Does Budget require an IDP in Lebanon?
Written by Daniel MercerUpdated July 2026
Budget in Lebanon: the policy in plain terms
Asks for a licence translation when your licence is not in the Roman alphabet. Value rental brand operating in 120+ countries.
Lebanon drives on the right with assertive Beirut traffic; tourists should carry an IDP with their national licence.
In Lebanon specifically, many rental companies and local authorities in Lebanon ask foreign drivers to present a translation of their licence alongside the original, so Budget will typically ask for it at the counter. Beirut desks request an IDP for non-Latin-script licences.
Budget runs a global network; at its Lebanon desks, foreign renters are asked for an International Driving Permit in the 1949 Geneva Convention format alongside the original licence. Lebanon drives on the right, uses the LBP, and sets a minimum driving age of 18, so an IDP is the document that removes any doubt at the counter.
What to bring to the Budget counter in Lebanon
- Your original national driving licence (the IDP never replaces it).
- Your International Driving Permit in the 1949 Geneva Convention format.
- Your passport and a payment card in the main driver's name.
- Local payment for the LBP deposit; Lebanon drives on the right with a young-driver surcharge under 25.
Driving rules in Lebanon Budget renters should know
- Drive on the right.
- Seatbelts mandatory.
- 0.05% alcohol limit.
- Drive defensively in dense city traffic.
Budget's rental terms that affect your IDP booking
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.
Once you collect the keys in Lebanon
Lebanon has no functioning highway toll or vignette system, so tourists pay nothing for road use beyond fuel.
Beirut has paid metered and zoned street parking plus many attended private lots; illegal parking, even where locals do it, risks fines and towing, and valet parking is widespread at restaurants and hotels.
Under the current traffic law, driving ~20 km/h over the limit costs around 200,000 LL and no seatbelt around 350,000 LL, with phone use and red-light running similarly fined; tickets may be handled on the spot, and rental firms pass camera/parking fines to the card on file.
Dial 112 for police and 140 for the Lebanese Red Cross ambulance; stop at the scene, do not leave, and wait for the Internal Security Forces to file a report, which insurers and the rental company will require for any claim.
Full driving guide for Lebanon →