I have rented cars worldwide to drive around and experience the top attractions in numerous countries. From Italy, Belgium, and Iceland in Europe, South Korea in Asia, Mauritius and the Seychelles in Africa, I've had the pleasure of taking a car out in a new country on many occasions.
On a trip to Italy (for my third rental there), a unique line item in my car rental contract caught my eye and gave me a moment of concern: “The driver license must have been issued by authorized authorities at least 1 year(s) before the date of the commencement of the rental.”
While I have been driving for 20+ years, I had one problem- my license was recently renewed and did not show its original issue date. All things being equal, it looked like my license was issued just three months before.
Cue panic.
Ultimately, this small detail ended up being a non-issue, and my car was rented to me without question. In this one, I wanted to break down why this one exists and what documents you may want to have with you to protect yourself in the unlikely event that you are questioned.