Filtering and sorting car rental search results

Learn how to refine car rental search results using filters and sorting options. Filters help you narrow down available vehicles based on your travellers' preferences, while sorting lets you control the order in which results are returned.

You can refine the results returned by the /search endpoint using the filters object.

Include all filtering criteria inside the top-level filters object of your search request. The API applies all specified filters and returns only vehicles that match the selected criteria.

You can filter results by vehicle characteristics, price, supplier, depot location, payment timing, and pickup depot review score.

Use the tables below as a quick reference for all filters supported by the /search endpoint.

Use the air_conditioning filter to include or exclude vehicles with air conditioning.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "air_conditioning": true
}

When set to true, only vehicles with air conditioning are returned. If no matching vehicles are available, the response is empty.

Use the car_categories filter to return only vehicles matching one or more specified categories.

Example request:

{
  "booker": {
    "country": "nl"
  },
  "currency": "EUR",
  "driver": {
    "age": 36
  },
  "filters": {
    "car_categories": [
      "premium",
      "compact_suv"
    ]
  },
  "route": {
    "dropoff": {
      "datetime": "2025-11-10T11:05:00",
      "location": {
        "airport": "AMS"
      }
    },
    "pickup": {
      "datetime": "2025-11-05T11:05:00",
      "location": {
        "airport": "AMS"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use the fuel_types filter to return vehicles powered by one or more fuel types.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "fuel_types": [
    "electric"
  ]
}

Use the transmission_type filter to return either automatic or manual vehicles.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "transmission_type": "automatic"
}

Use the number_of_seats filter to return vehicles with a specific seating capacity.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "number_of_seats": 5
}

Use the mileage_type filter to return vehicles with either limited or unlimited mileage.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "mileage_type": "unlimited"
}

Use the price filter to return vehicles within a specific total rental price range.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "price": {
    "minimum": 100,
    "maximum": 300
  }
}

You can specify either minimum, maximum, or both values.

Use the rating.minimum_review_score filter to return only vehicles whose pickup depot has a minimum traveller review score.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "rating": {
    "minimum_review_score": 8
  }
}

Use the supplier_ids filter to return only vehicles offered by specific car rental suppliers.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "supplier_ids": [
    102,
    122
  ]
}

Each supplier ID uniquely identifies a car rental company. In the example request, 102 corresponds to "Europcar" and 122 to "Goldcar".

Retrieve the complete list of supplier IDs by sending an empty request to the /cars/suppliers endpoint.

Use the depot_location_type filter to return vehicles based on the type of pickup depot.

Example request:

"filters": {
  "depot_location_type": "in_terminal"
}

Accepted values include:

• in_terminal
• car_rental_centre
• outside_terminal
• airport_hotel
• shuttle_bus
• meet_greet
• trainstation
• downtown

You can also filter search results by supported payment timings. For example, you may want to return only vehicles that support online payments.

In v3.2, use the following payment timing values:

• pay_online_now
• pay_partial_online_now
• pay_at_pickup

Example:

{
  "booker": {
    "country": "us"
  },
  "currency": "USD",
  "driver": {
    "age": 35
  },
  "route": {
    "pickup": {
      "datetime": "2025-07-21T10:00:00",
      "location": {
        "airport": "LAX"
      }
    },
    "dropoff": {
      "datetime": "2025-07-24T10:00:00",
      "location": {
        "airport": "LAX"
      }
    }
  },
  "payment": {
    "timings": [
      "pay_online_now",
      "pay_partial_online_now"
    ]
  }
}

Replace the values in payment.timings with the payment timings you want to support.

You can combine multiple filters in a single request to narrow search results further. The API returns only vehicles that match all specified filter criteria.

Example request:

{
  "filters": {
    "car_categories": [
      "small"
    ],
    "fuel_types": [
      "electric"
    ],
    "transmission_type": "automatic",
    "air_conditioning": true,
    "number_of_seats": 5,
    "mileage_type": "unlimited",
    "price": {
      "minimum": 100,
      "maximum": 250
    },
    "rating": {
      "minimum_review_score": 8
    },
    "supplier_ids": [
      601,
      1088
    ],
    "depot_location_type": "downtown"
  },
  "payment": {
    "timings": [
      "pay_online_now"
    ]
  }
}

Use the optional sort.by parameter to control the order in which search results are returned.

If you don't specify a sorting option, the API returns results using Booking.com's recommended ranking by default.

The following sorting options are supported:

• recommended – Uses Booking.com's recommended ranking. This is also the default when sort.by is omitted.
• distance – This option is only applied when the pickup location is provided using latitude and longitude coordinates. Otherwise, results use the recommended sort order.
• price – Returns the lowest-priced vehicles first.
• review_score – Returns vehicles ordered by pickup depot traveller review score, highest first.

{
  "booker": {
    "country": "nl"
  },
  "currency": "EUR",
  "driver": {
    "age": 36
  },
  "sort": {
    "by": "recommended"
  },
  "route": {
    "dropoff": {
      "datetime": "2025-06-05T11:05:00",
      "location": {
        "airport": "AMS"
      }
    },
    "pickup": {
      "datetime": "2025-05-05T16:05:00",
      "location": {
        "airport": "AMS"
      }
    }
  }
}

• Combine multiple filters to narrow search results and reduce the number of returned vehicles.
• Use price, fuel type, and depot review score filters to help travellers find vehicles that match their preferences.
• Apply payment timing filters if you want to return only vehicles that support specific payment options.
• Omit the sort parameter to use Booking.com's recommended order, or explicitly request recommended.
• Use pagination parameters to navigate large result sets efficiently.