Picture Car Glossary
owner hold or holder fee
What is an owner hold or holder fee?
Updated June 2026 · Revolution Picture Cars
Also called holder fee, or hold fee.
An owner hold or holder fee is a payment made by a production to a private vehicle owner to reserve the car for specific dates, preventing the owner from making the vehicle available to other parties during that period.
The holder fee compensates the owner for lost income and availability while the production finalizes its schedule or secures budget. Hold terms, cancellation policies, and conversion-to-shooting rates should all be clearly defined in a written vehicle rental agreement before any hold is placed.
Example
A production reserves a car for a two-week window it may only use for three days. The holder fee compensates the owner for taking the car off the market for the full window, and it is paid whether or not it shoots.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Negotiated in the rental agreement, and the mechanism that makes a firm booking firm.
Common mistake
Reserving a car without a holder fee and expecting it to be there. Without payment the owner is free to rent elsewhere, and rare vehicles do.
Related questions
- What is a holder fee?
- A payment to reserve a vehicle for specific dates, compensating the owner for taking it off the market whether or not it ends up shooting.
- Is a holder fee refundable?
- Generally not. It buys certainty of availability, which is precisely what is lost if it can be reclaimed.
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