Driver's Requirements, Rules & Restrictions - Sixt Car Hire FAQs

In Great Britain, the following rules apply for the minimum age and possession of a driver's licence:

• 21 years and held licence for a minimum of 1 year for mostly compact and economy vehicles in groups – M***, E***, CD**, CL**, CW**, CF**
• 23 years and held licence for a minimum of 1 year for vehicles in groups – ID**, IW**, IV**, IT**, IF**
• 25 years and held licence for a minimum of 1 year for vehicles in groups – CC**, IL**, S***, F***, P***, L***
• 25 years and held licence for a minimum of 3 years for vehicles in groups – COMN, CNMN
• 30 years and held licence for a minimum of 3 years for vehicles in groups – X***
• Driving licence for vehicle groups COMN and CNMN must include approval for category D1.

Please note that a driver CPC certificate/ card is required in case of commercial use of these vehicle groups. If you do not hold a British licence but wish to rent a COMN or CNMN please call to check for any restrictions.

• Non-EU citizens can drive vehicles with up to 9 passenger seats (FVMR). Please contact your Sixt local rental branch or our Hotline +44 (0)844 499 3399
• A Young Driver Surcharge of £36.00 per day applies for drivers under the age of 25

For vans the following age restrictions apply:

• 21 years and held licence for a minimum of 1 year for vehicles in groups A, B, V.
• 23 years and held licence for a minimum of 1 year for vehicles in groups S.
• 25 years and held licence for a minimum of 3 years for vehicles in groups J, L, O, P, W.

We may elect, at our discretion, to pass your reservation of a vehicle to another business with whom we have a referral arrangement in place. If we do so, we act as agent for that other business. This means that when we pass your reservation over to that other business:

• We will have no further obligation to you; and
• Your agreement for the rental of the vehicle will be with the other company and not with us.
• Deposits will be obtained by the other business before vehicle is hired.
• The deposit amount will not exceed the excess value and
• Minimum age requirements and insurance excess amounts may differ

All drivers (including any additional drivers) have to be in possession / have held a valid full driving licence for at least 12 months.
 

IMPORTANT – Further restrictions apply dependent on driver age and type of vehicle required. Please refer to the FAQs on "Rules and Regulations – Question 1 ‘How old do I need to be to drive a hire vehicle?’" for further information, just above this question.  Non EU citizens can drive vehicles with up to a maximum of 9 seats (FVMR).

Sixt UK generally accepts a licence with up to 6 points valid on your driving licence. This can vary depending on the endorsement code and young driver status. There are some codes that would prevent you from hiring from Sixt, e.g. if they were earned for a serious offense.

For some non-severe offences ( e.g. SP30), drivers aged 24 and over can have maximum of 2 offences that carries 3 in the past 4 years to be able to drive.

Please contact our Reservations team on +44(0) 8444 99 33 99 and a member of our team will be able to advise whether you can rent from us or not. If you have above 6 points or have a DD, DR or BA endorsement that is within less than 5 years you are not able to hire from us.

Please see the respective terms of rental for full details and other countries terms via our Rental Information page.

1.  A Full / Valid Driver's Licence for all named drivers. This may be 1 of the following:

• Plastic part of your Drivers licence

OR

• The old style paper driving licence (issued before the Plastic Photo card licence was introduced in 1998 (you can still hire a Sixt car with this).

**Driving licenses printed with non-Roman Alphabet (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Cyrillic etc.) must be complemented by an International driving licence**

2. For UK Licences: Driver’s details of all Endorsements / Points =  Since the 8th June 2015, in the form, of A DVLA Check Code (which replaces the paper counterpart that was abolished on the 8th June 2015).

3. Valid method of payment in the name of the main driver.  See rental information accepted methods of payment.

4. UK residents: Two Proofs of Address less than 3 months old  // Non UK Residents:  Valid Passport or National ID Card

No, since the 8th June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photo card driving licence will no longer be valid so will not need to be presented (unless you only have an old style paper licence issued before 1998).

The counter paper part licence showed a Driver’s points / endorsements.  This has been replaced with a ‘DVLA Check Code’.The code lets you check your/a driver’s details including any endorsements.

You will need to produce this a ‘DVLA Check Code’ in replacement of the counter paper part though. To create such a code, you need to visit the DVLA website and input your:

• Driving licence number
• National Insurance (NI) Number
• Home Postcode

The ‘DVLA Code’ will generate and be valid for now 21 days (originally it was for 72 hours). The Code can be redeemed/viewed just the once before the expiry date.  Up to 5 codes can be generated within a 24 hour period (applicable for multiple rentals).  Presenting this code to the member of Sixt staff allows them to check your driving entitlements and any endorsements.

Alternatively you may turn up with just your NI number and we/any of our corporate branches can obtain this for you subject to a fee.  Please note that this is only applicable to holders of UK driving licenses. If we are unable to obtain this information online we may be able to check your details over the telephone.

Some offices do offer an out of hours pick up/drop off service. Please review the information available on the each specific branch page for clarification. You may find the list of our UK branches here.

If you return your vehicle later than the time stated on the rental agreement, additional charges may occur.

To view our full Terms and Conditions, please visit our T&Cs page, or for general rental information please visit our Rental Information page.

A UK licence is generally accepted for rentals within the EU without an International Permit. Please see the respective terms of rental for the hiring country for full details via our Rental information page.

Sixt operates a strict non-smoking policy in all of our vehicles. We will enforce a special cleaning charge to the hirer, if a returned vehicle requires special treatment to remove any evidence of smoking.

No – Personal car insurance within the UK does not cover rental cars.

The hirer of the vehicle is solely responsible for any traffic offence fines and related administration fees incurred during their rental period.

Yes, they can but you must inform Sixt in advance and pay an additional driver's protection. The second driver must also provide their full driving licence for inspection before becoming a named driver on the rental. 

Our core weekend prices for cars and minibuses start from 12:00 hrs on Friday to 09: 00 hrs on the following Monday. For commercial vehicles weekend prices start from the time that your pick-up location opens on Friday to 09: 00hrs on the following Monday.

Sixt UK does offer one-way rentals between selected locations within the UK. International one ways are not available from the UK. Please see the respective terms of rental for full details and other countries terms in our Rental Information page.

• Sixt UK does allow certain cars to travel into Europe for an additional cost.

NOTE:Only passenger vehicles in and up to a full size category (F***)  with a maximum of 7 seats can travel overseas. 

Before taking a vehicle overseas / cross border you must receive permission to take the vehicle out of the UK and the vehicle must be returned to the UK. Additional formalities and charges will be applied, as you must take out additional breakdown coverage and insurance. A foreign usage fee will also apply. This can easily be arranged for you - just contact the branch you are renting from in the UK, at least one week prior to the pickup date, and they will make the arrangements.

Vehicles of the following makes can travel only to the countries of Zone 1: Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover Range Rover, MINI

Zone 1: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Vatican

Zone 2: Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia

Zone 3: All countries which are not in zone 1 or 2. Entry into any country in zone 3 is not permitted.

Please see the respective terms of rental for full details and other country terms via our Rental Information page.

In case of offence against Cross Border & Territorial Restrictions, all insurances lose their validity. Cross Border Rentals are not allowed with COMN, CNMN, Special Cars and commercial vehicles (Groups A, B, V, S, W, J, L, O, P). With all vehicles of Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Mitsubishi vehicles and trucks exceeding 7.5 tonnes gross weight it is not allowed to enter the following countries: Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia.

Please see Insurances and Conditions for detailed information.

Commercial vehicles (Groups A, B, S, and V, W) and minibuses (9 seats and above) are not allowed to go overseas. Please see Insurances and Conditions for detailed information. Where your rental is for a destination outside of the UK, please refer to the FAQs for that particular Country for relevant information.

• Retail bookings – This is not possible, all credit card holders must always be present with the credit card at the branch.
• Business use - This service is available at most UK locations along with a delivery and collection service.  For further information, please visit our dedicated page.

Yes, but the refuelling cost will be charged to you at a rate significantly higher than the average pump price.  If you do not believe you will have time to refuel or are unsure of the nearest fuel station we offer a pre-paid fuel option, which would most likely benefit you. By choosing the pre-paid fuel option, we would add a charge to your rental for the cost of a full tank of fuel at a price much closer to the average pump price, the vehicle can then be returned empty with the added piece of mind that you will not incur any additional fuelling costs.

It is the hirer’s responsibility to be aware of the driving laws in the country in which they are driving. For more information about driving in the UK and abroad, please visit our driving tips section and the RAC website.

Report this immediately to our Customer Service team on +44 (0) 344 4 993399

Sixt provides the relevant contact data via our key fobs, stickers in vehicles as well as on our rental agreements.  Contact information will also be provided for European breakdown as long as Sixt have given authorisation for the vehicle to be taken abroad. If a vehicle is supplied by one of our Partners contact information for the breakdown will be available in the vehicle.