Hertz: No rental agreement until at Perugia office?

I've never received a rental contract before arrival at the counter, whether in the US or Europe. Seems like a typical situation to me.

A rental agreement is a contract that includes your personal details and describes the exact car you're renting. They won't know which car you're getting until you're there, which options you want, and they want to verify that you are you. Add on that the prices for some insurance options vary by the office and mystery variables known only to Hertz.

When you made your reservation, it was made through a US call center but the car was reserved at a separate company that is licensed by Hertz. Most likely they had no way of getting a copy of the Perugia agreement. Also, it would be in Italian.

Instead of booking directly with Hertz, Check out prices and availability as well as insurance choices at AutoEurope.
They are a consolidator highly recommended on this website.

Hertz in Italy is not the same company as the hertz in America so there really is no safety or security advantage choosing an “American” company.

So I agree with the previous poster about checking AutoEutope or Sixt and booking online.

AutoEurope is worth checking, and perhaps making a reservation through them. However your contract will still be with the actual car rental company you chose, executed at the rental location and you won't get an actual rental agreement beforehand.

Unless you prepaid I doubt you will receive anything. I presume you received a confirmation number over the phone.
If you just reserved without payment, check if AutoEurope has a better deal. AutoEurope is a broker so you can choose any deal they have listed, including Hertz. Then compare with what you reserved. Make sure you compare apples to apples (vehicle type, insurance coverage level, etc.). When I used AutoEurope (at least once or twice a year in the last 15 years traveling to Europe) I’ve always been happy with their service. It’s a prepaid contract that you can cancel up to 48 hours prior, but you can pay an extra fee if you want to be able to dance at any time, even after the 48 hours prior. They offer 3 levels of insurance coverage:
Basic (included in the price)
Plus with no deductible (for an extra $4-$8 a day)
Premium with no deductible and coverage for undercarriage and windshields chips etc. (extra $9-$15 day)
The extra insurance cost varies depending on vehicle type and location.
If you don’t want the extra insurance check with your credit card if they cover deductible in Italy, some cards don’t. Deductibles are often 2,000€ so that is stiff.
I usually rent Compact SUVs (like Jeep Compass, or Jeep Renegade), as they are adequate for the 4 people in my party. Economy cars are ok if you have only 2 people in your party and know how to drive manual transmission. Most Economy models are smaller (like a Toyota Yaris hatchback), with limited trunk space, and don’t come with automatic transmission in the Italian market.

AutoEurope had ownership change at the end of 2025, and things have gone downhill

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/auto-europe-review

You should be able to find the Terms and Condition on the Hertz website, but the actual "Rental Agreement" is something you get when you get the car.

Oh wow. That is really disappointing.
Missed that.

I rented with AutoEurope this past July 2026 at FLR airport (Hertz was the actual rental deal I chose).

I had noticed earlier, don't remember when, maybe 2025, that the telephone customer service was quoting me a deal that was much more expensive than what was available online. In any case I had no issues with the rental in 2026. I had computer access problems however which prevented me to pay online (maybe a work firewall issue on my side since I did the transaction from the work VPN), but was able to pay over the phone with customer service at the price displayed online.

If AutoEurope is under new ownership (and I presume also the sister company Kemwel) maybe it is best to shop also directly with the rental company and see who offers the best deal. It's too bad since I trusted AutoEurope more than other third parties, like Expedia or similar. The issue however, when you rent directly from Hertz or Avis etc., in Europe they are actually different companies from the US company. For example Hertz Italia S.p.A. (headquartered in Rome) or Avis Budget S.p.A. or Europcar Italia S.p.A (both headquartered in Bolzano) are corporations which may be under the majority control of the Parent company in the home country (Europcar is actually French), but not necessarily operating under the same rules. Also in some cases, for some smaller offices, you are not necessarily dealing with those companies' agencies, but with independent franchisees which often are car dealers or even gas stations.

In any case make sure you are fully insured when you rent a car abroad, and also get travel insurance if you need to cancel a prepaid trip.

If you are searching cost, also check AutoEurope’s dot eu (.eu) website as well as the dot com (.com) website. On a t4ip to Italy last year, I saved over $100 on a 1 week rental.