Border crossing rules for taking a rental car from Canada to the US may vary from company to company, and location to location.
Most car rental companies don't have very specific information about this policy on their Canadian websites, (you generally must check with the specific rental location for border crossing policy), but for those that have provided any information at all on this topic, I have listed that information below:
Note: Border Crossing Policies provided on Car Rental websites generally cover only US or Canadian residents. Residents of other countries must contact their specific rental
pickup location to get permission to take the rental car across the border.
Alamo
According to Alamo.com
(opens in a new window) vehicles that are rented in Canada may be driven to the US, with the permission of the rental location. (vehicles are not permitted to go into Mexico).
No information was provided on Avis.ca with regards to crossing the US border.
Avis renters must check with their preferred rental location directly to determine if you are allowed to take a Canadian rental car into the United States.
To get a location contact number you can search for locations on
Avis.com (opens in a new window) just look under the Locations tab at the top of the homepage and search for a location to get a local phone number.
Renters must check with their preferred rental location directly to determine if they will allow you to take a Canadian rental car from Canada into the US.
To find contact information for your preferred Budget location, you can go to Budget.com (opens in a new window) and select the Locations link (top middle of homepage) and select Canada from the drop down menu.
Renters must check with their preferred rental location directly to determine if you are allowed to take a Canadian rental car from Canada to the US.
To get location specific contact information for a Discount Car Rental Location, just go to Discountcar.com and select the Our Locations tab (top middle of the homepage).
Dollar
According to Dollarcanada.ca:
Dollar vehicles that are rented in Canada may be driven to the US, as long as that particular location allows it. Renters should check the Local Policies, found within the reservation process, for specific information about possible geographic restrictions at the Dollar location where they wish to rent.
Enterprise vehicles may be permitted to travel into the United States if:
The renter has a corporate contract agreement with Enterprise that allows travel into the US.
A specific location allows travel to the US. An Enterprise branch may allow limited travel into the United States. Renters should contact the branch directly to determine possible geographic limitations and availability.
To find contact information for a specific location, just go to
Enterprise.com (opens in a new window) and select the Rent a Car tab at the top of the home page, then select Rental Locations from the drop down menu, and select Canada.
While no general information was provided, renters must check the specific policies of their preferred rental location.
On Hertz.ca, select Reservations (top menu bar)then select qualification and requirements, then select a location for your proposed reservation, then under Requirement Details select Rental Restrictions to determine policy for taking a rental car from Canada to the US for that particular Hertz location.
No information about border crossing was provided on Thrifty.com (I could not find a dedicated Canadian site for Thrifty).
Renters must check with their preferred rental location directly to determine if you are allowed to take a Canadian rental car into to the United States.
To find information for a specific Thrifty location, just go to
Thrifty.com (opens in a new window) and select the Locations tab (middle top of the homepage).
