Renting a Car at 20: Tips for Young Drivers

Renting a car as a 20-year-old is quite a bit more difficult – and sometimes quite a bit more expensive too.

However, there is practical advice that can help anyone aged 20-27 get a rental car without running into difficulties. Below are the tips that matter.

Age Requirements

For most rental companies, you must be at least 21 years old to rent a car. That is simply their policy, and there is nothing you can do about it.

But that is not the case with all of them.

Before you book, open the terms and conditions and find the section named something like “Driving Age and Driver License Requirements”. The age requirements will be laid out there.

If you are under 21, keep checking providers this way until you find one that rents to 18-year-olds as well. They exist.

Young Driver Fee

Almost everyone aged 25 or younger will have to pay what is called a young driver fee – a surcharge rental companies collect from renters in that age group.

The fee typically ranges from $10-35 per day. On a longer rental, that adds up to quite an amount.

It should be mentioned in the terms and conditions before you book. Sometimes it is added to your total automatically online, if you entered your age in the search filters.

If it is not added to your bill online and not mentioned in the terms, it makes sense to contact customer service by email or phone and find out exactly how much it will cost. Otherwise, if you prepay the booking online and then fail or refuse to collect the car over an unexpected fee at the desk, the rental provider may keep your money.

Driving Licence Requirements

All rental companies require that you have held your licence for at least one full year. One full year of driving experience. That’s it – no way around it.

Credit Card Requirements

Card requirements for twenty-year-olds are the same as for everyone else. Rental companies rarely ask young drivers for a larger security deposit – so if the standard deposit is $500, being asked for $1,000 instead is possible, but rare.

The bigger issue is that most twenty-year-olds don’t yet have a credit card. We are talking about a credit card here – not a debit card.

If that is your situation – don’t worry. There are companies that will let you rent with a regular debit card.

Again, go to the terms of rental, find the section named something like “Primary Driver Credit Card Requirements”, and read the deposit wording carefully. A typical example looks like this:

“At pick-up, you will be required to leave a deposit to cover the insurance excess. This is usually done by placing a temporary hold on an international credit card in the name of the primary driver. The minimum amount blocked will cover the insurance excess, fuel, and VAT.

Cash deposits, Maestro, American Express, Switch, Visa Electron, and debit cards are not accepted. Prepaid, reloadable, virtual credit cards, and cards without embossed (raised) characters on the front are also not accepted.

A young driver surcharge applies to drivers aged 25 or under: USD 24.00 per day, up to a maximum of USD 360.00.”

If it explicitly says debit cards are not accepted, look for another rental company whose terms confirm that they are.

Three things that help here:

• Comparison websites and aggregators often have a separate filter for rental companies that accept debit cards.
• Some rental companies will accept a debit card instead of a credit card if you purchase additional coverage at the desk. That coverage costs around $15-35 per day.
• If you are renting in Europe, examples of companies that accept debit cards include Maggiore, KeynGo, and Locauto – to name a few.

If, however, you do own a major credit card – you’re good.

Limits on What Cars You Can Rent

Certain rental companies do not let renters in the “young driver” category rent cars above a certain size or class. The terms and conditions may say something like:

“The minimum driver age and required driving licence experience depend on the vehicle group:

– 18 years old with at least 1 year of driving experience: M***, E***, H***, C***

– 21 years old with at least 1 year of driving experience: D***, I***, J***, S***, F***, G***

– 21 years old with at least 2 years of driving experience: P***, L***

– 25 years old with at least 3 years of driving experience: W***, X***, Special Cars (*S), Sports & Luxury Cars (*L)

– 30 years old with at least 5 years of driving experience: Sports & Luxury Cars (**LP)

So make sure the requirements fit you before you book. Otherwise, you’ll arrive expecting a full-size and they’ll hand you an economy.

Everything Else

For insurance, deposits, and all other elements, the requirements are the same as for any other renter. If you need the full picture, read the complete guide to renting a car online in 2026.

To Summarize

There are ways to rent a car online in 2026 as a twenty-year-old. In most cases, however, you will have to pay an extra fee for something – the point of this guide is to make sure you don’t pay too much.

If all of this feels like too much work, feel free to submit a request on getcheaprentals.com, we’ll find you a rental car deal that’s right.