Originally Posted by
AutoSlash
In California,
additional drivers are free, but to be safe, you must list them on the rental contract, which means any additional driver needs to be present at the rental counter at the outset of the rental and presenting a valid driver's license, or needs to be added at some point during the rental by going to the rental counter, although it does not necessarily need to be the original renting location.
According to
California code spouses are automatically authorized drivers and
do not need to listed separately on the rental contract.
I have no idea if Avis and Hertz list me on my wife's rental contracts, and her on mine. I don't care either way, and I'm not about to waste time at the counter if for some reason both names aren't on the contract. (We have Avis Preferred and Hertz Gold, so we don't do the counter thing.) Spouses are "authorized drivers" under California law (second link, above). The contract has nothing to say about that -- it's the law in California.