Does Budget require an IDP in Pakistan?

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.

Motorways (M-1, M-2, M-3 etc.) use the electronic M-Tag system run by the National Highway Authority; since 2025 vehicles without a tag or with low balance pay a surcharge of up to 50% on top of the toll. A car on the M-2 Islamabad-Lahore route costs around PKR 1,200-1,800; tourists are usually driven by a rental's tagged vehicle or pay cash at hybrid lanes where available.

Urban parking is mostly attended paid lots and kerbside collectors charging PKR 20-50 for cars (often more at malls), with little metering. In Islamabad's planned sectors parking is freer and orderly, whereas Lahore and Karachi see aggressive ticket-touts and tow-away/wheel-clamping in no-parking zones.

Motorway and highway fines rose sharply (a 200% increase announced for highways), with on-the-spot tickets for speeding, no seatbelt and phone use, and FIRs for serious motorway violations. City traffic police take cash or issue challans; rental companies recover fines and any impound costs from the renter's deposit.

Dial 15 for police (or 1122 for the Rescue ambulance service in Punjab and other provinces); in injury or serious crashes do not move the vehicle and wait for police, as an FIR may be filed. Crowds gather fast and informal settlements are common, so notify the rental firm and your insurer immediately and avoid admitting fault.