Infant Seat Center
Car Seat Requirement (US)
Helpful guide for child restraint requirement in your state.
by childseat center staff, October 2007
Below are the child restraint requirement for all the states in an easy-to-read table format, gathered from various sources. Please use with care and common sense, and always err on the side of safety.
The correct way to read the chart is to consider the
child's age and weight and height. Your child must exceed the age, weight and height requirement in order to move to the next phase, unless the child restraint system explicitly prohibit usage beyond a certain weight/height limit.
Notes:
- Age is inclusive. A child that is 4 years and 11 months is considered 4 years old.
- When rear-facing seat is not specifically required by the law, refer to the car seat age and weight category for more general requirement.
- When two categories (such as Kansas in car seat and booster seat) have the same requirement, you can choose the child restraint system of choice.
- When a category has multiple rows (such as kansas in adult safety belt), you can use that child restraint
system if your child satisfy all the requirement in any row. So in the Kansas example, your child can use an adult safety belt system if - (1) s/he is 8-13 years old, or (2) s/he is 4-7 years old AND over 80 pounds, or (3) s/he is 4-7 years old AND taller than 57 inches.
| STATE | REAR-FACING AGE | REAR-FACING WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT AGE | CAR SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT HEIGHT | BOOSTER SEAT AGE | BOOSTER SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | BOOSTER HEIGHT | ADULT SAFETY BELT AGE | ADULT SAFETY BELT WEIGHT (lbs.) | ADULT SAFETY BELT HEIGHT | MAXIMUM FINE / FIRST OFFENSE |
| Alabama | <1 | <20 | 1-4 | 20-40 | - | 5 | - | - | 6-14 | - | - | $25 + pts |
| Alaska | - | - | 0-3 | - | - | - | - | - | 4-15 | - | - | $50 + pts |
| Arizona | - | - | 0-4 | - | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $50 |
| Arkansas | - | - | 0-5 | <60 | - | - | - | - | 6-14 | >60 | - | $100 |
| California | - | - | 0-5 | <60 | - | - | - | - | 6-15 | >60 | - | $100 + pts |
| California - children 5 years and younger or less than 60 pounds must be in rear seat | ||||||||||||
| Colorado | <1 | <20 | 1-3 | 20-40 | - | 4-5 | - | <55" | 6-15 | - | >55" | $50 |
| Connecticut | <1 | <20 | 1-6 | <60 | - | - | - | - | 7-15 | >60 | - | $60 |
| Delaware | - | - | 0-7 | <66 | - | - | - | - | 8-15 | >66 | - | $25 |
| District of Columbia | - | - | 0-7 | - | - | - | - | - | 8-15 | - | - | $75 + pts |
| Florida | - | - | 0-3 | - | - | - | - | - | 4-5 | - | - | $60 + pts |
| STATE | REAR-FACING AGE | REAR-FACING WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT AGE | CAR SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT HEIGHT | BOOSTER SEAT AGE | BOOSTER SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | BOOSTER HEIGHT | ADULT SAFETY BELT AGE | ADULT SAFETY BELT WEIGHT (lbs.) | ADULT SAFETY BELT HEIGHT | MAXIMUM FINE / FIRST OFFENSE |
| Georgia | - | - | 0-5 | - | <57" | - | - | - | - | - | >57" | $50 + pts |
| Georgia - children 5 years and younger must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
| Hawaii | - | - | 0-3 | - | - | 4-7 | - | - | 4-7 | >40 | >4' 9" | $100 |
| Idaho | - | - | 0-6 | - | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $100 |
| Illinois | - | - | 0-7 | - | - | - | - | - | 8-15 | >40 | - | $50 |
| Indiana | - | - | 0-7 | - | - | - | - | - | 8-15 | - | - | $25 + pts |
| Iowa | <1 | <20 | 1-5 | - | - | - | - | - | 6-10 | - | - | $25 |
| Kansas | - | - | 0-3 4-7 | - <80 | - <57" | 4-7 | <80 | <57" | 8-13 4-7 4-7 | - >80 - | - - >57" | $60 |
| Kentucky | - | - | - | - | <40" | - | - | - | np | - | - | $50 |
| Louisiana | <1 | <20 | 1-3 | 20-39 | - | 4-5 | 40-60 | - | 6-12 | >60 | - | $50 |
| Maine | - | - | - | <40 | - | <8 | 40-80 | - | 8-17 <18 | - - | - >4' 9" | $50 |
| Maine - children 11 years and younger and less than 100 pounds must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
| STATE | REAR-FACING AGE | REAR-FACING WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT AGE | CAR SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT HEIGHT | BOOSTER SEAT AGE | BOOSTER SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | BOOSTER HEIGHT | ADULT SAFETY BELT AGE | ADULT SAFETY BELT WEIGHT (lbs.) | ADULT SAFETY BELT HEIGHT | MAXIMUM FINE / FIRST OFFENSE |
| Maryland | - | - | 0-5 | <40 | - | - | - | - | 6-15 | >40 | - | $25 |
| Massachusetts | - | - | 0-4 | <40 | - | - | - | - | 5-11 | - | - | $25 |
| Michigan | - | - | 0-3 | - | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $10 |
| Minnesota | - | - | 0-3 | - | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $50 |
| Mississippi | - | - | 0-3 | - | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $25 |
| Missouri | - | - | 0-3 4-7 | <40 40-80 |
- <4' 9" | 4-7 | 40-80 | <4' 9" | 8-16 >4 >4 | - >80 - | - - >4' 9" | $50 |
| Montana | - | - | 0-5 | <60 | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $100 |
| Nebraska | - | - | 0-5 | - | - | - | - | - | 6-17 | - | - | $25 |
| Nevada | - | - | 0-5 | <60 | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $500 |
| New Hampshire | - | - | 0-5 | - | <55" | - | - | - | 6-17 <6 | - - | - >55" | $25 |
| STATE | REAR-FACING AGE | REAR-FACING WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT AGE | CAR SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT HEIGHT | BOOSTER SEAT AGE | BOOSTER SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | BOOSTER HEIGHT | ADULT SAFETY BELT AGE | ADULT SAFETY BELT WEIGHT (lbs.) | ADULT SAFETY BELT HEIGHT | MAXIMUM FINE / FIRST OFFENSE |
| New Jersey | - | - | 0-7 | <80 | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $25 |
| New Jersey - children 7 years and younger and less than 80 pounds must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
| New Mexico | <1 | - | 1-4 | <40 | - | 5-6 | <60 | - | 7-17 | - | - | $25 |
| New Mexico - children 1 year and younger must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
| New York | - | - | 0-6 | - | - | - | - | - | 7-15 | - | - | $100 + pts |
| North Carolina | - | - | 0-7 | <80 | - | - | - | - | 8-15 | - | - | $25 |
| North Dakota | - | - | 0-6 | <80 | <57" | - | - | - | 7-17 <7 | - >80 | - >57" | $25 + pts |
| Ohio | - | - | 0-3 | <40 | - | - | - | - | 4-14 | - | - | $25 + pts |
| Oklahoma | - | - | 0-5 | - | - | - | - | - | 6-12 | - | - | $25 |
| Oregon | <1 | <20 | - | <40 | - | - | >40 | <4' 9" | - | - | >4' 9" | $90 |
| Pennsylvania | - | - | 0-7 | - | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $100 |
| Rhode Island | - | - | 0-6 | <80 | <54" | - | - | - | 7-17 <6 <6 | - >80 - | - - >4' 9" | $75 |
| Rhode Island - children 6 years and younger must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
| STATE | REAR-FACING AGE | REAR-FACING WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT AGE | CAR SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | CAR SEAT HEIGHT | BOOSTER SEAT AGE | BOOSTER SEAT WEIGHT (lbs.) | BOOSTER HEIGHT | ADULT SAFETY BELT AGE | ADULT SAFETY BELT WEIGHT (lbs.) | ADULT SAFETY BELT HEIGHT | MAXIMUM FINE / FIRST OFFENSE |
| South Carolina | <1 | <20 | 1-5 | 20-39 | - | 1-5 | 40-80 | - | 1-5 | >80 | - | $150 |
| South Carolina - children 5 years and younger must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
| South Dakota | - | - | 0-4 | <40 | - | - | - | - | 5-17 - | - >40 | - - | $20 |
| Tennessee | <1 | <20 | 1-3 | >20 | - | 4-8 | - | <4' 9" | 9-15 <12 | - - | - >4' 9" | $50 |
| Tennessee - children 8 years and younger and less than 4' 9" must be in rear seat if available. recommended for children 9-12. | ||||||||||||
| Texas | - | - | 0-4 | - | <36" | - | - | - | np | - | - | $200 |
| Utah | - | - | 0-4 | - | - | - | - | - | 5-15 | - | - | $45 |
| Vermont | <1 | <20 | 2-7 | >20 | - | - | - | - | 8-15 | >20 | - | $25 |
| Virginia | - | - | 0-7 | - | - | - | - | - | 8-15 | - | - | $50 |
| Virginia - children in rear-facing devices must be in a rear seat if available. if not available, they may be placed in front only if the front passenger airbag is deactivated. | ||||||||||||
| Washington | - | - | 0-8, rs | - | <4' 9" | - | - | - | 8-15 8-12, rs <8, rs | - - - | - - >4' 9" | $86 |
| Washington - children 12 years and younger must be in rear seat if practical | ||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | <1 | <20 | 1-3, rs | 20-40 | - | 4-7 | 40-80 | <57" | <8 | >80 | >57" | $75 |
| Wisconsin - children 3 years and younger must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
| Wyoming | - | - | 0-8, rs | - | - | - | - | - | np | - | - | $50 |
| Wyoming - children 8 years and younger must be in rear seat if available | ||||||||||||
The information is gathered through various official and unofficial websites. This is only meant to provide a general guidance, and not meant to reflect the most current child restraint laws. You may find the most current information through the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website listed below.