VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
What Documents Do You Need to Rent a Motorhome? The Complete List
Driving licence, ID, credit card, proof of address: the real documents Yescapa, Goboony, Roadsurfer and Indie Campers ask for, before departure and when crossing borders.
It is often the first bad surprise of departure day: a missing document, a rejected scan, or the wrong format, and a booking that suddenly looks shaky. Before comparing prices, it helps to know exactly what you will be asked for — on Yescapa, Goboony, Roadsurfer, Indie Campers, or a classic rental agency. Here is the real list, from the booking file to the day you pick up the keys.
Before you book: what to prepare in advance
From the moment you request a booking, almost every platform asks for a driving licence, front and back, scanned or photographed, plus a valid ID (national card or passport). On peer-to-peer platforms like Yescapa or Goboony, these documents are checked before the trip is even confirmed — missing either one is enough to stall the file. Our guide to which licence you need for a motorhome details the minimum years of experience required depending on the vehicle's weight and the platform, a criterion that varies noticeably from one operator to another.
Next comes the credit card, which must be in the main driver's name: it settles the balance, but more importantly it holds the security deposit that gets charged in case of an at-fault claim or an excess to cover. Our guide to deposit, excess and insurance explains what that amount really covers, and deposit, balance and payment schedule details when each instalment is due. A simple debit card or a prepaid card is almost always refused: bring a proper credit card, valid for several weeks after the trip ends.
Pick-up day: what to bring physically
- The original driving licence (not a photocopy) for every declared driver.
- An original, valid ID for every declared driver.
- The physical credit card used for payment, for the deposit hold.
- The booking confirmation, printed or saved offline on your phone — useful if the signal is weak on arrival.
- A proof of address less than three months old, sometimes requested by professional rental companies or for a first booking on a peer-to-peer platform.
Our checklist before hitting the road covers the rest of pick-up day: the walk-around inspection, filling the water tank, checking the gas level. On this specific point of paperwork, the rule stays the same everywhere: no original document, no keys.
Additional drivers and young drivers
Anyone who might take the wheel needs to be declared before departure, with the same documents as the main driver: licence and ID, sent in advance on peer-to-peer platforms. An undeclared driver who ends up driving is simply not covered by the insurance if something goes wrong. If one of the drivers has held their licence for less than three years, an increased excess or a surcharge almost always applies — our guide to young driver motorhome rentals details the real extra cost and how to reduce it.
Crossing borders: the extra documents
Within the European Union, a home-country licence is enough in the vast majority of cases, but keep the international green insurance card supplied by the rental company on you — some countries' authorities still ask for it during roadside checks. Outside the EU, things change: in the United States or Canada, an International Driving Permit (IDP) is often recommended, and sometimes required depending on the state or province, alongside your national licence — never instead of it. Our guide to driving an RV in the USA with a foreign licence walks through the process, including how much lead time to allow before departure. And if the rented vehicle is over 3.5 tonnes, check that your licence actually covers that category — our guide to the C1 licence and motorhomes explains when a standard car licence is no longer enough.
Why platforms ask for so much
The list can feel heavy compared with a simple car rental — and that is explained by the very nature of peer-to-peer platforms. A 2021 study published in the journal Sustainability by Julsrud and Uteng (Google Scholar page) shows that users of peer-to-peer car sharing report markedly lower trust in fellow users than customers of classic rental agencies, and that they rely more heavily on technical mechanisms — identity verification, reviews, platform guarantees — to make up for the absence of a traditional commercial relationship. A more recent study, published in 2025 in the Journal of Cleaner Production by Hartl, Penz and Schuessler (Google Scholar page), reaches a similar conclusion: identity verification and a transparent booking process are among the main levers that peer-to-peer sharing platforms pull to reassure owners and renters who have never met. Seen this way, every document you are asked for replaces part of the trust a physical rental counter would normally provide.
What if a document gets rejected or is missing?
A blurry, cropped or expired document can be enough to have a confirmed booking cancelled, sometimes just days before departure — our guide to avoiding rental scams also covers this kind of unwelcome surprise, less malicious but just as costly. The simplest habit is to send every document as soon as you book rather than waiting for the final reminder, so there is time to fix a blurry scan or order an international permit before departure. Our guide on how far ahead to book is a reminder that this margin is measured in weeks, not just vehicle availability.
Booking
Van-Comparator compares Yescapa, Goboony, Roadsurfer and Indie Campers in a single search — before booking, a quick look at each platform's help pages avoids any administrative surprise on pick-up day.
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