How to get a Free Additional Driver on Your Next Car Rental

Free Additional Driver Quick Tips:

• Renting in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, or Wisconsin? Your spouse or domestic partner rides free by state law. (Nevada caps fees but does not make spouses free.)
• Book through CarRentalSavers.com with Ace, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Fox, National, or Payless — spouse/partner is free regardless of state.
• Join Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, Dollar Express Rewards, or Thrifty Blue Chip — all waive fees for a spouse or domestic partner.
• AAA members get free additional drivers at Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty — plus base rate discounts and free child seats.
• Turo rentals include up to 8 free additional drivers per reservation.
• Additional driver fees average $13/day — on a 7-day trip that's $91. These strategies eliminate that cost entirely.

Additional driver fees are one of the most quietly expensive line items in car rental. At an average of $13 per day, adding a second driver to a week-long rental costs over $90 before you've even left the parking lot. For couples, families, and frequent travelers who share driving duties, that's a significant and entirely avoidable cost.

The good news: there are six reliable ways to get a free additional driver on your rental — through state law, agency loyalty programs, membership discounts, booking strategies, and peer-to-peer platforms. Here's how each one works.

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Method 1

Rent in a State With Free Additional Driver Laws

Several US states have passed legislation that either limits or eliminates additional driver fees for certain renters. If your trip takes you to one of these states, you may be entitled to a free second driver by law — regardless of which agency you book with.

States Where Your Spouse or Domestic Partner Drives Free

In the following states, rental agencies are legally required to allow a renter's spouse or domestic partner as an additional driver at no charge:

State	Who Qualifies for Free	Notes
California	Spouse, child/legal guardian, sibling, parent, grandparent, employer, or coworker	Updated 8/22 — broadest definition in the country
Illinois	Spouse / domestic partner
Indiana	Spouse / domestic partner
Iowa	Spouse / domestic partner
Missouri	Spouse / domestic partner
New York	Spouse / domestic partner free; all others capped	Fee for non-spouse capped at $5/day (2023 law: $5 total per rental)
Oregon	Spouse / domestic partner
Texas	Spouse / domestic partner
Utah	Spouse / domestic partner
Wisconsin	Spouse / domestic partner

California Update (August 2022): California's old blanket ban on additional driver fees was replaced. Agencies can now charge for drivers outside qualifying relationships. However, California still has the broadest free-driver definition in the country — spouses, siblings, parents, grandparents, children, employers, and coworkers all qualify. Anyone else can be charged.

New York: Spouses and domestic partners drive free in New York by law. For all other additional drivers, fees are capped at $5 per day. A 2023 update went further, limiting the total charge to $5 per rental regardless of trip length — though many agencies still display the $5/day figure in their terms. Either way, New York is the most renter-friendly fee-cap state in the country.

Nevada — Fee Cap, Not Free: Nevada does not make spouses free. Nevada law caps what agencies can charge for any additional driver — including a spouse — at a rate that adjusts annually for inflation. The current cap is approximately $11–$15 per day depending on the agency. This is meaningfully less than the $15+ charged in most other states, but it is still a fee. Do not rely on Nevada state law to avoid the charge — use one of the other methods in this guide instead.

Pro Tip: Even in states where the additional driver is legally free, some agents will still attempt to add the fee to your contract. Do not add your spouse or domestic partner to the agreement in states where it is legally free — just present their license at pickup. If a charge appears on your contract, point out the applicable state law before signing.

Method 2

Book Through CarRentalSavers.com With Spouse/Partner-Friendly Agencies

Even outside the states listed above, several major rental agencies waive additional driver fees for spouses and domestic partners when you book through CarRentalSavers.com. This applies nationwide — not just in mandated states.

Agency	Free Spouse/Partner?	Notes
Ace Rent A Car	Yes	Excludes Florida locations
Alamo	Yes	Nationwide
Avis	Yes	Also waives fee for official business travel and disabled-renter assistance; additional driver must be 25+
Budget	Yes	Also waives fee for drivers assisting disabled renters
Enterprise	Yes	Additional driver must present valid license at pickup
Fox Rent A Car	Yes	Nationwide
National	Yes	See Emerald Club section for expanded family coverage
Payless	Yes	Nationwide

Pro Tip: Always have your additional driver physically present at pickup with their valid driver's license. Agencies require this — you cannot add a driver remotely or after you've left the lot (with the exception of Dollar, which allows additions at any US location during the rental period).

Method 3

Join a Frequent Renter Club

Frequent renter clubs are free to join and offer some of the most valuable additional driver benefits in the industry — particularly for spouses, domestic partners, and immediate family members. At the programs listed below, qualifying additional drivers are waived even outside mandated states, with no booking tricks required.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards

Hertz charges a per-day additional driver fee by default — but Gold Plus Rewards members have that fee waived for a spouse or domestic partner at any Hertz location. Gold Plus also lets you skip the counter entirely, choose from Hertz's best available vehicles, and earn points toward free rental days. It's one of the most feature-rich free loyalty programs available.

National Emerald Club

National's Emerald Club goes furthest on additional driver coverage. As an Emerald Club member, the following additional drivers ride free:

• Spouse or domestic partner (including common law)
• Any immediate family member (parent, child, sibling) who lives at the same address as the primary renter

National also waives the fee for corporate rental associates driving for official business purposes, and for surrogate drivers assisting disabled renters — even without Emerald Club membership. The Emerald Aisle perk — choose any car in the aisle at no upcharge — adds additional value on top of the driver benefit.

Dollar Express Rewards

Dollar Express Rewards members have their spouse or partner additional driver fee waived. Dollar also has one of the most flexible additional driver policies in the industry: drivers can be added at any point during the rental period, at any US Dollar location — you don't have to return to your original pickup location. The only hard limits are that additional drivers must be present with a valid license when added, and the number of additional drivers is capped by the number of passenger seats in the vehicle.

Pro Tip (Dollar): Dollar's program was previously paused but is now active again as of August 2024. If you had a Dollar Express account from before the pause, verify it's still active before relying on these benefits.

Thrifty Blue Chip

Thrifty Blue Chip members get the additional driver fee waived for a spouse or domestic partner. Blue Chip also provides counter-skip privileges at select locations and expedited pickup and return. Like Dollar, Thrifty's program was previously paused and has been reinstated as of August 2024.

Sixt Status Program

Sixt waives the fee for one additional driver for Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status members. This applies to US residents only and requires reaching one of those status tiers — which is based on rental frequency. If you rent with Sixt regularly, it's worth tracking your status tier.

Program	Cost to Join	Free Additional Driver Benefit	Other Key Perks
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards	Free	Spouse / domestic partner	Skip counter, choose your car, earn reward points
National Emerald Club	Free	Spouse/partner + same-address family	Emerald Aisle car choice, skip counter
Dollar Express Rewards	Free	Spouse / domestic partner	Add drivers at any US location mid-rental
Thrifty Blue Chip	Free	Spouse / domestic partner	Skip counter at select locations
Sixt Status (Gold+)	Free (status-based)	One additional driver	Status-based upgrades and priority service

Pro Tip: Always enter your frequent renter membership number at checkout when booking through CarRentalSavers.com — it's passed directly to the agency and ensures your benefits are applied. If you haven't rented in a while, log in to confirm your account is still active before your trip. Some programs suspend accounts after extended periods of non-use or if your profile information is outdated.

Method 4

Use AAA or Membership Discounts

AAA membership is one of the most broadly applicable discounts in car rental — and its additional driver benefit is one of the least-known perks. When you book using your AAA discount code at Hertz, Dollar, or Thrifty, the additional driver fee is waived if your additional driver is also a AAA member.

Agency	AAA Additional Driver Benefit	Extra AAA Perks
Hertz	Free additional driver for AAA members	Base rate discount, free child safety seat use
Dollar	Free additional driver for AAA members	Base rate discount
Thrifty	Free additional driver for AAA members	Base rate discount

Bottom Line: Both the primary renter and the additional driver must be AAA members for the waiver to apply. If you and your travel companion are both members — and many frequent travelers are — this is one of the easiest and most broadly available free additional driver options.

AAA discounts are honored at any participating Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty location across the United States and Canada, making this a particularly useful option for cross-country trips or destinations where state laws don't apply.

Pro Tip: AAA's car rental benefits extend well beyond additional drivers. Base rate discounts, vehicle upgrades, and free child safety seat use are all on the table depending on the agency and location. If you're a AAA member, always apply your member code at booking — the combined savings can be significant.

Method 5

Rent From Turo for Up to 8 Free Additional Drivers

If you need maximum flexibility on additional drivers — or if traditional agency options don't apply to your situation — Turo is in a category of its own. Every Turo reservation includes up to 8 free additional drivers as a standard feature. No loyalty program required, no state laws to navigate, no membership discount needed.

We resell Turo through CarRentalSavers.com, and it's worth knowing how the additional driver process works before you book:

Feature	How It Works on Turo
Number of free additional drivers	Up to 8 per reservation
How to add drivers	Via the Turo app or website — not at pickup
Approval required	Yes — driver's license must be submitted and approved
Deadline to add drivers	At least 24 hours before pickup
Young driver fee (under 25)	Applies — varies by age, check terms before adding
Insurance for additional drivers	Covered under the protection plan selected at booking

Bottom Line: For group trips, family travel, or any situation where multiple people will share driving, Turo's 8-driver inclusion makes it the most generous additional driver policy in the market — by far. No traditional agency comes close.

Pro Tip: Add all additional drivers to your Turo reservation as soon as you book — don't wait until the day before pickup. The 24-hour minimum is a hard deadline, and the approval process (license review) takes time. Last-minute additions risk being denied.

Pro Tip: Young driver fees on Turo apply per driver, not per reservation, and vary by age bracket. If you're adding multiple drivers under 25, review the fee structure in the Turo app before confirming — costs can add up depending on the ages involved.

Method 6

Special Circumstances — Business Travel and Disabled Renters

Beyond the standard routes, several agencies waive additional driver fees in specific circumstances that many renters don't know about. If either of these applies to your situation, you may qualify for a free additional driver without needing a loyalty program or state law on your side.

Official Business Travel

Avis waives the additional driver fee for rentals made on official business travel, where the additional driver is a fellow employee or business associate. The additional driver must be 25 or older. Budget has a similar policy. Note that Enterprise does not make this exception — their corporate policy does not extend a fee waiver for colleagues on business trips.

Drivers Assisting Disabled Renters

If you have a disability and require another person to drive on your behalf, several agencies waive the additional driver fee for your surrogate driver:

• Avis: Waives the additional driver fee for drivers assisting disabled renters under the Avis Cares program.
• Budget: Waives the additional driver fee for drivers assisting disabled renters
• Hertz: Waives the additional driver fee for drivers assisting disabled renters
• National: Waives the fee for surrogate drivers assisting disabled renters, even without Emerald Club membership
• Enterprise: Waives the fee when the additional driver is assisting a disabled renter — let the concierge know at booking or pickup

Pro Tip: If you qualify under either of these categories, note it at the time of booking and confirm the waiver will be applied before signing your rental agreement at the counter. Don't assume it will be applied automatically — make sure it's documented on your contract before you leave the lot.

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A Rapid Rundown: Your Free Additional Driver Options