Vehicle Rental Agreement

In effect from 22 October 2026.

This is the agreement you sign when you collect the car. It is published here so you can read it before you book, rather than meeting it for the first time on a clipboard at the airport.

The copy you sign is the same document with your booking filled in — the vehicle and its registration, your dates and price, and the drivers' details — together with four annexes described at the end. Our Terms & Conditions cover the booking itself and do not contradict anything here.

1. The parties and the documents

1.1 This agreement is between Ocean Car Hire of Beau Belle, Bel Ombre, Mahé, Seychelles ("we", "us") and the hirer named on the signed copy ("you").

1.2 The agreement is this document and its Key Terms box, clauses 1 to 29, and four annexes: the Vehicle Condition Report, the Schedule of Charges, the Driving Licence Check Certificate and the Statement of Liability for Fixed Penalties. If the Key Terms box and a clause conflict, the Key Terms box prevails in your favour.

1.3 You are given a signed copy of the agreement and every annex when you take the vehicle. Tell us if you have not received one.

1.4 Our 24-hour number is (+248) 2 525 077, and WhatsApp (+248) 2 664 760. Use either for any accident, breakdown, theft or question, at any hour.

2. The vehicle

2.1 The vehicle, its registration, its Licensing Authority identification plate, the number of keys, the odometer reading and the fuel level at handover are recorded on the signed copy and on the Condition Report.

2.2 The vehicle remains ours. You may not sell, sublet, pledge, lend it or let anyone take a lien over it.

2.3 The identification plate is Government property. It must stay fixed to the rear of the vehicle, visible and clean, and you may not remove, cover or deface it.

2.4 If the vehicle you booked is unavailable we may supply one of the same or a higher category at no extra charge. If we cannot, we refund you in full for the unused part of the rental.

2.5 We may withdraw or replace the vehicle if the Licensing Authority suspends or requires surrender of its identification plate, or if it becomes unroadworthy. That is not a breach by us, and you get a pro-rata refund for any period you lose.

3. The rental period, extensions and return

3.1 A rental day is 24 hours from handover.

3.2 Minimum rental is 3 days.

3.3 You may return the vehicle up to 60 minutes after the end time without charge. After that we charge one additional day at the daily rate for each day or part day.

3.4 To extend, contact us before the end time and get our agreement. If you keep the vehicle without our agreement, our insurer may not cover it, the cap in clause 10 stops applying, and you are liable in full for any loss or damage in that period.

3.5 Return the vehicle at the agreed place and time with all keys, documents, tools and accessories.

3.6 If we agree you may leave the vehicle unattended at a hotel, the airport or the jetty, you remain responsible for it until we inspect it. We inspect it, photograph it, and send you the return report and photographs before charging you anything.

3.7 We may take the vehicle back at any time, wherever it is, if you breach clause 8, if we reasonably believe it is being used unlawfully or is at risk, or if you do not return it when due. You pay our reasonable costs of doing so.

4. Price and tax

4.1 The total in the Key Terms box is the whole price for the rental. It includes all taxes. We are not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added to it.

4.2 We will not charge you anything that is not either in the Key Terms box, in the Schedule of Charges, or an actual cost we evidence to you under clause 20.

4.3 Prices are in euro. Where we are paid in Seychelles rupees or US dollars we convert at the rate shown on your receipt.

4.4 Payment is due when we hand over the vehicle — cash in euro, US dollars or Seychelles rupees, or by card. We do not add a card surcharge.

5. No deposit, no hold

5.1 We take no deposit and place no hold or pre-authorisation on your card. You keep the full use of your credit limit. Most operators here do not, and we think it matters.

5.2 Anything identified after the vehicle is returned — fuel, damage, a fine that reaches us later — is invoiced to you with the evidence required by clause 20. We do not hold a card authority, so nothing can be taken from your card without you doing it.

6. Who may drive

6.1 Only the drivers named on the signed copy may drive. Each one's licence number, country, issue and expiry dates, date of birth and date of last entry into Seychelles are recorded there.

6.2 Every driver must be at least 21 and must have held a full valid licence for at least 3 years. These are our conditions, set by what our insurance requires — they are not legal requirements.

6.3 Every driver presents their original licence to us in person. We do not accept photographs, photocopies, digital licences, learner permits or restricted licences. Additional drivers are free on qualifying bookings but must sign this agreement before driving.

6.5 We give you a signed and dated Driving Licence Check Certificate, as regulation 3(c) of the Road Transport (Self-Drive Hire Vehicles) Regulations requires.

6.6 Letting anyone else drive is a Major Breach (clause 22).

6.7 We may decline a rental, or decline to add a driver, including because of a previous incident with us.

7. Where and how you may use the vehicle

7.1 Private self-drive transport of you, your named drivers, your passengers and their luggage, on Mahé only, on sealed public roads and in legal parking areas.

7.2 Carry no more people than there are seat belts.

7.3 Obey all Seychelles traffic law, including posted speed limits, and drive on the left.

8. Prohibited use

8.1 You must not, and must not let anyone else:

• drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or over any prescribed limit, or refuse a breath or specimen test, which is itself an offence;
• let anyone drive who is not named on the agreement, or whose licence is expired, suspended, restricted or not valid in Seychelles, or who is a learner;
• use the vehicle for racing, rallying, pacing, speed testing, motor sport or driving instruction;
• tow or push any vehicle or trailer;
• carry passengers or goods for hire or reward, including taxi or ride-hailing work;
• carry illegal, hazardous, flammable or corrosive goods, or anything that may damage the vehicle;
• drive on any beach, foreshore, sand, riverbed, or through standing or flowing water;
• drive on any road or track that is not sealed, except a graded, maintained access road to your accommodation, and then only at walking pace;
• park below the high-water line or anywhere the sea may reach the vehicle;
• take the vehicle off Mahé, or transport it by ferry, barge or any vessel, without our prior written consent;
• keep driving after a warning light, a warning noise, overheating, a loss of fluid or a flat tyre, or drive the vehicle damaged or unroadworthy;
• put the wrong fuel in;
• modify the vehicle, fit anything to it, or carry out or authorise any repair without our consent;
• smoke, or allow smoking, in the vehicle;
• leave the vehicle unlocked, or unattended with the keys in it, or overnight in an unlit public place where a safer alternative exists;
• give us a false name, address, age or licence details.

8.2 Breach of this clause is a Major Breach (clause 22).

9. Condition, care and inspection

9.1 Look after the vehicle, keep it locked when unattended, check the oil, coolant and tyre pressures on a rental of more than seven days, and stop and call us if a warning light shows or you hear or feel anything wrong.

9.2 At handover and again at return we inspect the vehicle together, in daylight and, where practicable, after it has been washed and dried. Anything found is marked on the Condition Report, which we both sign and date and of which you get a copy.

9.3 We photograph the vehicle at handover and at return from the same fixed positions, with timestamps: four corners at 45 degrees, each wheel, the odometer, the fuel gauge, the front and rear interior, and the boot with the spare wheel and tools visible.

9.6 Fair wear and tear is not charged. The tolerances are listed in the Schedule of Charges, item by item. Damage inside a tolerance is recorded but not charged.

10. Your liability for damage, theft and loss

10.1 You are liable for loss of or damage to the vehicle, its keys, tools, documents and accessories during the rental period, and for our reasonable costs of recovering it — except where the damage results from our failure to maintain the vehicle, a pre-existing defect, or mechanical or electrical failure not caused by misuse.

10.5 Where we can recover our loss from an identified third party who is liable for it, we pursue that and do not charge you.

10.6 Damage is charged at the rates in the Schedule of Charges, which are our estimate of the cost of the stated repair method. Damage not covered there is charged at our actual cost of repair or replacement, evidenced by an invoice or a written assessment that we give you.

10.7 Loss of use. If the vehicle cannot be hired out because of damage you are liable for, you pay a loss-of-use charge for each day it is off the road — counted as one day to take it in, one day for each four hours or part of repair labour in the repairer's quotation, and one day to return it to service. It is capped at one day for tyre, glass, key or cleaning work, and at seven days in every other case short of total loss, and it sits inside the cap in 10.2. We give you the repairer's quotation on request.

11. What the cap is, and what it is not

11.1 The cap in clause 10.2 is our contractual promise not to recover more than that figure from you for damage to the vehicle. It is not an insurance product and we are not an insurer. The vehicle's motor insurance is separate and is dealt with in clause 13.

11.2 We do not sell excess-reduction cover. Several operators here sell a daily product that lowers the figure; we do not, and we would rather say so plainly than have you wonder whether you were supposed to buy something. The cap is the same for every hirer, included in the rate.

12. What the cap does not cover

12.1 The cap does not limit your liability for any of the following. You pay the whole cost.

• Anything arising from a Major Breach (clause 22) — drink or drug driving, refusing a test, an unnamed driver, prohibited use, or taking the vehicle off Mahé.
• Deliberate or reckless damage.
• Damage from the wrong fuel or the wrong fluids.
• Loss of or damage to keys, and the cost of replacing and reprogramming them.
• Damage to the interior, including burns, tears, stains and smoke odour.
• Recovery or towing where the vehicle was immobilised by your act, breach or neglect.
• Your own property and your passengers' property, and anything left in the vehicle.
• Traffic and parking fines, and the administration fee on them.
• Damage from continuing to drive after a warning light, a warning noise, overheating, loss of fluid or a flat tyre.
• Salt-water or sand ingress, corrosion from sea water or sand, and immersion of the vehicle.

12.2 These are the exclusions the industry applies almost universally — Hertz's top-tier cover in Greece still excludes the underside and wheels, and Sixt excludes off-road driving from every protection product. We have named them rather than leaving you to find them.

13. Insurance

13.1 The vehicle is insured under a policy we hold as required by the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act and by regulation 3(d) of the Road Transport (Self-Drive Hire Vehicles) Regulations. Our insurer is SACOS Seychelles, and the certificate of insurance is in the vehicle.

13.2 In plain terms: the policy covers death of and injury to other people, and damage to this vehicle and to other people's property, subject to its own terms and exclusions. It does not cover your own property, and it is not travel insurance, personal accident insurance or medical cover. It is not a promise that you will never have to pay anything — what you may have to pay is capped by clause 10.2, except as clauses 12 and 22 say.

13.3 During the rental the law treats you as the "owner" of the vehicle for the purposes of that Act. If a police officer asks, you must give your name and address, give ours, and produce the certificate of insurance. Keep it in the vehicle and return it with the vehicle.

13.4 You must not do anything that entitles our insurer to refuse a claim or to recover from us. If our insurer pays a claim and then recovers it from us because of something you did or failed to do, you reimburse us that amount in full, and the cap does not apply to it.

13.5 Nothing here affects an injured third party's right to be paid by our insurer. If you report an accident late, that is a breach of this agreement and it costs you the benefit of the cap — it does not leave an injured person uninsured.

14. If you have an accident

14.1 Call us immediately on (+248) 2 525 077, at any hour, before you do anything else except make the scene safe.

• Stop. Make the scene safe. Do not move the vehicle unless the police direct you to or it is unsafe to leave it.
• Do not admit liability, accept blame or promise to pay anyone.
• Take the other driver's name, address, telephone number, licence number, vehicle registration and insurer, and the names and numbers of any witnesses.
• Photograph the vehicles, their positions, the damage, the road and any skid marks.
• Report it to the police immediately and in any event within 24 hours, and get the report reference. If anyone is injured the law requires a report within 48 hours; we require 24 hours in every case because it is simpler and stricter.
• Complete and sign our accident report form before you leave Seychelles.
• Do not arrange repairs, recovery or towing yourself. Call us.

14.2 Be aware that after any accident a police officer may require a breath test, and refusing one without reasonable excuse is an offence.

14.3 Failing to call us, admitting liability, not reporting to the police, or arranging your own repairs is a Major Breach (clause 22) and you lose the benefit of the cap for that event.

14.4 If the vehicle is damaged in an accident we may have to surrender its identification plate to the Licensing Authority and may not hire it out until the plate is restored. The vehicle is taken off hire and you receive a pro-rata refund for the unused rental period.

15. Breakdown and assistance

15.1 Our 24-hour call-out number is (+248) 2 525 077.

15.2 If the vehicle breaks down through no fault of yours we repair or replace it as quickly as we can, free of charge, and aim to have a replacement with you within three hours anywhere on Mahé.

15.3 If the vehicle is immobilised by something you did, by a breach of this agreement, or by neglect — a flat tyre caused by damage, running out of fuel, the wrong fuel, a lost key, or getting stuck off a sealed road — you pay the cost of recovery, or €20 call-out plus €2.50 per kilometre if we attend.

15.4 A flat tyre: do not drive on it. Fit the spare if you can do so safely, or call us.

16. Fuel

16.1 The vehicle is supplied with a full tank and must come back with a full tank. The level at handover and at return is recorded and photographed.

16.2 If it comes back short we refuel it and charge the pump price on the receipt, which we give you, plus a refuelling service fee of €10.

16.3 Use only the fuel marked on the filler flap. Damage caused by the wrong fuel is outside the cap and you pay the whole cost of draining, repair, recovery and loss of use.

17. Delivery and collection

17.1 We deliver and collect anywhere on Mahé from €15 each way, free on rentals of 4 days or more — our office, the airport, the inter-island quay or your accommodation.

17.2 For an airport delivery, give us your flight number. If the flight is delayed, tell us as soon as you can and we meet the new arrival time at no extra charge.

17.3 We wait 45 minutes past the agreed time at no charge. After that, contact us to rearrange.

17.5 At a delivery handover, clause 9 applies in full — we inspect together, both sign the Condition Report, and you get a copy and the photographs.

18. Traffic fines, parking and offences

18.1 You are responsible for every traffic offence, parking charge and penalty arising from use of the vehicle during the rental period.

18.2 When we receive a notice we send you a copy and charge you the fine plus €25 for each infringement, which covers identifying the driver, responding to the authorities and corresponding with you.

18.3 We will not raise a fine with you more than six months after the rental ends, unless we only learn of it later and tell you within 30 days of learning of it.

19. Our liability to you

19.1 We are responsible for supplying a vehicle that is roadworthy, properly maintained, licensed, insured and fit for the purpose of this rental, and for performing our services with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits that, or any liability for death or personal injury, or anything that cannot lawfully be excluded under Seychelles law.

19.2 Subject to 19.1, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss — missed flights or connections, lost holiday time, alternative transport or accommodation — except where it results from our failure to meet 19.1.

19.3 We are not responsible for property you leave in the vehicle, but if we find it we tell you and keep it safely for 30 days.

19.4 Our total liability under this agreement will not exceed the total price paid, except where 19.1 applies.

20. Charges after the vehicle is returned

20.1 If we find chargeable damage, missing fuel, missing items or anything else you owe, we send you by email, before charging anything: the return condition report; the handover and return photographs side by side; the Schedule of Charges line we are relying on, or an invoice or written assessment for anything not in it; and the amount.

20.2 You then have 14 days to query it. Querying costs you nothing.

21. Cancellation, changes and no-show

21.1 You may cancel free of charge at any time, including on the day. We take no deposit and no prepayment, so there is nothing to refund and nothing to forfeit.

21.2 Please tell us by email or WhatsApp as soon as you know. A cancellation you do not tell us about costs us a car we could have let.

21.3 If you have not arrived and we have not heard from you 90 minutes after the collection time, the booking lapses. You owe nothing. If you gave us a flight number we track the flight and hold the vehicle for the actual arrival.

21.4 To change dates, times or the vehicle, contact us. Changes depend on availability and a different rate may apply; we confirm the new price before the change takes effect.

21.5 If we have to cancel, we tell you immediately, refund anything you have paid in full, and help you find an alternative.

22. Major Breach

22.1 It is a Major Breach if you or anyone driving breaches clause 6 (who may drive), clause 7 (where and how you may use the vehicle), clause 8 (prohibited use), the accident duties in clause 14, or clause 3.4 (unauthorised extension).

22.2 On a Major Breach:

• the cap on your liability stops applying to that event;
• you are liable for the whole cost of repairing or replacing the vehicle, recovering it, our loss-of-use charge, and any amount our insurer declines to pay or recovers from us;
• we may take the vehicle back wherever it is and end this agreement immediately, and you pay our reasonable costs of doing so.

22.3 A Major Breach does not remove the motor insurance on the vehicle and does not leave any injured third party unpaid. The law requires our insurer to meet claims for death and injury even where it could otherwise refuse the policy. What it means is that our insurer may then recover from us, and we will recover from you.

23. Your personal information

23.1 We collect your name, contact details, address, date of birth, driving licence details, passport details, nationality, date of entry into Seychelles and booking records.

23.2 Why: to enter into and perform this agreement; to carry out the driving licence check and issue the certificate that regulation 3(b)–(c) requires; to meet our obligations under the Minor Offences (Fixed Penalties) Decree, which may require us to produce the original agreement; to make and defend insurance claims; and for our legitimate interests in recovering amounts you owe.

23.3 Who we share it with: our insurer and its agents; the police and the Licensing Authority where required; a motor assessor or repairer where there is a damage claim.

23.4 How long: the signed agreement and the licence check record for as long as we may be required to produce them. Licence and passport images are deleted 90 days after the rental ends. Booking records are kept 7 years for accounting and tax.

23.5 You can ask what we hold, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete what we are not required to keep, and complain to us or to the Information Commission of Seychelles. Our contact for data questions is Samuel Gonzalves, samuel.b.gonzalves@gmail.com. Full detail is in our Privacy Policy.

24. Child seats and accessories

24.1 If we supply a child seat, it is an accessory supplied for your use. We do not represent that it meets any Seychelles statutory standard, because we have found no Seychelles statutory child-restraint standard. You are responsible for choosing a seat suitable for the child, fitting it correctly and checking it. We will show you how to fit it if you ask.

24.2 You are liable for loss of or damage to accessories, tools, documents and the child seat.

25. Complaints and disputes

25.1 Tell us. Email bookings@oceancarhire.online or call (+248) 2 525 077. We acknowledge within 2 working days and aim to resolve within 14 days.

25.2 For damage charges, clause 20.3 applies — an independent assessor whose decision binds us.

25.3 You may also complain to the Fair Trading Commission, which can investigate and make orders.

26. Force majeure

26.1 Neither of us is liable for failing to perform because of something outside our reasonable control — cyclone, flood, fire, fuel shortage, strike, port or airport closure, epidemic, or an order of a public authority. If we cannot supply the vehicle for such a reason we refund you in full for the part of the rental you do not get.

27. General

• We may vary a term only by written agreement with you. We will not change the price after you have signed.
• If any term is unenforceable, the rest continues.
• This agreement and its annexes are the whole agreement about this rental.
• Our failure to enforce a term immediately does not mean we give it up.
• Keep a copy of this agreement in the vehicle during the rental.

28. Governing law

28.1 This agreement is governed by the law of the Republic of Seychelles, and we both submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of its courts.

28.2 Nothing in this agreement affects any right you have under the consumer protection law of Seychelles, which applies whatever this clause says.

29. Definitions

The cap	The maximum you are liable for in respect of loss of or damage to the vehicle, including the administration fee and any loss-of-use charge.
Condition Report	The signed record and photographs of the vehicle's condition at handover and return.
Damage	Loss of or harm to the vehicle, its keys, tools, documents or accessories from a specific event or from harsh treatment, negligence or misuse — as distinct from fair wear and tear.
Fair wear and tear	The deterioration normal, careful use causes, within the tolerances in the Schedule of Charges.
Major Breach	A breach listed in clause 22.1.
You / the hirer	The person named on the signed copy, and each additional driver named there, who are jointly and severally liable.

The four annexes

These exist on paper and form part of what you sign. They are described here so nothing in them is a surprise.

Annex 1 — Vehicle Condition Report

A diagram of the vehicle with every existing mark recorded, the odometer and fuel readings, the keys, tools and accessories handed over, and the timestamped photographs. Signed by both of us at handover and again at return. This is the document clause 9.4's promise rests on.

Annex 2 — Schedule of Charges

The damage schedule. Its most important feature is the rows that charge nothing:

Item	Recorded, not charged
Stone chips on a body panel	3 mm or less, not rusted — nil
Dents	Under 15 mm, max two per panel, paint intact, not on the roof or a swage line — nil
Scratches	No primer or bare metal showing — nil
Bumper scuffs	No primer showing, dents under 15 mm — nil
Windscreen	A professionally repaired chip, up to 10 mm in the driver's line of vision or 40 mm outside it — nil
Alloy wheels	Scuffs under 50 mm of total circumference, no spoke damage — nil
Tyres	Tread within legal limits; a repairable puncture — nil or the cost of the repair
Interior	Soiling and wear from normal use — nil
Late return	Up to 60 minutes — nil

Beyond a tolerance, charges are tied to a named repair method, at the rates in the annex or at our actual cost with the invoice supplied. The figures we publish today are:

Item	Charge
Windscreen replacement	€400 economy, €500 SUV and MPV
Heavy soiling, wet seats, sand or smoke odour	€32 valet or deodorise
Key lost, damaged or not returned	Actual cost, capped at €320
Fuel returned short	Pump price on the receipt, plus €10
Recovery after a breach or neglect	Actual cost, or €20 plus €2.50/km if we attend
Administration, per chargeable damage event	€25, stated and non-recurring
Traffic or parking fine	The fine as issued, plus €25 per infringement
Late return beyond the grace period	One additional day at the daily rate
Panel, bumper, wheel, trim and underbody repair	Our actual cost, with the repairer's invoice or written assessment

Annex 3 — Driving Licence Check Certificate

A signed, dated certificate confirming we checked each driver's licence, recording the licence number, country, issue and expiry dates and — for visitors — the date of last entry into Seychelles. Regulation 3(c) requires us to issue it and you to be given a copy.

Annex 4 — Statement of Liability for Fixed Penalties

A short separate statement, signed by the hirer, acknowledging possession of the vehicle under this agreement for the rental period and accepting liability for fixed-penalty offences committed in it. Clause 18.5 explains why it exists: without it, the law presumes the vehicle's owner was driving.

What you sign

Related

Terms & Conditions · Insurance & Excess · Cancellation Policy · Privacy Policy