New Driver Car Hire

Making every step of the rental process simple, straightforward and hassle-free!

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Need to hire a car but you’ve held your licence for less than 12 months? You’ve come to the right place.

Here at Indigo Car Hire, we work with suppliers around the world who specialise in car rental for new drivers. Thankfully, the cost for this service is also lower than you would think.

Yes, it’s true that a number of car hire companies state that you must have held your licence for at least 12 months in order to hire a vehicle. Some even ask for two years of experience, depending on your age.

However, a number of our suppliers do offer car hire for new drivers, and the only time restriction is that you must have passed your test and have your licence in your hand. This means that, if the postal service is on your side, you could hire a car in the UK within a week of passing your test.

Passed your test but unsure how to obtain a physical licence so you can hire a car? All of the information you need is here.

Can You Rent a Car as a New Driver in the UK?

You’ll be thrilled to hear that the restrictions for new driver car hire aren’t too onerous. As long as you meet all of the below conditions, you’ll be able to rent a car as a new driver in the UK:

Hold a full, clean UK licence
Aged 25 or over
Possess a debit or credit card in your own name
You are on the electoral roll at your current address*

*If, for some reason, you do not yet appear on the electoral roll, you can still hire a car. However, you will need to pay for it using a credit card.

If you have any points on your new licence, it may still be possible to arrange this service. This will depend on the number of points and what they are for. Call or chat online with one of our rental experts for further information regarding car rental for new drivers in this instance.

Finally, please note that our car hire for new drivers offer is only available to people who are at least 25 years old. For information regarding our young driver car hire service, please view our young driver page.

Popular Locations For New Driver Car Hire

Most new drivers look to hire a car in the UK. Below we’ve outlined all of the information you need to know about hiring a car in your local area:

Heathrow Airport	Gatwick Airport	Ipswich	Plymouth
Manchester Airport	Liverpool Airport	Isle Of Wight	Portsmouth
Inverness Airport	Glasgow Airport	Kent	Preston
Bristol Airport	Edinburgh Airport	Kingston upon Hull	Reading
Leeds Bradford Airport	Southampton Airport	Lancashire	Ripon
Birmingham Airport	Newcastle Airport	Lancaster	Romford
Stansted Airport	Croydon	Leeds	Salford
Brighton and Hove	Cumbria	Leicester	Salisbury
Aberdeen	Derby	Leicestershire	Sheffield
Armagh	Derbyshire	Lichfield	Shropshire
Bangor	Devon	Lincoln	Slough
Bath	Doncaster	Lincolnshire	Somerset
Bedfordshire	Dorset	Lisburn	South London
Belfast	Dundee	Liverpool	Southampton
Berkshire	Durham	London	St Albans
Birmingham	East London	Londonderry	St Davids
Bradford	East Midlands	Manchester	Staffordshire
Bristol	Edinburgh	Newcastle	Stirling
Buckinghamshire	Ely	Newport	Stoke On Trent
Cambridge	Essex	Newry	Suffolk
Cambridgeshire	Exeter	Norfolk	Sunderland
Canterbury	Glasgow	Northampton	Surrey
Cardiff	Gloucester	Northamptonshire	Sussex
Carlisle	Gloucestershire	Northumberland	Swansea
Cheltenham	Hampshire	Norwich	Truro
Cheshire	Hereford	Nottingham	Tyne and Wear
Chester	Herefordshire	Nottinghamshire	Wakefield
Chichester	Hertfordshire	Oxford	Warwickshire
Cornwall	Hounslow	Oxfordshire	Watford
Coventry	Inverness	Peterborough	Wells
West London	Westminster	Winchester	Wolverhampton
Worcester	York	Yorkshire

This list is by no means exhaustive, so if you’re searching for car rental for new drivers and you can’t see your exact location listed above, please get in touch with our team.

Contact Us To Discuss Car Hire for New Drivers Today

If you are a new driver and wish to hire a car in the UK or abroad, then contact us today. We will make the whole process easy for you. You can contact our team via phone (0113 88 00 748), email ([email protected]) or using the chat function on this page.

Added to this, as well as offering car rental for new drivers, here at Indigo we’re also proud to offer a number of other complementary deals, including both debit card car hire and low deposit car hire. With both of these options, you can also add a free additional driver.

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Indigo Car Hire

Average rating:

9 reviews

Albie barker

Mar 26, 2025

by Albie barker

Help with hiring a car

For young people who’s hiring a car for the first time their person we talked with Connor has help at lot and eased my nerves over the whole thing thank you very much

Helen

Jan 6, 2025

by Helen

Excellent service

I was struggling to find a hire car that would support me as I have only held my licence for 11 months. Indigo offered me a really great price which I wasn’t expecting, very quick turn around. The customer service from Cherie in particular has been brilliant

Andrey

Jul 4, 2023

by Andrey

Very helpful and easy car rental service

The car rental service is fairly quick and easy. The helpful operators are always online to chat with you, so you can be rest assured that you can book your car at any time. You can even hire if you hold your license for less than a year (which I am!) at no extra cost (which is great!). I highly recommend this service!

Rory Mcleod

Nov 30, 2022

by Rory Mcleod

Very helpful

Thanks to Cherie for being so helpful, responsive and efficient in getting this booked for me. It's really hard to find places who let people with less than 2 years on their licence rent a car, so this is great.

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New Driver Car Hire FAQs

Can I hire a car having just passed my driving test?

Yes, providing you have received your licence in the post and are over 25 years old (when hiring in the UK)

I'm under 25 and just passed my test, can I hire a car?

Unfortunately you cannot if you’re hiring in the UK. However, if you would like to hire a car abroad for a holiday, then we can help in most cases.

What do I need to be able to hire a car as a new driver?

You will need your licence, a proof of address that matches the address on your licence and a form of payment in your own name. Credit cards are preferred, but in some cases we can take payment from your debit card.

What cars can I hire as a new driver?

In the UK, you can hire various vehicles, from small city cars up to the larger family cars that fit into the ‘compact’ category.

Can I hire a car with my pass certificate?

Unfortunately, even though we can provide car hire to new drivers, you can only hire a vehicle once you have received your photo card driver’s licence. However, you can apply for this as soon as you pass your test and it usually only takes 1-2 weeks to arrive through the post.

Can I hire a van as a new driver?

Yes, even if you have held your licence for less than 12 months, we can arrange for a van hire. The largest van we can offer as a new driver is a LWB (Long Wheel Base) van.

If I hire a car as a new driver, do I need to have P plates?

P plates are not mandatory, so are not required for a rental.

Can I rent a car with less than 1 year on my licence?

Yes, you can hire a car as soon as your new driving licence arrives in the post. This applies if you’re 25 or older, you possess a debit or credit card in your own name and you’re on the electoral roll at your current address.

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Customer Review

Write a review

Albie barker
26 March
Help with hiring a car

For young people who’s hiring a car for the first time their person we talked with Connor has help at lot and eased my nerves over the whole thing thank you very much
Helen
06 January
Excellent service

I was struggling to find a hire car that would support me as I have only held my licence for 11 months. Indigo offered me a really great price which I wasn’t expecting, very quick turn around. The customer service from Cherie in particular has been brilliant
Andrey
04 July
Very helpful and easy car rental service

The car rental service is fairly quick and easy. The helpful operators are always online to chat with you, so you can be rest assured that you can book your car at any time. You can even hire if you hold your license for less than a year (which I am!) at no extra cost (which is great!). I highly recommend this service!
Rory Mcleod
30 November
Very helpful

Thanks to Cherie for being so helpful, responsive and efficient in getting this booked for me. It’s really hard to find places who let people with less than 2 years on their licence rent a car, so this is great.
Rudi
30 November
Amazing experience,

so easy, and catered to my specific circumstances. Highly recommend
Jane
22 November
Fantastic

I’ve used Indigo car hire over the last year at least 3 times now and have found each time the customer service is excellent very friendly and professional. I’ve had no issues or problems on collection of my hire car and on a couple of occasions I have had to extend the hire and indigo have sorted this for me and made this extremely easy. I will also add I’m working overseas so booking

“Excellent” reviews

Write a review

Trustpilot

Emma Richardson
09 July
Debit Card Car Booking

The help we received at Indigo car hire was the best we could have asked for. They were clear in what we needed to do to get the booking that we required and were very helpful and friendly. Everything was made clear to us from the start and we were left happy with what was booked.
Timothy Lane
09 July
Hire a car

Very good service ordering a car. Call centre person was very helpful and knowledgeable. Didn’t have to wait for ages to get through to someone which is rare nowadays. Will definitely use again Thank you
Kevin Mullen
20 June
Loyal customer

Indigo are consistently helpful and very prompt with their responses. Great personal service.
AnneMarie McNulty
20 June
Car hire

We booked a hire car. When we first contacted them about a month ago we didnt have final details but they did their best to give us the hire prices info at the time. We finally got all info together today and when we got in touch with the guys they still had our details so we didnt have to go through it all again. So big thanks to Matt, Cherie and Connor, they
Rachel
05 June
Easiest Car Hire Ever

Was looking to rent a car for a week but struggled due to not having a credit card. My friend recommended indigo as there one of the only companies that accept debit cards. Connor was amazing and arranged everything for me with in minutes. No extra charges for not having a credit card like other companies or need for proof of payslips ects. Such a easy process. Will definitely use again
Lisa Korb
05 June
Car rental with a Debit Card

Very helpful and nice people to talk with!
Vivien
09 May
Outstanding Customer Care

I had an issue with a booking and called the care line and was connected to Cherie. From the moment she picked up the phone till my situation was sorted out a few weeks later, there wasn’t a single moment were I didn’t feel treated like a valued customer. She truly embodies what customer service is about. She gave me great advice, connected me to the WhatsApp chat for easier communication, and was always
Michael
15 April
Fast efficient service

Matt took my phone call and got back to me in short order with 3 quotes that gave me some options to consider. I went with his first option as it did tick all our boxes. We had a confirmation email very soon after that with the rental firm we had preferred and a suitable vehicle. Thanks Matt!
Harrison Hide
14 April
Amazing Service

I had a unique situation which meant renting a car was difficult yet indigo made it happen and were at my beckon and call. Honestly blown away by the service and the prices. Was handled by Sam, who was amazing throughout. Thanks
Dave mercrr
11 April
Dublin airport

Booked with indigos today hassle free and great service operator was so friendly and thorough

View all

Do I need to pass a credit check if using my debit card to hire?

If renting a car in the UK and you are a UK resident most of the large multinational suppliers will carry out an electronic address check to ensure you have strong enough links to the address provided. However most of the suppliers with the exception of 1 or 2, still carry out the same checks so not unique to when you need to hire via a debit card. Key indicator are if you are named on the Electoral Register and named on the council tax bill.

When renting a car overseas as an inbound client our suppliers do not carry out any checks.

Do I need to leave a deposit if hiring with a debit card?

Most suppliers do require a security deposit when renting a car, in the UK we have a range of options. The best value suppliers would request a £200.00 – £300.00 deposit. However we do have selected locations where our supplier does not require any deposit, so a full zero deposit.

In Europe we have options where you can just leave a fuel deposit of 110 EUR, and there is no mandatory requirement to take the Super Cover as this can be the case with some of the smaller budget suppliers.

Congratulations, Just Passed your Driving Test?

You’ve done the theory and passed the practical, now you can finally drive without an instructor silently judging you. This, however, isn’t to say it’s easy cruising from here. Here are a couple of points to keep in mind that new (and even experienced drivers) can often make without thinking:

Using your phone; is obvious but far too common. Unless it’s set up to be hands-free, you cannot touch your phone whilst the vehicle is in motion.
Lacking attention when driving is one of the most common causes of accidents for new drivers. Passengers especially can be a big source of distraction.
Not wearing a seatbelt; again obvious, but you’ll soon see how common it is. At least 6% of drivers reportedly don’t wear seatbelts and even more for back seat passengers. In short, wear your seatbelt.

Consider your car size. As fun as it may sound to drive something big and fast, maybe work your way up to it. Getting used to a smaller can make driving far less stressful.
Get used to how the vehicle works. There’s more to a car than just forward and back, memorising where the basic controls for headlights and wipers are is fundamental to driving, especially if you’re renting.
Arguably, the most important step. Be aware of your conditions, fog or ice are the kind of unpredictable weather that accidents happen in. If you are interested in preparing for driving in the winter, we can give you some advice

Most importantly, have fun. Driving is a privilege and something that will expand your options endlessly. Stay calm, follow the rules and it’ll become second nature to you.