Car Seat Laws

What do these tables mean?

Required: This is an explicit State requirement.

Permissible: State law won't stop you, but use your judgment; this may not be the best choice.

Permissible/Required: You're allowed to use this, but there are other factors you should consider. See the hints below for more.

Optional: Not a requirement, but you might want to use it anyway.

Not Permissible: Sorry, no can do. State law says it's not allowed.

Not Necessary: State law doesn't say you need it.

Not Recommended: State law doesn't say no, but we do - and so does NHTSA.

Strongly Suggested: State law doesn't say you have to, but we think you should - and so does NHTSA.

RF: Requires a rear-facing infant seat or convertible child seat.

FF: Requires a front-facing child seat or convertible child seat.

BP: Requires a belt positioning seat that allows an adult seat belt to properly secure your child.

Booster: Requires a booster seat.

NOTE: Some sections have age, weight, or height guidelines as well; for example, "Required (>57in Only)" means that you need this restraint only for children more than 57 inches in height, and "Not Necessary (Except <57in)" means that you don't need this restraint except if your child is less than 57 inches in height.

These tables are intended as guidelines. They are a quick reference to help you get an idea of what you might need. We're not the authority, though, so this may not be the whole story. Here are some things you can do to make sure you've got it straight:

- If you want more information about car seat laws and seat bel laws, you can always check out www.nhtsa.gov or www.highwaysafety.org. These are great resources for everything related to car safety.

- If you're unclear on anything at all, or if you want to be sure you get all the details, you can also contact your state legislature here.

- There are some "common sense" guidelines that you should consider as well, such as never using an infant seat in the front passenger seat when there's a working front airbag. If in doubt, put your child in the rear seat and use a child restraint or booster until your child has definitely grown out of them. It can't hurt.

- One of the best things you can do is to contact the car seat manufacturer of your choice, or flip through your car seat's manual. The seat manufacturers are very interested in keeping your child as safe as possible, so they will always have good suggestions about what kind of seat to use and when. If you prefer to get your advice in live one-on-one conversation, you can visit a car seat inspection station and talk to an NHTSA-certified technician. To find an NHTSA-certified inspection station, click here).