Rental Car Additional Driver Fee: Hertz, Enterprise, Avis & More

Quick answer: an extra driver costs $13.50 a day at Hertz (at most $216 a rental), $15 at Enterprise, National and Alamo, and $13 at Avis and Budget. A spouse or domestic partner drives free at all five of those; at Hertz only with Gold Plus Rewards, AAA, or in California and Iowa. California law makes close family and coworkers free everywhere, and New York caps the fee at $5 a day.

How to use it

Pick who the extra driver is, the state where you pick the car up, and the days. Under More, set how many extra drivers and tick the memberships you have: AAA and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards change Hertz’s answer, Emerald Club changes National’s. The answer lists the companies that charge nothing first, then the rest from cheapest. Each card quotes the sentence its answer rests on and links the page it comes from.

The fee at each company

Each company’s own US page, read on October 15, 2026; Hertz’s from its rental terms for its Los Angeles airport counter, because its old FAQ page is gone.

Sixt says A daily fee applies, subject to a daily cap and prints neither. Thrifty says its fees are charged per person, per day throughout the duration of the rental period and that Some locations may have varying fees so please check before you book.

Who drives free

• A spouse or domestic partner at Enterprise, National, Alamo, Avis and Budget. Enterprise, National and Alamo word it the same way: Renter’s spouse or domestic partner who meet the same age and driver’s license requirements of the renter are authorized drivers at no additional charge. Avis adds that they must be 25 or older.
• At Hertz, a spouse for rentals that originate in California or Iowa, and a spouse or domestic partner when the renter is in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, any tier. A AAA member’s spouse or partner is free too, and the AAO fee is also waived when both the renter and the AAO are AAA members. Book with AAA’s discount code (CDP).
• A coworker on company business, at every company that prints a fee, when the booking is on the company’s account or discount number.
• Family at National: Emerald Club members’ immediate family member (mother, father, son, daughter, brother or sister) with the same address on the license.

The two state laws

California’s Civil Code § 1939.19(d) lets a rental company charge for an authorized driver unless the driver is The renter’s spouse, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 1939.01, the renter’s child or person for whom the renter is a legal guardian, the renter’s sibling, or the renter’s parent or grandparent, or the renter’s employer or coworker. That holds at every company, Sixt and Thrifty included. A domestic partner is not on the list, so the company’s own rule decides.

New York’s General Business Law § 396-z says: Fees for additional authorized drivers shall not exceed five dollars per additional driver per rental day. That version runs until June 30, 2028; the one that takes over says three dollars. Avis and Budget already charge $3 there.

Worked examples

• A friend shares a 7-day road trip. Avis or Budget $91 · Hertz $94.50 · Enterprise, National or Alamo $105: $13, $13.50 and $15 a day.
• Your spouse, 5 days, no memberships. Free at Enterprise, Avis, Budget, National and Alamo · Hertz $67.50, or $0 at Hertz once you join Gold Plus Rewards.
• Your mother drives on a 4-day rental from Los Angeles. Free at every company here, by California law.
• A friend on a 21-day trip. Hertz $216 · Avis or Budget $273 · Enterprise, National or Alamo $315: Hertz reaches its $216 cap on day 16.

Common mistakes

• Letting a friend drive without adding them. Sixt says Only drivers listed on the rental agreement are covered under SIXT protection packages, and in California a company that finds out may charge up to twice the fee.
• Assuming a spouse is free at Hertz. Outside California and Iowa it takes Gold Plus Rewards or AAA.
• Paying with a debit card and planning to share the driving with a friend. At Enterprise, National and Alamo A spouse or domestic partner is the only permitted additional driver on a rental secured with a debit card.
• Planning on three extra drivers at Avis or Budget. Both take two at most, and only drivers of 25 or older.
• Counting on California’s law for a domestic partner. The law names a spouse; the company’s own rule decides for a partner.

More for the road trip

Sharing the wheel is half of road tripping as a couple without breaking up. For the long drives, plan one of the epic American road trips you can plan in a weekend, the California coastal drive, Las Vegas to Sequoia or New York to Florida, and pack from the road trip essentials. Under 25? How Old to Rent a Car has each company’s young renter fee; Rental Car Toll Programs has the other fee at the counter, and the Road Trip Cost Calculator the gas.