Young driver car hire in Réunion Island

Minimum age and licence seniority

There is no single legal age to hire a car in Réunion: each agency sets its own minimum age and the number of licence years it requires. On Tropiloc both conditions are fields of the listing, shown on the vehicle card and its page before you book. This page only lists vehicles whose minimum age is 21 or under.

Licence seniority matters as much as age. An agency that accepts 21-year-olds may require 2 or 3 years of licence: at 21 with a licence obtained at 20, the listing will not be open to you. The table above shows both values side by side for each vehicle.

Is there a young driver surcharge?

Tropiloc applies no age-based markup: a listing's rate is the same for every driver who meets its age and licence conditions, and the price on the card is the full price for the chosen period, service fee included. On Tropiloc, an agency expresses its young-driver policy first through the minimum age and licence seniority it sets.

An agency may still charge a young-driver supplement, but only as an option on the listing: it appears, with its price per day or per hire, in the list of options you tick before paying, like an additional driver or a child seat. It is then added to the total shown before payment, and the balance due at the agency is the one on your booking voucher.

Security deposit and excess

The deposit is a guarantee held at the agency on pick-up — card pre-authorisation or cheque, depending on the agency — and released after the hire if the vehicle comes back in order. Tropiloc never collects it. The excess is the most you pay in case of at-fault damage or theft; beyond it, the agency's insurance takes over.

Both amounts are set by the agency per vehicle: the deposit is shown on each vehicle page, both appear in the table on this page when the agency has entered them, and then on the booking voucher and the rental contract. A Tropiloc listing carries a single excess, identical for every driver it accepts: the platform has no age-based higher excess.

Foreign and probationary licences

A French or EU driving licence is accepted as is by the agencies, within the age and seniority conditions of the listing.

A licence issued outside the EU and not written in French must, in France, be presented with an official translation or an international driving permit. Some agencies require the international permit in every case: the exact rule depends on the agency, check it before booking.

A probationary licence (the first 3 years after the test in France, 2 with accompanied driving) is accepted or not depending on the agency. A listing that requires 2 or 3 years of licence rules it out in practice. The licence seniority shown on the listing is what counts, agency by agency.

Frequently asked questions