therefore strongly recommended to consult the relevant terms and conditions either at time of booking online, via your local Europcar Reservation Office or at time of rental.
Local driving licence:
You will need to present to our customer representative your normal driving licence, issued by your country of residence and held for a minimum period according to local legislation or conditions. It will be requested at every rental.
Identification documents required:
An identification document, such as a passport or ID card may also be required. The driver licence is not sufficient.
Means of payment:
You will also need to present a valid credit card on which an authorisation is requested.
Please be aware that the renter IS the cardholder and must be physically present in order to sign the rental agreement.
Payment Methods & Deposits Means of Payment Accepted
- Europcar accepts major credit cards:
American Express, Diners Club, Mastercard and Visa.
- In some cases, payment may be made with:
Europcar charge cards and Full Credit vouchers
Europcar prepaid vouchers Cash/cheques
- Even if using a Europcar prepaid voucher (with a specified value or the mention Group Days), you must also present a credit card for the charges which have not been prepaid (extras, refuelling charge, excess due in case of damage to or loss of the rented vehicle)
- For luxury models you may also be required at certain locations a second credit card and / or utility bill dated within the last 3 months from the same address
Deposit rules
We need to estimate the car rental charges and obtain an authorisation number from your bank. The estimate is based upon:
- Expected length of rental
- Applicable rate including tax - Incidental charges such as gasoline, and excess waiver
This amount is not debited. It is held on cardholder's bank account until the final rental charge amount is debited.
However, there can be exceptions in some countries. Please see our General Rental Terms for more detail. Deposits and rentals paid in cash are limited within the Europcar network (where cash deposits are accepted they must be accompanied by additional forms of proof of identity - please check with your Europcar reservations office).
For full deposit information in the United Kingdom please click here (redirection to .co.uk website)
DCC (dynamic Currency Conversion)
DCC or Dynamic Currency Conversion is a financial service in which cardholders have the amount of the transaction converted to their local currency when making payment in a foreign currency .
Europcar proposes to process the conversion instead of the cardholder issuing bank.
The renter/ cardholder will benefit from transparency of fees (only 2.75% currency conversion fee per transaction), and a currency conversion receipt will be available on http://www.europcar.com (rubric Print Invoices) following each rental.
This service is available in 9 European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom).
Customer has the choice at pick up time between a conversion processed by Europcar or by his/her card issuing bank.
https://microsite.europcar.com/pdf/dcc.pdf?_ga=2.238332231.652481044.1676982144-244943300.1676982144
Dynamic Currency Conversion (“DCC”)
CREDIT CARD CURRENCY CONVERSION
What is the Europcar Dynamic Currency Conversion service?
The DCC is an optional service provided specifically for ‘Visa’ and ‘MasterCard’ cardholders travelling abroad: it enables you to benefit from a currency conversion while paying your rental with your credit card.
Usually, your card issuing bank converts each foreign currency transaction into your card billing currency and charges you for this service in accordance with your personal bank’ Terms and Conditions.
Please note that you alternatively have the choice that such currency conversion be handled by Europcar under a specific exchange rate and according to the Terms and Conditions as disclosed by Europcar, and thus replace your card issuing bank in doing the currency conversion.
What are the benefits of this Dynamic Currency Conversion service (‘DCC service’)?
If you choose to apply for the DCC service, you will be informed at “Pick up time” of the applicable currency conversion calculation method (information will be given on an estimated basis at ‘Pick up time’ on your rental agreement), and you will be informed of the final statement of applicable charges at “Time of Return’ of the vehicle.
Note:
Currency conversion calculation method:
EUROPCAR charges you with an exchange rate fixed daily by a third party:
“Reuters” including an additional 2.75% currency conversion fee (‘Currency Conversion Fee’). This way you have a total transparency on what you are to pay.
How your DCC service choice is marked on your Rental Agreement?
At ‘Pick up time’ DCC service is marked on your rental agreement as an estimate payable in the local currency and in the chosen currency of the total amount with the daily rate fixed by “Reuters” including the additional 2.75% Currency Conversion Fee.
Example: a US customer rents in United Kingdom. On his rental agreement this information will appear as follows:
“Estimate payable in local currency 94.32 GPB
Estimate payable in chosen currency 189.80 USD
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Exchange Rate as of today 2.0123 including Fee 2.75%
If you chose to apply for this DCC service, you will have to express your choice by affixing your signature further to the following terms:
“I accept that I have been offered a choice of currencies for payment and that the final charge amount will be converted in (exemple) USD. Signature:”
How your final charged amount in your local currency is displayed on your invoice?
At ‘time of Return’ the final charge amount is mentioned on your invoice and calculated as a result of the “Reuters”’ rate of that return day including the additional 2.75% Currency Conversion Fee.
Following the former example: the customer will read on his invoice the following mention:
Transaction value converted in cardholder currency: 189.76 USD GBP/USD Reuters source 2.0119 (including currency conversion fee 2.75%)
Note:
Please note that if you do not take your invoice when returning the vehicle, you can download a copy of your invoice (including the currency conversion details) on the following ‘Time of return’ day: such copy is available on www.europcar.com (heading: “My Europcar”). Such copy is open to download up to six (6) months after the ‘time of return’ day.
May I change my mind at time of return?
If you change your mind and finally decline the DCC service offer you opted for at ‘Pick up time’, you can do it at time of Return only while asking for the invoice at the Counter. In such case your invoice will report the following mention: “Final charge amount will be converted by cardholder’s issuing bank”.
Note:
In case you decline the Europcar DCC service at ‘Pick up time’, please note that you cannot opt for the Europcar DCC service at ‘Time of return’.
Where to benefit from this service?
Today, Europcar DCC service is available in nine (9) European countries1 at most EUROPCAR’ counters and for most of major card currencies2.
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Note:
If, for any technical reason Europcar could not offer you this service, the currency conversion of your transaction would automatically be ensured by your card issuing bank and according to your card issuing bank’ Terms and Conditions.
Note:
In case you have subscribed to the Europcar Privilege Ready Service, your rental agreement is prepared with the DCC option unless you inform the Europcar staff you do not want it. To unsubscribe, please contact the data center of the Europcar headquarter of your country of residence.
This document is for information purpose only: for full details concerning this option DCC service, please refer to the relevant Europcar Rental Terms & Conditions applicable in the country of rental.
February 2008 – V02.00
1 Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom
2 AUD, CAD, DKK, EUR, HKD, JPY, NOK, ZAR, GBP, SEK, CHF, USD
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