Originally Posted by FlyingToFly
That's why a few posts above, I asked if there were any legal references floating around that differentiate between rental of a hotel room, car, etc and a typical transaction (i.e. purchasing of clothing, food, etc). There's been a lot of debate rooted in principles within the thread (ten pages worth, actually) but I've yet to see some solid analysis of what the actual policies are.
Rental car agreements in the US require a valid driver's license for the state(s) you are going to be driving in. Checking the DL as photo ID or as validation of permission to drive? Or dual-use?
Let's remember if it was "photo ID" requirement: non-photo DLs were certainly an option just a few years back for people in at least one state (if not more) and were accepted for rental car purposes nationwide -- at least by the major car rental firms. (Also, DL's without photos were more the standard in the past than today.)
Additionally: rental car policies, at the time of booking, generally have a list of conditions -- including available credit or deposit requirement -- that the rental car company has FORMALLY conditioned the performance of the (proto-)contract.