Does Budget require an IDP in Dominican Republic?

Budget's published minimum rental age is 21 in most US states (18 in New York and Michigan), with renters under 25 paying a daily young-driver surcharge; typically around $27/day in most markets, but materially higher at corporate locations such as New York ($35/day for ages 21-24 and $84/day for 18-20) and Michigan ($28/day for 21-24 and $41/day for 18-20). No surcharge applies to drivers 25 and older.

Budget requires a valid credit or debit card; renters under 25 must use a credit card and cannot use a debit card. Deposit type and amount vary by location, with a typical credit-card hold of roughly $80 plus estimated charges plus one extra day's charges, or a minimum near $300, whichever is greater.

Budget allows up to two additional drivers per rental and a per-day additional-driver fee typically applies (varies by location), though it is commonly waived for a spouse or domestic partner; pre-authorized additional drivers must be a spouse/domestic partner, a fellow employee/employer, or a companion driver to a renter with a disability. Budget does not publish a fixed US-wide tenure requirement, but the driver must hold a valid, current full driver's licence, and many corporate-operated locations verify the renter's and additional drivers' records with the DMV before completing the rental.

Driving a Budget rental into Mexico is restricted to authorized corporate-account holders (no one-way rentals into Mexico), and Mexican auto liability insurance is required. Travel into Canada is permitted from many US locations with advance arrangement and Budget's consent, and a Canadian non-resident insurance card may be required; one-way cross-border drop-offs are availability-dependent and carry extra fees that must be authorized in the rental agreement.

Budget generally requires a valid driver's licence, passport, and an International Driving Permit issued in the driver's name from their home country; EU residents renting within the EU may present either their EU licence alone or with an IDP. If the home-country licence is not written in the Roman alphabet, an IDP is mandatory to rent.

Toll booths ('peajes') sit on the main highways radiating from Santo Domingo and on the Samana toll road; pay cash in Dominican pesos (booths rarely take cards), with charges of roughly RD$60-300 (about US$1-5) per booth depending on the route.

Parking is free in most areas but paid or attended in larger town centres; in Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial use guarded lots, tip the informal car-watchers, and never leave valuables visible.

DIGESETT issues fines for speeding, phone use and no seatbelt (commonly RD$500-1,500, rising for serious excess and possibly licence points/bans); officers may seek payment roadside, and rental firms pass camera and unpaid-toll fines back to the renter's card.

Dial the nationwide 911; call the rental company and do not move the car unless it is unsafe to leave it where it stopped, and wait for DIGESETT traffic police to document the scene.