Hire cars · Extra charges
Extra charges on a hire car: what Europcar's tariff shows
Verdict
Europcar UK publishes the full fee list. Most companies keep it in a document you are not shown at the desk.
Third-party administration £50, a young-driver surcharge up to £79 a day, out-of-hours collection £60, and a fuel charge at 2.5 times the pump price. Sixt and Hertz refer to their own rental information instead.
The headline price covers the car. The rest is a list of fees that the contract allows and the desk rarely reads out. Europcar's UK terms of hire, updated 5 January 2026, include the whole Tariff Guide, which makes it the clearest published list among the large companies. The figures below are taken from that document, with VAT included. Sixt and Hertz publish a description of each charge and send you to their rental information for the amount.
Europcar UK: the published fees
| Charge | Amount | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Third Party Administration Charge | £50 | Providing your details to a third party, such as for unpaid congestion or parking charges |
| Unpaid Charges Admin Charge | £40 | Recovering unpaid charges linked to the rental |
| Young Driver Surcharge | up to £79 a day | Drivers aged 25 and under (22 to 25 in the terms) |
| Additional driver | £19.10 a day, up to £191 | Each extra driver |
| Out of hours collection | £60 | Collecting outside branch opening hours |
| Out of hours key return box | £20 | Returning the keys to the box |
| Valet charge | £45 | Cleaning beyond the standard clean, such as smoking |
| Reservation amendment | £5 | Changing a booking at short notice |
| Fuel | pump price × 2.5 per litre | If you do not return it full and did not buy the Full Tank Option |
| Missing geolocation device | £235 | Device missing when the car comes back |
What the fee list does not tell you
The list is a maximum in several places, and the exact figure goes on the rental agreement. The charge you meet most is the one on a fine: Europcar's wording is a £50 charge when it has to provide your details to a third party, and the fine itself comes on top. See who pays the fine.
How Sixt and Hertz differ
Sixt UK's terms refer to a country-specific rental information document for the administration fees it charges. Hertz's June 2026 terms list a fines administration charge, a damage administration charge, a young-driver surcharge for drivers under 25 and a cross-border fee as "standard charges", and point to the rental agreement for the amounts. When a company gives no figure, the only way to find it before you sign is to ask for the tariff sheet and photograph it.
More on the hold: deposits and card holds. On leaving the country: crossing borders.
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Sources
- Europcar UK — Terms and Conditions of Hire and Tariff Guide, updated 5 January 2026
- Sixt UK — Terms and Conditions for the Rental of a Vehicle, 09/2026
- Hertz — Rental Terms, France edition, June 2026 (with the Electric Vehicle Terms)
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