Hire car, but driving licence out of date

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ragazza

Registered User
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Hi,

I've booked a hire car, to be collected in Dublin airport on wedneday.
But, I've just noticed that my driving licence is out of date! (since mid september 2006).

Does anyone know, will the hire company let me hire a car even though the licence is out of date? (I dont want to ask them directly, since I dont want to draw attention to the issue).

Since I'm not in Ireland, I dont have the opportunity to go to the licence renewal office and get a letter saying that I have sent in my forms, but I was thinking of preparing the paperwork and telling the hire company that my new licence is in the post. Would this work?

Thanks,
Ragazza
 
ragazza said:
Hi,
Does anyone know, will the hire company let me hire a car even though the licence is out of date? (I dont want to ask them directly, since I dont want to draw attention to the issue).


Thanks,
Ragazza
Click to expand...

The licence requirements should be detailed in the t & c's of the hire contract - my experience of hiring cars outside Ireland is that I have always been asked to produce my licence when collecting the car.
 
Agreed - in my experience they always check the licence when renting a car (in Ireland and elsewhere)... they would look at the valid from date (to see you've had the licence over 2 years or whatever their requirement is) and the valid to date (to see that it's in date) .. and I think they usually have to tap them into the computer along with the licence number.

So I strongly doubt you'll get away with it (and even if you did and then had an accident or were stopped by the police then you'd be probably in worse trouble)
 
Hi,

the T&Cs say the following:
"Licence Requirements
Drivers must produce a full driving licence and have at least 2 years continuous driving experience, free from serious endorsement or disqualification prior to rental."


It doesnt specifically say that if the driving licence is out of date that it is invalid. Do I have any come-back here do you think?

Thanks.
 
An out-of-date driving license is by definition invalid - it has expired, simple as that. You would not be covered by any insurance to drive the rental car as you have no valid license, so they won't rent it to you.

You always have to produce the license to rent a car.

I'd get someone to collect you at the airport, hire the car with that person as the name driver, drive straight to the Motor Licensing Office and renew that license, then go back to the car rental agency and change the named driver to yourself.

A lot of running around but I don't think there's another way. Unless you hire a chauffeur...
 
ragazza said:
Hi,
I was thinking of preparing the paperwork and telling the hire company that my new licence is in the post. Would this work?
Click to expand...

You have to submit your old licence with your application in order to get the new one. It takes 10 days by post (if within Ireland) or you can do it immediately over the counter.
 
Are you sure you can do it immediately over the counter? I applied for a licence recently and to receive it, it had to be posted. Granted though it was a licence exchange. It took a good four week before I received it in the post..

And to answer the orginal query, don't risk trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the rental hire company as you won't be insured if the licence is out of date..
 
It can be quite difficult to get a licence over the counter - you generally have to make a case as they are supposed to be posted out. Issuing officers can sometimes make an exception in case of emergency. If you have travel documents or such like take these with you to the issuing office.

You should also bring your passport if you are expecting to collect a licence over the counter. You will need to hand in your old licence when applying for a new licence. Full licences can be issued up to 3 months in advance of their expiry date. However, if there are any new endorsements to go on your licence you probably will have to wait for it to be posted out.
 
bond-007 said:
1 month in advance is all that is allowed.
Click to expand...

Still 3 months according to extract below from Dept of Transport website:

You may apply for a driving licence if:-
__you hold a driving licence which will expire within three months and you wish to renew it,

 
Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

In the end, I've decided to give up on renewing my licence this weekend, since I'm only home for a few days and dont really have time.
My sister is coming in on a later flight, so I'll get her to hire the car instead of me.

In 10 years time I must remeber to renew the licence on time!
 
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