Grace period

In car rental, a grace period is a period of time defined by the supplier that can exceed a 24 h rental without influencing the rental price at the moment of booking.

For example, if the grace period is 1 h and the rental time is 25 h then the customer is charged only for 1 rental day. If the grace period is 1 h and the rental time is 26 h, then the customer is charged for 2 days. The grace period can differ between rental car suppliers.

Some suppliers use grace period to define how much later the customer can return the car from the agreed time without any additional fees. Find out more about late returns here.

Example sentence(s):
  • When returning your rental, a grace period of 4 hours between the agreed drop-off time and the actual time the vehicle is returned to the car hire branch will be applied. After this period has lapsed, an additional rental day may be charged.