Quick Summary:
- Use the passport MRZ spelling, usually without accents, for the surname field.
- Keep your booking, driving licence and payment card names aligned.
- Replicate hyphens and spaces consistently, do not invent middle names.
- Bring supporting ID and booking confirmation to prevent counter re-ticketing.
Accents and special characters in names are common on passports issued across Europe and Latin America, but US travel and rental systems often behave like airline systems. Many booking platforms, payment gateways and rental counter terminals accept only basic A to Z characters, and they frequently apply an airline-style transliteration rule. That can create a mismatch between what you type into a car hire booking form and what an agent sees at the counter in New York.
The aim is simple, make it easy for staff to match the booking to your identity documents and payment card without manual edits. Manual edits can take time, trigger additional verification, or lead to counter re-ticketing, where the agent recreates the reservation in their system to make the name fit their rules. This article explains how to enter your name when your passport contains accents, what to match across your passport, driving licence and card, and how to reduce the chances of last-minute changes at the desk.
Why US booking systems often drop accents
Most international passports show your name in two places. One is the visual inspection zone, the printed name at the top of the identity page, which may include accents, apostrophes, hyphens or non-English letters. The other is the machine-readable zone (MRZ), the two lines of chevrons and capital letters at the bottom. The MRZ uses a restricted character set so it can be read reliably worldwide, so accents are removed and some characters are converted.
Many rental systems and aggregators treat the MRZ style as the reference, because it behaves consistently. This is similar to airline tickets, where the displayed name often follows the MRZ transliteration. If your booking tool accepts accents, they may still be stripped during processing, which can change what appears on the final reservation.
The best rule, match your passport MRZ spelling
For US car hire, the safest approach is to enter your name exactly as it appears in your passport MRZ. That typically means:
Accents removed: É becomes E, Á becomes A, Ö becomes O, Ç becomes C.
Special letters converted: depending on passport rules, Ñ may become N, and other letters may be simplified. In some MRZ standards, some characters expand, for example Ä may be AE. Your own passport MRZ shows what your issuing authority chose, so do not guess.
Apostrophes and punctuation removed: O’Connor may appear as OCONNOR, D’Amico as DAMICO.
Hyphens treated carefully: some systems keep hyphens, others drop them. If your MRZ effectively removes punctuation, using the no-hyphen version can be safer, but consistency matters most.
To find the MRZ version, look at the bottom of the passport photo page. The surname appears first, then two chevrons, then given names separated by chevrons. Use those letters for your booking fields. If your booking form asks for first name and last name only, put the MRZ surname in last name, and the full MRZ given name string (with spaces if allowed) in first name.
New York realities, counter systems and re-ticketing risk
At major New York area locations such as JFK and Newark, agents often work with vendor systems that are strict about permitted characters. Even when your confirmation email shows accents, the vendor desk may only see the simplified version, or the reverse. If the desk cannot reconcile the booking name with your documents, an agent may create a new reservation or amend the existing one to fit their rules. That is what travellers often experience as counter re-ticketing.
Re-ticketing is not always bad, but it can introduce new rate rules, change inclusions, or simply add delay while identity checks are repeated. The best prevention is making your original reservation match the name format the counter expects, which is usually MRZ-style.
If you are arranging car hire around Newark Liberty International Airport, these pages can help you compare options across nearby desks and terminals without relying on accented characters being preserved, car rental airport New Jersey EWR and car rental Newark EWR.
What to match across passport, driving licence and payment card
For the smoothest pickup, the key is alignment. Rental staff typically confirm three things, the reservation, your driving entitlement, and the payment instrument for the deposit. If any of these show materially different names, it can slow down or complicate the handover.
1) Passport and booking
Match the booking name to the passport MRZ spelling, not the accent-marked version. If your passport visual line and MRZ differ significantly (for example, due to apostrophes, compound surnames, or letters that expand), the MRZ version is the one automated systems recognise best.
2) Driving licence and booking
Your driving licence may preserve accents even if your passport MRZ does not. That is usually fine, provided the base letters match and the structure is consistent. Problems arise when a surname is split differently, an additional surname appears only on one document, or the order is reversed. If you have multiple surnames, keep them in the same order everywhere, and avoid dropping one surname on the booking if it appears on your passport.
3) Payment card and booking
Cards often omit accents and sometimes omit middle names due to character limits. Try to make the booking match the card format where possible, especially for given names. If the card shows only first and last name, entering extra middle names on the booking can add a mismatch. If the booking form forces a middle initial and your card does not show it, keep it consistent with your passport rather than inventing letters.
When you are planning car hire in the New York region, the most common friction point is the payment card name versus the reservation name. Ensuring a close match reduces the chance that an agent must manually override the record.
How to enter common accented and compound names
Accented vowels: Enter the plain letter version, based on the MRZ. For example, José typically becomes JOSE in MRZ-style systems.
Letters like Ñ: Use what the MRZ shows. Some passports simplify to N. Do not alternate between N and NI or N and NN across different fields.
Hyphenated surnames: If the booking form allows hyphens, you can keep them, but use the same approach everywhere you can. If it does not allow hyphens, remove the hyphen and keep the full string together. The goal is that staff can visually map it to your passport quickly.
Double surnames: If your passport includes two surnames, enter both in the surname field if space allows. If the form splits surname and second surname, follow the form structure, but do not move a surname into the given name field unless the form explicitly requires it.
Particles: Names with particles such as DE, DEL, VAN or VON can be handled differently across countries. Follow the MRZ order and keep spacing consistent. If a system removes spaces, you may see the particle joined to the surname, which is usually acceptable as long as all parts are present.
Preventing counter re-ticketing, practical steps before you travel
Check the confirmation name line early. After you complete the reservation, look at the confirmation details that the supplier will see. If the confirmation already shows your name without accents, that is often a good sign for compatibility.
Bring the right documents and present them consistently. Use the same passport you used when you entered the details. If you hold dual passports, switching which passport you show at the counter can increase mismatch risk because MRZ transliteration can differ by issuing authority.
Keep your email confirmation accessible offline. If the desk needs to verify the exact booking record, having the confirmation number and name spelling available helps reduce manual recreation of the reservation.
Avoid last-minute edits at the desk if possible. If you notice a name issue, it can be better to resolve it before arrival, because edits at pickup time may trigger a new reservation in the desk system.
Know that some brands and desks vary by system. Processes differ between vendors, even at the same airport. If you are comparing vendor desks around EWR, you can review options such as Enterprise car rental New Jersey EWR or Hertz car hire New Jersey EWR to understand which location you will actually visit.
Airline-style transliteration, what it means for your booking fields
Some people assume that because their flight ticket shows a simplified name, the same spelling must be used everywhere. That is close, but the better logic is, use the MRZ spelling because both airlines and rental systems tend to converge on it.
Practical implications for form fields:
Do not add accents even if the form accepts them. They may be stripped later, and the stripped result could be different from what you expect. Entering plain letters from the start avoids surprises.
Do not reorder names to look more English. If you have multiple given names, keep them in the same order as the passport. Reordering can appear like a different person in strict systems.
Be careful with character limits. Some booking forms truncate long names. If truncation is unavoidable, prioritise the start of the surname and first given name as shown in the MRZ, since staff compare those first.
Keep spacing consistent. If you must remove spaces due to system rules, remove them everywhere you can. Randomly switching between “DE LA CRUZ” and “DELACRUZ” across documents you control can confuse quick visual checks.
What if your booking is already made with accents?
If you have already reserved car hire and the name includes accents, you may not need to panic. In many cases, the vendor system has already stripped them and the desk sees the plain-letter version.
Still, you can reduce risk by verifying what the supplier record shows. If your confirmation email or account area displays the name without accents, that is likely what the counter will use. If it still shows accents, it may be fine, but if you are concerned about a strict match, adjust the name to the MRZ spelling before travel where the booking conditions allow it.
If you are travelling through JFK in New York and want to compare policies that may affect changes, you can reference Budget car rental New York JFK for a clear view of the pickup context and what to bring, especially if your name is long or contains punctuation.
Small differences that usually do not matter, and those that do
Usually acceptable: missing accents, missing apostrophes, and uppercase versus title case. These are common system limitations and staff recognise them.
Sometimes problematic: dropping a second surname, using a nickname instead of the passport given name, swapping the order of two given names, or using a different family name form than your passport and driving licence.
Often problematic: completely different surname spelling, different passport presented than implied by the booking name structure, or a payment card in a different person’s name when the supplier requires the driver to be the cardholder.
When in doubt, remember the goal at pickup in New York is quick identity reconciliation. MRZ-based entry plus consistent structure across documents is the simplest path.
FAQ
Should I type my name with accents on a US car hire booking?
Usually no. Enter the plain-letter spelling shown in your passport MRZ, because many US rental and payment systems remove accents anyway.
Where do I find the correct transliteration on my passport?
Look at the machine-readable zone at the bottom of the photo page. Use that spelling, including how it handles punctuation and special letters.
My driving licence keeps accents, will that cause problems?
Normally it is fine if the base letters and name order match your passport and booking. Larger differences, like missing surnames or reordered names, matter more than accents.
What if my payment card name is shorter than my passport name?
Keep the booking aligned with your passport MRZ, but avoid adding extra middle names if your card only shows first and last name. Consistency and recognisability are key.
How can I reduce the chance of counter re-ticketing in New York?
Use MRZ spelling from the start, keep documents consistent, bring your confirmation details, and avoid last-minute name edits at the desk.
