Car Rental Agreement Template
A car rental agreement is a written contract in which an owner lets a renter use a vehicle for a short, set period in return for a fee. This page gives you a free car rental agreement template to download in Word or PDF, plus a plain guide to each clause.
The template names an owner and a renter, so it fits a rental company, a small fleet or a private owner who lends out a car. If the arrangement runs for months or years, use the car lease agreement template instead.
Free Car Rental Agreement Template for Owners and Renters
Download the Word or PDF version, fill in the blanks and have both sides sign. The form covers the vehicle, the rental term, the fees, the mileage limit, who may drive, existing damage, insurance and the security deposit.
Treat it as a starting point. It doesn’t replace advice from a lawyer who knows the rules in your state.
- • Rental terms and fees
- • Vehicle specifications
- • Scope of use
- • Insurance information
- • Security deposit
Get our Car Rental Agreement template
Car Rental Services at a Glance
Car rentals give travelers and local drivers a flexible way to get around without owning a car. The estimates in the list below date from 2023 and earlier, so treat them as background only.
- • Car rental revenue is expected to increase by 5.9% in 2023.
- • The car rental market was valued at $119.28 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $223.07 billion by 2027.
- • A lower rate of car ownership among millennials means more opportunities for car rental growth.
Whatever the market does, each rental still needs its own paper trail. Fleets range from small cars and family sedans to SUVs and luxury models, but the same questions apply to all of them: who drives, how far, for how long and at what price.
The daily rate is only part of what a renter pays. The Florida Attorney General’s office lists possible extras: early or late return fees, airport surcharges, fuel charges, mileage fees, roadside assistance fees and charges for equipment such as a navigation system, a car seat or a toll pass.
An owner who writes these fees into the agreement avoids arguments at the counter, and a renter who reads them can compare offers on the full price.
Compare the total price, with taxes and fees included, before you pick a rental company. Advertised low rates can leave out add-on charges.
DISCLAIMER: We are not lawyers or a law firm and we do not provide legal, business or tax advice. We recommend you consult a lawyer or other appropriate professional before using any templates or agreements from this website.
Download Our Free Rental Vehicle Agreement Form
Signaturely’s free rental vehicle agreement comes in Word and PDF. Fill in the owner, the renter and the car, then send it for signature online or print it.
Choose Word to edit the text and PDF to print a copy and fill it in by hand.
What Is a Car Rental Agreement?
A car rental agreement is a written contract in which an owner lets a renter use a vehicle for a short, set period for a fee. It records the car, the dates, the price and each side’s duties, so both sides know the terms before the keys change hands.
Rental companies, small fleets and private owners all use one, and so does any renter who wants the terms in writing.
How Is a Car Rental Different From a Lease or a Loan?
A rental runs for days or weeks, a lease runs for months or years, and a loan ends with the buyer owning the car. The practical line is time: in a rental the owner keeps the car and holds a deposit, while a lessee uses the car as their own.
- Rental: days or weeks, a deposit and a record of the car’s condition.
- Lease: months or years, regular payments and often a buyout option. Use the car lease agreement template.
- Loan or purchase: the buyer becomes the owner. Use the vehicle purchase agreement.
Why Do You Need a Written Car Rental Agreement?
A written agreement fixes the cost, the limits and the return terms before anything goes wrong. Without one, a dispute about damage or a late return comes down to one person’s memory against another’s.
For the owner, it sets the mileage limit, the use rules and the standard for the car’s condition. For the renter, it states the price, the deposit and what happens if the car comes back late or damaged.
A signed document also gives an insurer or a small claims court something concrete to read if a claim comes up. It works best with a dated record of the car’s condition at pickup and return, which the clause guide below covers.
What Should a Car Rental Agreement Include?
A complete car rental agreement names the parties and the vehicle, sets the term and every fee, and covers mileage, use, damage, insurance, the deposit and signatures. The five decisions below explain what to settle in each part.
1. Define the Rental Terms
State the pickup and return dates, times and place, and name the daily or weekly rate. These facts decide when a late fee starts and when the owner can treat the car as overdue.
The template has a rental term line for the start and end dates and a fees table for the daily or weekly rate. It has no return time and no late return fee, so add both.
2. Identify the Vehicle
Identify the car by make, model, year, color, odometer reading and vehicle identification number (VIN). The VIN ties the agreement to one specific car, so copy it from the registration and compare it with the plate on the dashboard.
The template has a specifications table for make, year, model, color, mileage and VIN. Add a dated condition record with photos of every side of the car, the odometer and the fuel gauge at pickup and again at return.
3. Set the Scope of Use
List who may drive, where the car may go and what it may not be used for, such as off-road driving. A restriction that isn’t written down is hard to enforce later.
The template allows personal and/or business use, asks the renter to follow the applicable insurance laws, lists the people allowed to drive and bans subleasing. It has no minimum driver age or license line, so add one if you need it.
4. Agree on Mileage and Fees
Say how many miles the rental includes, what each extra mile costs and which other charges apply, such as fuel and late return. The template offers a mileage limit in miles or kilometers or a box for no limit, and a fees table with lines for the daily or weekly rate, fuel and excess mileage.
Write each charge as a number so nobody has to guess later.
5. Cover Insurance and the Security Deposit
Ask the renter to show proof of insurance before the keys change hands. The template requires proof of insurance covering personal injury to the renter, the car, its passengers and other persons or property, and it gives the owner the right to collect insurance if the car is damaged.
The template covers one security deposit with a blank for the amount, which the owner uses if the car is damaged or lost. It doesn’t say when the deposit comes back, so add the number of days and the conditions.
Who Pays for Damage, Fuel and Tolls?
Damage, fuel and tolls are the three costs a rental agreement should assign in plain words. Photograph any damage at pickup, because the Florida Attorney General’s office advises renters to note existing damage and take a photo so they aren’t charged for it at return.
Fuel and tolls need their own lines. The same office warns that rental agencies often charge well above the market price for fuel when a car comes back without a full tank, and that tolls on cashless roads can reach the renter’s card days or weeks after the return. Name the fuel level at pickup and return, and say who pays tolls and tickets.
Do You Need Insurance Before Renting Out or Renting a Car?
The renter should show proof of insurance, and the collision damage waiver a rental company offers is an extra, so check your own policy and credit card agreement before you pay for it. The Florida Attorney General’s office says the cover may already exist and that the waiver can exclude theft, tire damage and drivers who have taken drugs or alcohol, even over-the-counter cold medicine.
A private owner should ask the car’s insurer whether the policy still applies when someone else rents the car, and put the answer in the file with the signed agreement.
What Does the Free Template Include and What Must You Add?
The free template covers the parties, the vehicle, the rental term, the fees, the mileage limit, the drivers, existing damage, insurance and the security deposit, followed by the governing law, dispute resolution, amendments, assignment, entire agreement and severability clauses. It leaves five decisions to you.
- A return time and a late return fee
- Who pays tolls, tickets and parking fines
- A minimum driver age and license requirement
- When and on what conditions the deposit comes back
- The fuel level at pickup and return
Add each one in the Word version or in a short addendum that both parties sign. Ask a lawyer to review the indemnity and dispute clauses before you use the form.
Do Federal Lease Rules Apply to a Car Rental?
Federal consumer lease rules cover personal-use leases longer than four months, so a short car rental falls outside them. Regulation M (12 CFR 1013.2(e)) defines a consumer lease as a lease of personal property to an individual mainly for personal, family or household purposes for a period exceeding four months, up to a dollar threshold that is adjusted each year.
A rental of days or weeks doesn’t meet that definition, though state rules can still apply. If the arrangement runs longer, use the car lease agreement template, which explains the disclosures a lessor has to give.
Can You Sign a Car Rental Agreement Electronically?
A car rental agreement can be signed electronically, because a signature or contract may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form under the federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001(a)). That makes it practical to send the filled template to the renter before pickup.
Fill in the Word file, save it as a PDF and send it for signature. Signaturely keeps an audit trail for each signature, and the free plan that follows the trial lets you send 1 document a month.
How to Fill In the Free Car Rental Agreement
Open the Word file, replace each blank with the real details and add the missing terms from the list above. Save a PDF copy once everything is filled in, so the version you sign can’t be edited by accident.
The PDF file works as a print-and-fill version when you prefer pen and paper.
FAQ
Car Rental Agreement
PARTIES
- This Car Rental Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) is entered into on ________________ (the “Effective Date”), by and between ________________________, with an address of ________________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Owner”) and ________________with an address of ________________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Renter”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”).
- This contract outlines the respective rights and obligations of the Parties.
RENTAL VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS
| Specifications | |
| Make | |
| Year | |
| Model | |
| Color | |
| Mileage/Kilometrage | |
| VIN | |
RENTAL TERM
RENTAL FEES
- The Parties hereby agree to the Rental fees as follows:
| Fee Type | Fees |
| Fees per day/week | |
| Fuel | |
| Excess mileage/kilometrage |
MILEAGE/KILOMETRAGE
- The Renter agrees to obey the following mileage/kilometrage limit for the Rental Vehicle
________________________ miles/kilometers.
⬜ The Parties agree that there is no mileage/kilometrage limit for the Rental Vehicle.
SCOPE OF USE
The Parties agree that the Rental Vehicle is only to be used for the purpose of personal and/or business use and that proper maintenance and care will be applied to the Rental Vehicle.
The Renter agrees to comply with the insurance applicable laws.
The Renter agrees that only the persons enlisted below will be allowed to operate the Rental Vehicle.
- _________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________
SUBLEASE OF RENTAL VEHICLE
EXISTING DAMAGE TO VEHICLE
- _________________________________________
- _________________________________________
- _________________________________________
- _________________________________________
- _________________________________________
INSURANCE
SECURITY DEPOSIT
INDEMNITY
The Parties agree not to indemnify and hold one another harmless. This also applies to their affiliates, agents, officers, employees, and/or successors.
The Parties in this Agreement hereby in addition agree to assign against all (if any) claims, liabilities, damages, losses, penalties, punitive damages, expenses, any arising reasonable legal fees and/or costs of any kind or any amount that may arise.
This includes, but is not limited to, any amount which may result from the negligence of or the breach of this Agreement by the party that is indemnified, its successors and assigns that occurs in terms of this Agreement.
GOVERNING LAW
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
AMENDMENTS
The Parties agree that any amendments made to this Agreement must be in writing where they must be signed by both Parties to this Agreement. As such, any amendments made by the Parties will be applied to this Agreement
ASSIGNMENT
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
SEVERABILITY
In an event where any provision of this Agreement is found to be void and unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then the remaining provisions will remain to be enforced in accordance with the Parties’ intention.
SIGNATURE AND DATE
OWNER _______________________________ | RENTER ______________________________ |
| DATE _______________________________ | DATE _______________________________ |
Download Our Free Car
Rental Agreement Template Today
Keep one signed copy, the dated photos and the proof of insurance together in a single folder. That file answers most questions if a claim, a fee or a late return comes up later.
Start with the parties and the vehicle, then work down the clause list.