So I got a UK license. But I still can't rent a car in the US!!!

I let my US license expire 'cause you are not supposed to extend it if you live out of the country. And since NJ licenses only last 4 years (bureaucrats want to collect their $30 for extensions, you see), it expired pretty fast.

I went through all the hassle to get a UK license (which is a Kafkaesque experience in its own right) and now I have it.

But guess what?

I still can't rent when I visit US!!!
-BECAUSE-
no car rental company will rent to me since my UK license is less than 1 year old!

So with 20 year perfect driving record, I am a new driver ineligible to rent.

Paging Dr. Kafka!!!

Who is giving you that information? I've checked the websites of Avis, Hertz, Budget and Alamo and nowhere does it say that you have to have had your license for more than a  year. They all simply say they require that you have a valid driving license. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see it.

You can't hire a car with just a temporary license - is that what you have? Your provisional? Once you have your full license, you ought to be OK as far as I know.

As for your US license, I don't know the rules in New Jersey, but I do know that a lot of forum members have renewed their US licenses in a lot of states. You might want to do a search and see if anyone from NJ has any advice for you.

When my husband tried to hire a car in the UK a few years ago he was told that he ahd to have had his licence for a year before they would let him.  He called pretty much every car hire place in London, including the ones you name.  It was very annoying, as it was only once we had nearly completed the booking process that we were told this.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same in the US with these firms.

Vicky

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same in the US with these firms.

I am surprised at that! Also because all of those firms' websites list specific requirements in their FAQs, and not one mentions that. Weird.

From Hertz's FAQ:
At time of rental, the driver must present a valid national driver's licence which has been held for at least 1 year. (3 years in the case of Hertz Prestige Collection (HPC) vehicles.)

From AVIS FAQ:
All named drivers must hold a full, clean and valid drivers licence, valid for the country of use and held for a minimum of one year.

From Dollar "General Terms":
Please ensure that you have available ID and a valid and full national driver's licence held for a minimum of 1 year (in case of a UK photo-card licence the card and paper counterpart) and that you are at least 21 years of age.

Etc., etc.

Sometimes they don't mention this requirement in their FAQ, but when you go on to make a reservation, it will be there.

when my boyfriend comes here to the us to visit from the uk......he has to use his international license to be on the rental car.............his uk license alone was not enough.....that was required with avis and national both

And now some (hopefully) useful information in addition to the rant.

Enterprise is the only major company that I could find that officially does not have a 1yr old license requirement. The downside is, they have weird hours (e.g. they close at midnight in Newark just when my plane pulls in). Also, they don't have all-inclusive rates (see below).

I also emailed customer services of several major companies explaining my situation; so far I only got a reply from Hertz: "That's fine if you have a full driver license.Just take your <expired> US driver license with you, just in case if they will ask for it."

So I reserved with Hertz and hoping for the best.

Another tidbit. Many although not all rental companies provide "all-inclusive rates" to UK residents. These include "Loss damage waiver" and "liability insurance supplement". If you live in the UK you prolly don't have US car insurance and will need these. If purchased separately these can cost around $20 per day for loss damage and around $13 for liability. So if you can get all-inclusive rates, do so. You will have to go through UK affiliate web sites to get these (e.g. www.hertz.co.uk [nofollow] ) . At least Hertz, National, Budget and Dollar seem to offer these rates. (Be careful with the Dollar rent a car, though, at least some of their rates don't apply to US/Canadian citizens - how weird is that?!).

Last piece of advise: if you cannot get all-inclusive rate, check with your credit card provider, my platinum mastercard has a free "loss damage waiver" insurance, I think it is pretty common, so I would only need liability insurance at $13/day if I went with Enterprise. Contact mastercard for more details.

Have you thought about booking with someone like holidayautos? I used them alot when I was a travel agent. They include all the insurance a UK resident would need. I used them when I flew home when my mom was dying. I found it much cheaper to use a car rental consolidator than going direct to the auto company.

I haven't looked at the fine print with them about the length of you having your license. But I do know they won't rent to anyone under 21. I didn't even have a UK license when I used them either I checked in with my OK license when I picked the car up in Tulsa.

To be honest as many times as we have rented cars in the US and this is ALOT from here they have never once looked at the dates on the license just that we had one and that is was current. Never looked at the paper that goes with the picture id part...

Maybe if you purchase an in'tl licence, you can avoid the 1 yr requirement?

Maybe if you purchase an in'tl licence, you can avoid the 1 yr requirement?

I'm sceptical. An International Licence (aka International Driving Permit) is merely a translation of one's own license into multiple languages, as opposed to being an actual license in its own right. Given that US English is roughly similar to UK English, I can't see what purpose it would serve. I'm also surprised that any US rental car company would require one - I've never personally come across this.