How to get a copy of your rental car receipt

The expense report is due on Friday. The car went back to the airport three weeks ago, and the receipt that was meant to arrive by email never did.

You can get a copy of a rental car receipt from the rental company's own website, usually in a few minutes and without phoning anyone. Every large rental brand has a receipt page. Most ask for your last name and one number: your driver's licence, or the rental agreement or confirmation number. Some companies call the document a rental car invoice. It's the same thing.

The catch is time. A receipt can take up to seven days to appear, and five of the nine brands we read take it offline after six months.

We read the receipt pages each company publishes about itself, on 11 October 2026. Nothing below comes from a travel forum or someone else's roundup. Where a page didn't say, or wouldn't load for us in English, we say so.

This article is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rental companies change their websites and their time limits without notice. Check the company's current page before you rely on a deadline given here.

The short version

• Use the company's receipt page before its phone line. Seven of the nine brands we read have a lookup form that needs no account: Enterprise, Alamo, Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, Avis and Budget.
• Bring your last name and one number. Enterprise and Alamo ask for your driver's licence number. Avis and Budget ask for the confirmation or rental agreement number. Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty take a licence or another number.
• Wait before you worry. Enterprise and Alamo post one 48 hours after the car is returned. Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Avis say to allow up to seven days.
• Don't wait too long. Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Avis keep them online for six months. Enterprise's help page says six months too. Alamo says two years.
• After that, ask the branch. Enterprise says the office you rented from can send a copy of an older receipt. Avis gives a phone number.
• National is the exception. Its online receipts are for Emerald Club members. Everyone else has to call.
• The rental agreement isn't the receipt. The agreement is the estimate you signed at the counter. The receipt is what you were charged once the car came back.

Receipt, invoice or rental agreement: which one do you need?

You need the receipt, which some rental companies call the final invoice. It's the only one of these documents that shows what you were charged. Three get mixed up, and an expense system or a tax file usually wants only that one.

A rental agreement is the contract you sign when you collect the car. It shows the rate, an estimated total and a rental agreement number. It's written before anyone knows what the fuel, the tolls or an extra day will cost.

A rental car receipt is the document issued after you return the car. It shows what you were charged. Hertz says its receipt shows "the total cost of the rental" and lists "all of the individual elements that make up the total", down to state and local taxes.

A rental car invoice is the same document under another name. National's help page is titled "How do I obtain a receipt for my rental?" and describes what it emails you as "an electronic copy of your rental invoice". Sixt says "invoice" throughout for the final bill.

Sixt adds a fourth document, the return receipt you get when you drop the car off, and is blunt about it. The return receipt is "an overview of the vehicle's condition recorded at the time of return", and it "is not the final invoice."

Document	When you get it	What it shows	Enough for an expense claim?
Rental agreement	At pick-up	The rate and estimated charges	No, it's an estimate
Return receipt	At drop-off	Mileage, fuel level, any damage	No, it has no final charges
Receipt or final invoice	Up to seven days after return	What you were charged, line by line	Yes
Card statement line	When the charge posts	That you paid, and how much	Sometimes, see below

For an expense claim or a tax record, it's the third row you want.

How do you get a receipt from each rental company?

Go to the company's receipt lookup page and enter your last name with one identifying number. At Enterprise and Alamo that number is your driver's licence. At Avis and Budget it's the confirmation or rental agreement number. Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty accept either kind. National and Sixt make you sign in to an account first.

Each row below sums up what the company's own page asks for and promises. "Not stated" means the page we read doesn't say. It doesn't mean there's no limit.

Company	What the lookup asks for	Ready after	Stays online
Enterprise	Last name and driver's licence number	48 hours	Six months, or 360 days with an Enterprise Plus account
National	Emerald Club sign-in	Not stated	Not stated
Alamo	Last name and driver's licence number	48 hours	2 years
Hertz	Last name and a reservation or rental agreement number, or a driver's licence	Up to 7 days	6 months
Dollar	Last name, plus a driver's licence or the card you paid with	Up to 7 days	6 months
Thrifty	Last name, plus a driver's licence or the card you paid with	Up to 7 days	6 months
Avis	Country, last name, and a confirmation or rental agreement number	Up to 7 days	Up to six months
Budget	Country, last name, and a confirmation or rental agreement number	Not stated	Not stated
Sixt	Sixt account sign-in	Within 3 days	"At any time"

Count across the nine and a pattern shows:

Across the nine brands we read	Count
Have an online lookup that needs no account	7 of 9
Accept a driver's licence number as the lookup key	5 of 9
Say how long a receipt takes to appear	7 of 9
Of those seven, say to allow up to seven days	4
Say how long a receipt stays online	7 of 9
Of those seven, say six months	5

That's our count, and it's the article in six lines. The lookup is nearly always there, it rarely needs an account, and the deadline that matters is six months.

How long each rental company keeps a receipt online

Months a receipt stays available on the company's website, counted from the day the car is returned

1. Alamo24 months
2. Enterprise, with an Enterprise Plus account360 days
3. Enterprise6 months
4. Hertz6 months
5. Dollar6 months
6. Thrifty6 months
7. Avis6 months

Five of the seven bars stop at six months. If your rental was in the spring and your expense deadline is in the autumn, check now.

Enterprise

Use Enterprise's Search for a Past Rental Receipt page. It asks for two things: your last name and your driver's licence number.

Enterprise's help page says receipts are "only available online for six months, beginning 48 hours after you have returned the vehicle." The search page gives account holders longer. Receipts for rentals made with an Enterprise Plus account "are available online for 360 days".

For anything older than six months, Enterprise says "you will need to contact the office that you rented the vehicle from, and they can send you a copy of your receipt." The help line it gives is 1 (855) 266-9565.

National

National is the one brand here with no public lookup. Members of its Emerald Club sign in, open My Trips, and choose the rental under Past Trips. Everyone else gets an apology: "we do not have the ability to print your receipt online at this time." The number National gives non-members is 1 800 468 3334.

Even members can come up empty. National says a receipt "may not show up on your profile due to the way the reservation was booked, the location where you rented from, or due to the length of time it has been since your last trip." Members can also switch on eReceipts, which emails the invoice when the car goes back.

Alamo

Alamo's Past Trips/Receipts page asks for the same two fields as Enterprise, its sister brand: last name and driver's licence number. Its window is the longest we found. "Past reservation receipts are available online for 2 years, beginning 48 hours after returning the vehicle."

Hertz

Hertz's Find a Receipt page searches two ways: by last name with a reservation or rental agreement number, or by driver's licence.

Hertz's support article says "it may take up to seven days for your receipt to become available", and that receipts "can be accessed for up to six months after the return date." A Hertz blog post dated March 2023 adds that "a maximum of 20 receipts can be displayed at any one time". Members of its Gold+ programme can switch on eReceipts, and Hertz says the PDF is emailed "within 30 minutes of closing your rental".

Dollar and Thrifty

Both brands belong to Hertz and run the same form. It asks for your last name, then either a driver's licence, with the country and state that issued it, or the number of the card you paid with. Enter both and, the page warns, "you will only see receipts that match both criteria".

Two details catch people out. The optional date filter works on the day you picked the car up: "the search cannot be conducted by drop-off dates." And the form shows no more than twenty receipts at a time.

Both brands also email a copy, so search your inbox for the subject line "Dollar Receipt" or "Thrifty Receipt" first. Both say receipts are "only available online for 6 months from the date the car was returned."

Avis and Budget

Same parent company, same form, called Get e-Receipt. Choose the country you rented in, then enter your last name and one number: the reservation confirmation number or the rental agreement number.

Avis explains how to tell the two apart. The confirmation number is "an 8-digit code followed by two letters and one more number", such as 12345678US1, and it's in your booking email. The rental agreement number is "a nine digit number" on the paperwork you were given at the counter.

Avis says to "allow up to 7 days from date of vehicle return", and that it keeps copies online "for up to six months". For older receipts it says to call 1-800-352-7900. Budget's page has the same three fields and points account holders to their Past Rentals page. It gives no time limits.

Sixt

Sixt has no anonymous form. You sign in on the website or the app, open My Bookings, choose the rental and download the invoice as a PDF. Sixt says final invoices "are available within 3 days of return", and that the invoice "includes your rental agreement number as a unique reference". A second Sixt help article says the final invoice "will be sent by email within 48 hours".

What if the receipt doesn't show up?

Usually it's too early, or what you typed doesn't match the rental contract. Work through these in order. Most missing receipts are one of the first three. It's the same first move as in our guide to what to do when you lose a receipt: go back to the seller before you try anything else.

1. Count the days. Under 48 hours at Enterprise or Alamo, or under seven days at Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty or Avis, it may not exist yet.
2. Search your inbox. Dollar and Thrifty email a copy, and so do National, Hertz and Sixt if you opted in or booked with an account.
3. Check what you typed. Enterprise's own checklist is the country, the licence number and the spelling of your name, each compared with the rental contract. The search matches the contract, so if a colleague was the named renter, it's their details the form wants.
4. Search by pick-up date. Dollar and Thrifty can't search by the day you returned the car.
5. Try the other number. Where a form takes a confirmation number or a rental agreement number, the first is in your booking email and the second is on the counter paperwork.
6. Ask whoever made the booking. National warns that one may be missing because of "the way the reservation was booked". If a travel agent or a company travel desk booked the car, ask them as well.
7. Past six months, contact the branch. Enterprise sends you to the office you rented from. Avis gives a phone number for older rentals.

Why is the receipt total different from the rental agreement?

Because the agreement is an estimate and the receipt is the bill. Sixt lists what a final invoice may add: "fuel charges if the vehicle was not returned with a full tank", "charges for after-hours returns", "late-return fees", and "other additional items such as tolls or special cleaning fees". Hertz's list is similar, and includes "any late return fees".

Put numbers on it. Say the agreement estimated $186 for three days. You bring the car back four hours late, with the tank a quarter down. The receipt can carry a late-return fee and a fuel charge on top of the $186. It's the receipt total that matches your card statement, and the receipt total an expense approver will check against it.

That's why Sixt tells customers to "keep the return receipt until your final invoice is confirmed as correct". If the two disagree about fuel or mileage, the return receipt is your evidence.

Tolls can arrive later still, and separately. Alamo sends renters to TollPassGo.com for toll receipts. A statement there is found with your last name and the rental agreement number, or with your last name and the first six and last four digits of the card you paid with.

Is a card statement enough if you can't get the receipt?

Sometimes. A card statement proves you paid the rental company and how much. It doesn't show the rental dates, the location or what made up the total. Whether that's enough depends on who is asking and how large the bill was.

Your employer sets its own rule. Many accept a statement line for a small expense and want the itemised receipt for anything larger. Our guide to a lost receipt on an expense claim covers what finance teams usually take in its place.

For US federal tax, the question is how big the expense was. IRS Publication 463 says documentary evidence isn't needed where "your expense, other than lodging, is less than $75". A multi-day rental is rarely under $75. Above that line, the IRS wants a document that shows "the amount, date, place, and essential character of the expense."

A statement line shows the amount, a date and the company's name, and stops there. That gap is the reason to fetch the receipt while it's still online. If the six months have gone, our guide to lost receipts for taxes sets out what the IRS accepts in a receipt's place.

Once you have the PDF, save it somewhere you'll find it. A rental receipt that supports a tax deduction is worth keeping for at least three years, and our guide to how long to keep receipts explains why.

When not to use a rebuilt receipt

We make receipt templates, including rental car layouts, so we'll be direct about this.

It isn't what's being asked for. An expense approver or a tax examiner wants the rental company's record of the rental. A document you drew up yourself isn't that, however accurate the figures are.

It can be checked. A real receipt carries a rental agreement number, which Sixt calls "a unique reference". Anyone who doubts a receipt can ask the rental company to confirm that number, and a made-up one has nothing behind it.

It's fraud. Handing in a receipt you made as though the rental company issued it is fraud in most places, even when the rental was real and the amount is right. Our terms prohibit using Repceipt to submit a false expense to an employer or to support a tax deduction.

You don't need it. The real receipt is one form away for six months, and a phone call away after that.

A rebuilt copy has one honest use: your own files. If you keep a travel log or a household budget and want a tidy record of a rental whose receipt has gone offline, that's what the templates are for. There are layouts in the style of Enterprise and Dollar, among others. It's for your records and nobody else's.

How we checked

We opened each company's own receipt page and help article on 11 October 2026 and read every statement about how to find a receipt, how long it takes and how long it stays available. The wording above comes from those pages.

Where a company has both a lookup form and a help article, we read both. They don't always agree. Enterprise's help article says six months, and its search page says 360 days for Enterprise Plus account holders. Sixt gives three days in one article and 48 hours in another. We've quoted each where it appears and haven't picked a winner.

Dollar and Thrifty state their limits twice, on a help page and on the form, and the two match.

One limit matters more than the others. We didn't rent a car from any of these companies. This is a reading of what each one publishes, not a test of whether its form finds your rental.

What we could not verify

• Hertz's form, in English. Its lookup page loaded in Slovenian for us, from a European connection. The two search routes described above are our translation of its labels. The time limits are quoted from Hertz's English-language support article.
• Budget's and National's time limits. Neither page we read says how long a receipt takes to appear or how long it stays online.
• Whether a copy ever costs money. None of the pages we read mentions a charge for an online receipt. None promises there isn't one for a copy sent by a branch.
• Franchise and overseas locations. These pages describe each company's US site. Dollar says receipts for New Zealand rentals "are not available online", which suggests other countries differ too.
• Toll receipts beyond Alamo. We read Alamo's toll page only.
• Europcar, Turo, Zipcar and smaller brands. We didn't read them, and we haven't filled the gap from other roundups.
• What happens after the online window closes. Enterprise and Avis say a copy can still be had. How far back a branch's records go isn't stated.

Common questions

How long does it take to get a rental car receipt?

Between two and seven days after you return the car. Enterprise and Alamo post receipts online after 48 hours. Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Avis say to allow up to seven days. Sixt says its final invoice is available within three days.

Can I get a rental car receipt without the rental agreement number?

Yes, at most companies. Enterprise and Alamo search by last name and driver's licence number. Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty accept a driver's licence as well. Avis and Budget are the two that need a confirmation number or a rental agreement number, and the confirmation number is in your booking email.

How long do rental companies keep receipts online?

Six months is the most common answer. Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Avis all say six months from the day the car was returned, and so does Enterprise's help page. Alamo keeps them for two years. Enterprise gives Enterprise Plus account holders 360 days.

Is a rental car invoice different from a receipt?

No. A rental car invoice and a rental car receipt are the same document: the itemised record of what you were charged, issued after the car is returned. National uses both words on one help page, and Sixt calls it the final invoice. The rental agreement is the different document. It's the contract from pick-up, and it shows estimated charges.

Can I get a receipt for a rental from more than six months ago?

Usually, but not from the website. Enterprise says to contact the office you rented from, which can send a copy. Avis says to call 1-800-352-7900 for receipts older than six months. Alamo's online lookup covers two years.

Does a rental car receipt include tolls?

Not always. Sixt says its final invoice may include tolls. Alamo handles toll receipts on a separate site, TollPassGo.com, where you find your statement with your last name and rental agreement number.

Does it cost anything to get a copy of a rental car receipt?

None of the nine receipt pages we read mentions a fee for looking up or downloading a receipt online. The pages don't say whether a branch charges for sending an older copy.

Corrections and updates

Pages last read on 11 October 2026. No corrections have been made since.

Rental companies change these pages without notice. If one here is out of date, tell us and we'll update it and give the new date.

Sources

Read on 11 October 2026 unless a different date is given.

• Enterprise: Search for a Past Rental Receipt and How do I get a copy of my rental car receipt?
• National: How do I obtain a receipt for my rental? and How do I automatically get receipts emailed to me?
• Alamo: Past Trips/Receipts and How can I obtain a copy of a receipt for my toll charges?
• Hertz: Find a Receipt, How do I find my receipt? and Understand Hertz Receipts online, 30 March 2023
• Dollar: Rental Receipt and Request a Receipt
• Thrifty: Rental Receipt and Request a Receipt
• Avis: Car Rental Receipt and Customer service FAQ
• Budget: Car Rentals e-Receipts
• Sixt: When is my SIXT invoice available and how do I download it? and What's the difference between my SIXT return receipt and the final invoice?
• Internal Revenue Service: Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, chapter 5, for the $75 rule

Related

• What to do when you lose a receipt
• Lost receipt for an expense claim: what to do
• Lost receipts for taxes: what the IRS accepts