Did you know that EU car rentals are restricted for drivers who are 76 years old or older?

Good reminder but the requirement has been around for sometime. I think it even pops up in the US from time to time. I haven't seen it recently discussed on this site but I am sure the search box would turn up the prior discussions.

There are some agencies that might refuse to rent to an older person, and some ask for an additional surcharge, but there are many companies that will rent to you long into your 70s. That said, there should have been a question asked about your age. Are you sure you didn't provide your date of birth when renting it?

I rented a car from Sixt when I was in Germany in May but rented it through Auto Europe, and I did need to give my date of birth. Auto Europe is fairly liberal about that - here is their policy.

Many more car hire companies in the Republic of Ireland have retained age restrictions on drivers that have largely been scrapped in other countries. It has nothing to do with the European Union - after all Sixt itself says: "In most of Europe, there is no car rental age limit for drivers over the age of 65. Germany, France, Spain (and the United Kingdom) all have all car rental over 80 years old."

Although the person behind the desk said it is EU wide, from memory I think that the age restriction is predominately Ireland.

My (English) father was renting cars in England and Italy into his 80s with no issues whatsoever.

Here's a comprehensive list from AutoEurope that summarizes the age restrictions for each country:
https://www.autoeurope.com/travel-tips/rental-car-age-requirements/

that list shows that my memory was right, certainly for central and western Europe...

I am going to be the voice of reason and admit that I like the idea of a person needing to show that they are up to driving after a certain age. I'm not exactly sure what that age is or how they need to demonstrate it, but too many of my friends have had horror stories of parents unwilling to admit that the time had passed and subsequent bad consequences from this.

It may also be that a person does well in their home town and familiar roads, but would find driving in a new area or country more of a challenge. This is a tough issue. Age alone shouldn't be a disqualifier, but it may be reasonable that it triggers an evaluation of driving skills for the situation.

"I am going to be the voice of reason and admit that I like the idea of a person needing to show that they are up to driving after a certain age."
I'd like to see that for all drivers since I was almost hit recently by a young driver who was not paying any attention to the intersection and cross walk and fiddling with his phone. So yes, he was physically fit to drive but mentally maybe not so much.

@ Robert - It may be right in front of my face, but I don't find the comprehensive list when I click on the link you provided.

Janet, you have to scroll down a bit to find the Age Chart... about halfway down the page. Every European country is listed.

To Carol now retired's point I can agree that drivers may be familiar on their home turf, but not necessarily in unfamiliar territory. In my former Medical Practice this was a common topic of conversation. This makes me think that a fitness letter generated by a physician is warranted. We have never rented a car in Europe, but we have in other places. When we were in our 50's we rented cars in the former British Colonies in the Caribbean. Even at that time it was challenging for us to navigate on the left side of the road. I recall close calls where the locals were doing outdoor grilling by the side of the road! (great for take out food. lol!) We also rented cars in Australia, NZ and the Cook Islands. Thanks Michael for your informative posting.

This is not universal in Europe. My father was either a listed driver or the renter of cars in Germany (2x) France (3x) And Switzerland (1x). After the age of 76. And as old as 85/86 in German and France and Switzerland. With no one asking any questions other than wanting yo see his Drivers license.

And over half of those were through Sixt so it is not the company either. And my dad walked with a walking stick on the last two trips.